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Continue reading →: Now we know she’s desperate… ++UPDATED++
MPs' expenses: Julie Kirkbride claims criticism could mean fewer women in Parliament – Telegraph. "Is it because I am a girl?" No, it's because you claimed sums from the public purse which increased your net worth. All reasonable electors accept that MPs should not be worse off because of expenses…
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Continue reading →: Charlotte Gores Labour
Hey, Wait a Minute!! at Charlotte Gore. I grew up in the Labour heartlands. My own family's experience of Labour does not differ significantly from that of a small shopkeeper dealing with the Mob. Except that mobsters don't usually confiscate businesses altogether, preferring to "wet their beaks" rather than steal…
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Continue reading →: When is a cover up not a cover up?
De Menezes inquest: officer cleared of staging cover up – Telegraph. The defining story of the history of New Labour is not the expenses scandal. That has more to do with the impotence of parliament, which New Labour has ruthlessly exploited but did not create. The Devil found work for…
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Continue reading →: Train punctuality
Train punctuality reaches new high – Telegraph. When the history of the Brown premiership is written, it will conclude with the words "…but the trains ran on time."
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Continue reading →: Scarecrow straws in the wind
Old Holborn's optimism gave me pause for thought. We are of a similar vintage. Am I just a grumpier old geezer? Is he just naive? The last time I felt as optimistic politically as I usually am in my business and personal lives was in the late 1970s. The tired…
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Continue reading →: After the protest
The protest passed cheerfully, with neither violence nor police intervention, much to the disappointment of the assembled photographers. Old Holborn’s tactic was to piggyback on an event staged by the Socialist Workers Party. Their antics are apparently of slightly more interest to the press. This caused some confusion to the…
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Continue reading →: Guy again: what larks
The gentlemen of the press are not impressed. "It's not even worth exercising my finger for this" one commented. Has he lit the fuse?" asked another. They were here though. When the fireworks in the mock barrel of gunpowder went off, they suddenly became interested. "Surely it's time for the…
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Continue reading →: Guy is back
Old Holborn's anti expenses protest is underway and I managed to make it. Most amusing.
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Continue reading →: The Political Manifesto
I agree with almost every word of this, which for an editorial in a left-liberal Murdoch organ I have long since ceased to respect is quite remarkable. Having observed the knuckle-chewing tedium of the German, Polish and Russian parliaments, I don’t think the Thunderer isentitely right about voters disliking knockabout.…
THE LAST DITCH
Your blogger
Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.
Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.
He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that
“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
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I miss the more traditional Anglican services that I remember from my younger years. I haven’t regularly attended church services…
I’m an optimistic person but also a practical one. We need to take action and waiting for some deity to…
I am not sure if you’re encouraging me to be more optimistic or not?
Ukraine isn’t really doing anything spectacular. The terrorists of the middle east have been using simpler kit for decades successfully.…
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The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
She may be gone but you have all those wonderful memories :-)