Democracy In Action

Someone was interviewing some politicians on the green space outside the Houses of Parliament yesterday. I forget who they all were or what they were talking about; tax probably.  What I do remember is the person standing at a considerable distance behind them who was managing to heft a blue placard into every shot.  There must have been an accomplice watching the effect on TV because every time the camera moved, the placard moved with it, bobbing up behind the speaker's shoulder to tell us about the millions of Iraqis who have been killed, injured or dispossessed in the war our political class voted for.

This is still a democracy- thankfully- just about...

Do We Want To Be Ruled By Mealy-Mouthed Careerists?

I can see why Labour had to sack its Scottish candidate Stuart McLennan (twittering about how much you hate to visit your constituency is a little tactless) but does this mean that anyone with a colourful past (or a colourful blog) should forget about standing for elected office?  Because if it does, it's a shame. There's a certain type of politician who's a bit of buccaneer- farouche, risk taking, careless of causing offence- Lloyd George, for instance, Churchill, Mo Mowlam- and we need them in the mix.