I happened to be looking for something related to my time at Oxford and wondered how Oxford University Student Union is getting on. I used to serve on the Exec there, and also was the OUSU Webmanager for a year or so. I was shocked to discover that one of […]
It was that great event in British political tradition today – the opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech. Surprise, surprise, the main focus was on law and order issues – full list of bills here. Clampdowns on this and that, and promises of more anti-terror legislation too. David Cameron […]
By chance I had half an hour to spare when returning to London from Oxford on Thursday. I left the coach at Marble Arch and wandered along Oxford Street. Much to my surprise, I found that there was no traffic along a whole section. This was actually because the Christmas […]
While walking along the streets of Walworth in South London you see plenty of interesting things. Yesterday some bizarre street signs caught my attention while walking with Helena to a friend’s party at Oval. First we came across a religious institution in a considerable state of disrepair, but with the […]
It’s quite rare, but from time to time you are thrown a somewhat bizarre idea that makes you think. This evening was one of those occasions. I was discussing politics with a university friend, Sarah Mulley, and discussion strayed onto the issue of reform of the House of Lords. I […]
OK, I’ve had a joke here in the past about the frustrations of the damp in the kitchen in my flat – we were growing mushrooms there a few weeks ago, thanks to a dripping pipe from the washing machine that the previous tenant had not noticed. But weeks have […]
I’ve always admired Ken Livingstone. He’s clearly a very tricky and divisive character, but he does have a commitment and drive that so few politicians do. There’s a brilliant article in today’s Guardian about his take on climate change. This paragraph hits the nail on the head with regard to […]
There have been plenty of reports about the damage that Climate Change will cause, but few have put a price on the damage in the way yesterday’s Stern Report did (article from The Guardian here). The Government’s response has been to propose to legislate for a 60% reduction in greenhouse […]
An interesting debate has started at Bloggers4Labour about why individuals have chosen to join political parties, and the Labour Party in particular. The debate has kicked off in part as a result of some Rowntree Foundation / New Politics work on the issue – more here. So here’s my story […]
Every Tuesday evening I get 2 hours of Swedish at Westminster University, and then a horrid blast of evangelical megaphone preaching while waiting on my bike at the traffic lights at Piccadilly Circus. Each and every Tuesday evening there is someone preaching there. This evening I was told that all […]
The fact that the UK is going to restrict rights of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to enter the UK has been dripping out through leaks and statements for a couple of months now. I first blogged about it on 31st August, with a follow-up on 26th September. But today John […]
Sometimes you come across things in London that are utterly ludicrous. Today I noticed the sign pictured – that some person Walworth has installed a CCTV system to protect their plants on the street from theft. Now, either the plants have all already been stolen, or else the person is […]
