Booze Up
In his first Budget, Alistair Darling handed down an extra £17 for poor one-child families. Which now buys either a pint of lager or half a pack of cigarettes. Bloggers struggled to find inspiration in either Darling’s announcements or delivery.
Former lobby hack Paul Linford found it “undoubtedly the most politically unexciting Budget since 1997,” while Lynne Featherstone MP thought it was “even more turgid than usual.”
Dizzy bravely live blogged it, though quickly confessed that he was “dying of boredom”.
For those looking for a slightly more expert dissection, Sunday Times economic editor David Smith provides insight on his Economics UK blog. He concludes:
“Was Cameron right to describe the budget as detached from reality? Maybe. If the credit crisis is as bad as some fear, Darling have to have to abandon his scalpel and instead take an axe to his forecasts. But if he does, he thinks he now has an alibi in “events” outside Britain’s control. And for this week at least, he probably made the best of a bad job.”
I won’t vow to thee my country
The Athenian statesman Solon advised that we should “put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath”. But what did he know? Lord Goldsmith’s suggestion that young people should swear a loyal oath to the Queen has this week provoked a little anger and a lot of mockery.
“You might as well ask them to swear by Mumm-ra the Ever-living to be faithful to Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien,” reckons Chicken Yoghurt’s Justin McKeating. He casts a caustic gaze over the question of what “belonging” in Britain means, before rounding off his attack on self-declared patriots:
“It’s just that, if they love their country so much, why are they happy (or at least acquiescent) in seeing it languishing as a fifth-rate mediocrity? Us atheists, republicans and so-called fifth-columnists show more love for Britain.”
Over at Stumbling and Mumbling, Chris Dillow does see some value in the idea though. He proposes that:
“It’s a great university entrance test. Any student who, when asked to swear such an oath, fails to use the words “shove” and “arse” should be declared unfit for higher education.”
What have we learned this week?
The Vatican no longer regards the old Ten Deadly Sins (the one with the asses) as fit for purpose, and has made some new ones. For rather different reasons, Jock Coats and Archbishop Cranmer are unimpressed.
Across the Pond
While The Scotsman prompted the resignation of Obama aide Samantha Power (recently interviewed by the New Statesman’s Sholto Byrnes) by printing her off-record comment that Hillary Clinton is “a monster” – there are resignations in the Clinton camp too. Washington DC blogger Wonkette looks at why former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro this week had to quit Hillary’s campign…
Your questions for Ken
Yoosk is giving voters the opportunity to quiz the London Mayoral candidates from the comfort of their armchairs. So far all the major candidates have agreed to take part, with the exception of Ken Livingstone. If you get really desperate to ask him a question, you could always try yelling at him next time he rolls out of a party.
Video of the week
One from the archives. A minor chart hit 25 years ago – Tracey Ullman’s ‘My Guy’ stars then Labour party leader Neil Kinnock.
Quote of the week
“The real big split in Conference is over the Democratic nomination. I half expect Glee Club to be taken over by the Barackers and Hillaryers singing adapted hits from West Side Story. “I wanna live in ameer- eee -caa …. nominations are free in ameer – ee -caaa….” If that happens, then euthanasia is really the only option.”
The Diary of Chris K on last week’s Lib Dem spring conference in Liverpool
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