Jon Worth's Euroblog

05.05.2006 UK Politics

Margaret Beckett as Foreign Secretary. Wasn’t this reshuffle meant to refresh things?

The BBC has just announced that Margaret Beckett will be the new Foreign Secretary in Tony Blair’s post-Local Elections reshuffle. I am absolutely baffled by this decision. Beckett is really quite an old stager – she has held a number

04.05.2006 EU Politics

Socialist Group leader wants an end to Strasbourg?

It’s every MEP’s nightmare. It’s every MEP’s assistant’s worst nightmare. It makes the European Parliament horribly inefficient, and it costs European taxpayers a load of cash. Oh, and it keeps the hotel and restaurant business in a certain part of

03.05.2006 UK Politics

Reflections on party leafleting: the fiendish letterbox bristles

Tomorrow is local elections day in many parts of the UK, and all boroughs councils in London are up for re-election. This has meant over the last few months that I have been given many thousands of moribund leaflets to

02.05.2006 EU Politics

yazdanfar.se – one of the best sites I’ve ever made

Sometimes things just go so well with the design of a new website. You get in the groove, the design is fun, and the programming doesn’t get you down. This was very much the case for the new website that

02.05.2006 EU Politics

Marching for the socialist cause (sort of)

1st of May. Workers’ Day. Tends to be a day in the UK for a bunch of anti-globalisers to cause a fuss in central London, and not much else in the UK. The Labour Party has tended to steer clear

28.04.2006 Observations

Barclays Bank asks ME for an exchange rate

I went to a branch of Barclays Bank in central London yesterday in order to make an international bank transfer. Should be fine you would have thought? London, international banking centre etc., etc. Firstly, you have to fill out an

27.04.2006 Observations

Anything that sells: Lidl

The local Lidl supermarket puts flyers through doors in Clapham, letting the locals know about its latest offers. Some things are quite amusing – they were promoting care products for your horse (yes, indeed, in Clapham!?!) a few weeks ago.

26.04.2006 UK Politics

Now it’s 2 shags

He gained the nickname 2 jags for driving 200 yards in a Jaguar, then 2 jabs for lashing out at a protestor who threw and egg at him. Now the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has been labelled ‘2 shags’

25.04.2006 EU Politics

Making the green mud stick: EU renewables directive

David Cameron and the Tories are trying to portray themselves as green. They have been heavily criticising Labour’s record on protecting the environment, and on greenhouse gases. I reckon they have a decent case – Labour has not done as

25.04.2006 EU Politics

Diamandouros’s comments strike a chord

European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamondouros yesterday delivered his report about complaints to the EU in 2005. The press release from his office about it can be found here, plus additional reporting from EUObserver and MaltaMedia. Best of all was his quote

25.04.2006 EU Politics

If the French state can’t do it, Ericsson can?

Interesting news today as Ericsson, the telecoms company, offered a voluntary redundancy package to up to 1000 of its staff based in Sweden. The catch is that the offer is only for employees between the ages of 35 and 50.

25.04.2006 UK Politics

Patronising Patricia and the health service

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has found herself embroiled in a bitter dispute over job cuts in the National Health Service in the last week. Everyone is crying foul – patients, the Unions, the nurses (all BBC links) – but what