Best of the Politics Blogs

The best way to unify the blogosphere against you, it would seem, is to come out in favour of shariah laws in Britain, as Rowan Williams did this week.

In a thoughtful piece on the subject, Cranmer concludes: “God forbid that Britain should ever return to the days when religious leaders should determine guilt or innocence, or legislate on matters of crime and punishment. For some of us, those ... read more

As the parliamentary sleaze-fest continued, with Labour passing the baton to the Tories over monetary irregularities, the blogosphere was quick to pounce. Bloggers from all quarters united in their condemnation of the Derek Conway & Sons revelations.

But Iain Dale outlined his reasons for not commenting on the Conway affair, and received a barrage of rebuttals from posters and bloggers alike. He writes: “I have no hesitation in telling ... read more

In the week Peter Hain finally fell on his sword, Iain Dale salutes his fellow blogfather, Guido Fawkes, for breaking and persisting with the funding scandal story: “Bloggers do not exist to get political scalps. But when a blogger reveals possible law breaking and drives the media debate, as Guido has done, let’s recognise that as a good thing and give him the credit he is due.” ... read more

As the dust begins to settle on the party funding fiasco, other matters are chewed over in the blogosphere.

Over at Burning Our Money, Wat Tyler is firmly behind the government’s plans to go nuclear. A comprehensive, if partial, evaluation of the wind power concludes: “The bottom line is that windmills may be a highly seductive idea from a distance, but once you get up close all you find ... read more

Following a proud week for the NS, as Derek Pasquill was cleared of breaching the Official Secrets Act, messages of congratulations were posted at Harry’s Place. But the case leads Spyblog to query: “What other politically embarrassing revelations are [the government] keeping secret from the British public?”

While, Obsolete believes the case highlights the injustice of last year’s leaked al-Jazeera memo trial.

In ... read more

The new year began with furore splashed over the middle market front pages over reiterated comments made by the chief constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom, promoting the legalising of class A drugs. The debate spilled over the blogosphere.

Lib Dem AM Peter Black believes it is right to bring the debate to the fore as he also argues drugs are as big a blight as ... read more

A relatively quiet week for the government, in the context of the past couple of months: only threatened police strikes, a contentious EU treaty and a tricky international climate change deal to negotiate.

Jacqui Smith’s decision not to backdate a 2.5% pay rise for police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, prompted Lenin’s Tomb to write: "While public sector workers are ‘valued’ in a sentimental fashion, the general implication ... read more

With Vince Cable’s Mr Bean jibe still ringing in many MPs’ ears, PMQs provided the PM with an opportunity to bite back. Adam Boulton describes the scene: “Vince Cable got lost with lacklustre questions on Northern Rock. Brown got his own back for Mr Bean suggesting Cable was ‘better at jokes than economics’. No pretty footwork but the prime minister was still on his feet at the end of ... read more

The blogosphere observed a week in Britain which started with calamity for the Lib Dems and ended with disaster for the government, via oblivion for the national football teams.

The plodding Lib Dem leadership race experienced its first jolt in the spotlight at the beginning of the week as it emerged during a debate on the Politics Show that Chris Huhne’s team had circulated a dossier on Nick Clegg entitled ... read more

In a torrid week for the Home Office, Jacqui Smith found herself the hot topic in the blogosphere. A tip off emerged over on The UK Daily Pundit: “Preparations are said to be underway in Downing Street to replace Jacqui Smith as Home Secretary should she fail to quell the ongoing media onslaught over her alleged role in the latest blunder by the Home Office and the subsequent cover-up ... read more

The Queen’s Speech was widely seen as the biggest non-event in the British political calendar across the blogosphere this week. But the list of – mainly expected – bills and draft bills and the pomp of the occassion offered enough material to be picked apart at length. An interesting debate ensured over at Dave’s Part on the subject of a bill which will allow unions to exclude ... read more

With last Thursday pencilled in as the possible date for a national election, the significance of the day was not missed in the blogosphere.

Over at Politicalbetting, Mike Smithson pondered the implications of the Observer’s decision not to splash with an Ipsos-Mori poll which showed Labour 13 points ahead on the first day of the Conservative party conference.

He concluded: "In years to come political nerds will produce lots ... read more