Best of the Politics Blogs
What's been happening in the political blogosphere
Ginger beer for George?
- 2 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 14 November 2008
Paul Evans runs through his pick of the best of the politics blogs...
Taxing times
Red meat and political debate in rude health. That’s what we want. And we want it now! Westminster often fails to deliver, and so the bloggers stepped in. Anti-blog whingers in parliament, some of them apparently intelligent people, complain that blogs are the vulgar solipsistic tools of partisans, bent on subverting true debate.
They are profoundly wrong – as this week’s online tax debate between Nick Clegg [...]
America and the Falklands
- 0 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 07 November 2008
Paul Evans' round-up of the top stories covered by the world's political bloggers
Good morning America
Entering Google Trends Top 10 this week: “inauguration day 2009 tickets”. Barack Obama’s victory in the election to decide the 44th president of the United States of America represents a victory fought even more fiercely online than on the ground. His own ”Fight the Smears” website (weirdly, a lapsed domain just a day after the election) gave supporters the tools to tackle some of more [...]
Er, there's an election on...
- 2 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 31 October 2008
Yes, yes we've heard all about the US presidential election but what about the pitched battle that's underway on the streets of Glenrothes - Paul Evans on the politics blogs
Glenrothes Calling
It almost escaped our collective attention, what with the world economy collapsing around us, but there’s a mighty by-election battle going on in the Kingdom of Fife. And while Labour and the SNP tussle in Glenrothes, Politics Home was roughing it out with Mike Smithson’s Political Betting. Who can best indicate the result of the coming by-election: PH’s panel of experts or PB’s wisdom of the [...]
Sailing close to the wind
- 0 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 24 October 2008
Osborne splits the bloggers while Byron gets the recognition he deserves, this week in the politics blogs
The Osborne Identity
Shadow Chancellor and marionette impersonator George Osborne is at the centre of an almighty stink, amid suggestions, which he denies, that he sought to illicit filthy great wads of cash from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in order to pad out the Tory coffers. Bright's Blog carries more detail on the questions that will plague the Conservatives.
When a man is under fire, he needs his [...]
Mandy in the cold
- 2 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 20 October 2008
Chatter about migration, giant hedgehogs and how Mandelson felt the chill in Russia, this week in the blogosphere
Thinking cap?
As Home Office minister Phil Woolas declared new caps on the number of migrants allowed to enter the UK, keyboards began furiously tapping. Iain Dale was quick to jibe at what he saw as an appropriation of recent Tory thinking, in a post sardonically entitled ‘It’s not racist to talk about Phil Woolas’.
Liberal Democrat blog Moments of Clarity was angered by the implications behind Woolas’ [...]
Shouldn't have gone to Iceland
- 6 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 10 October 2008
David Cameron's lack of lustre in the Commons provoked a curious consensus in the blog plus the financial wisdom of (some) local authorities
Gordon’s Alive!
Consensus is now the order of the day in Westminster, and bloggers have been following suit – declaring Brown victor at the dispatch box, as PMQs returned this week. Labour councillor Bob Piper had a few nerves on Tuesday, and was hoping for a commanding performance from the dear leader to maintain his post-conference momentum:
"A good solid performance at PMQs will also stiffen the backbone and [...]
Lying with passion
- 3 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 03 October 2008
The US vice-presidential debate, the ups and downs of Michael Gove plus all the rest of the news and views from the political blogosphere
Ready to Gove-ern
“It’s not the same as the old days,” a moustachioed conference attendee adjudged. “The atmosphere in ’81, when Heath launched into Thatcher from the platform – that was electric. It’s not like that now.” Indeed it is not. Unity and suppressed smirks (grinning excessively when the markets are in freefall is indecent) were the order of the day at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham.
At [...]
Go fourth the stickers proclaimed
- 0 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 26 September 2008
Just what have the bloggers been saying in the week Gordon Brown pulled back from the brink...
Half Madchester
Labour had to call on previously untapped depths of optimism to get through conference – stretching the nation’s credulity in the process. “Go fourth” the stickers adorning the crowd proclaimed, as Brown appeared on stage to the strains of Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher’ for his keynote speech. At a time when the party’s poll rating has plummeted to historic lows, it verged on the surreal. But [...]
Hacking Sarah Palin
- 3 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 19 September 2008
Not often getting many thrills, the Lib Dems were keen to have tuppence worth on the conference scrap plus hacking Sarah Palin's Yahoo...
The Bournemouth Identity
Bloggers rarely get the recognition they deserve – so it’s a good thing that the Liberal Democrats take time out to honour their keyboard warriors at conference. This year’s Lib Dem Blog Awards was a rout for Alix Mortimer’s intelligent and playful People’s Republic of Mortimer.
Mortimer’s blog attracts a keen following because she approaches issues with humour, honesty and genuine insight – but [...]
TUC drained of all life
- 3 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 12 September 2008
Was the Large Hadron Collider responsible for sucking all life out of the TUC? Or did they do it for themselves? Asks Paul Evans
Crow was Crow without fail…
The Large Hadron Collider apparently hasn’t matched speculation that it would generate a black hole capable of sucking in all light and humanity. But perhaps its effects were localised to Brighton – because a downbeat TUC, meeting this week, certainly seemed drained of all life.
Jon Rogers sits on the National Executive Council of UNISON. His unpretentiously named site, Jon’s Union blog, covered a [...]
Palin is the new Chuck Norris
- 1 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 05 September 2008
Curbing Scottish drinking, being named after a favourite fishing spot and giddy excitement over Bristol's pregnancy...
Lead on, Salmond
Alex Salmond is either Scotland’s wise and benevolent national father, or an irresponsible toadman squatting in a rank pool of ideologically incoherent populism. This week, the SNP leader and First Minister unveiled the Scottish government’s legislative agenda for the coming year.
Jeff on SNP Tactical Voting was “honestly, genuinely impressed and excited”. Responding to the party’s plans to tackle binge drinking (by banning cheap booze, [...]
While Cameron was on holiday...
- 0 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 29 August 2008
Paul Evans takes a look at how the Tories could tackle the obesity crises
Cakes and Ale
This week David Cameron took his second summer holiday. In July he wandered Cornish beaches gazing into the middle distance as only the ruling classes can. Meanwhile, Brown glumly fed ducks, all of which doubtless choked to death on whatever bread he offered them.
Now Dave is taking his actual holiday, sunning it up off the coast of Turkey. Rupa Huq thought he was a wally [...]
Who would Jesus vote for?
- 9 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 22 August 2008
The price of limes, the credit crunch and Downing Street's bizarre response to calls for Jeremy Clarkson to be installed at Number 10...
An unhappy birthday
It was warrior-poet turned California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who first predicted the current world's economic crisis. “Crunch, squeeze, crunch,” he explained in his seminal fitness video.
One year ago this week, the global credit crunch began. Yet while Mervyn King forecasts stagnation and recession for us limeys – the American economy continues to enjoy a comparatively healthy 1.5 percent growth rate. Mortgage rates also remain low [...]
More blood for oil!
- 11 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 15 August 2008
Illegal invasions by imperialist armies are fine, so long they’re committed by Russia plus the common link between the Dalai Lama, Mahmoud Abbas and Elvis Presley
Tblisi or not Tblisi
The Beatles assured us in their crap 1968 song ‘Back in the USSR’ that Georgia was on their mind. Oddly though, you don’t hear Paul McCartney commenting much on South Ossetia nowadays.
The war in the Caucuses has inflamed the passions of bellicose and half-witted bloggers from here to Vladikavkaz. Fortunately, a few are actually worth reading. Donald Rayfield on Open Democracy did readers [...]
Rats to NHS patients!
- 0 comments
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 08 August 2008
Could vermin infestations in Britain's hospitals be turned to the advantage of the nation's sick?
Rat attack
I smell a rat. No, we did Miliband last week. It’s the twitchy creatures who inhabit our nation’s hospitals, at least according to figures uncovered by the Conservatives- and reported here on June Sarpong’s supercool Politics and the City. The Tories were apoplectic! Conservative Home’s thread on the issue prompted Mary O’Boyle to posit that:
“[The] only way to go is back to Seperate Domestic services [...]
