Thoughts on a blogging twelve months

I began this blog a year ago. At that time it is fair to say that the Right dominated the political blogosphere. The last twelve months has seen that domination dented, but I believe that they still have mastery over the left in this sphere.

There have been some notable leftie newcomers (and, of course, from all parts of the political spectrum). Whilst I think there is still some way to go before left/right parity has been achieved in web circles (certainly as far as traffic is concerned) there are good signs for the blogging left. There has been some very clever writing on left-leaning blogs this year, and a great deal of debate on policy, direction, leadership, etc. LabourList has been a real star, and I think LabourHome (despite its redesign, which I feel still, needs some work) has a definite grassroots feel about it. Left Foot Forward, and other newcomers, will prove their worth if they can last the distance.

I think blogs lend themselves to oppositional politics, and hence why the right has had the running so far. I am not convinced that it has to be an election defeat before the left really gets its internet act together, although this would certainly speed that up. Blogs are also tabloid in style in many ways – most bloggers are amateur and long treatises are out of the question. It is doubtful whether they would be read anyway – I certainly prefer short and snappy articles, with a dash of humour. Are the left more humourless than the right? Certainly they are less likely to be rude.

I have wondered whether there is anything in right-wing politics that makes it more amenable to new media. My view is that there is nothing to make this so. That they have made the running is, in my view, down to fact that being out of government has enervated them – necessity being the mother of invention, and all that.

Overall, the left blogs have had a good year, and there is no reason to doubt that this will continue through 2010. Whether we are still in government in a year’s time is yet to be resolved; that we will be fighting our corner in the blogosphere is without doubt. I see a rosy future for left-leaning blogs.

Hegemony on toast – a search for the monosyllabic

You can tell that my formal education ended with High School – I mostly go for monosyllabic words. Some of my blogging friends do appear to have swallowed whole dictionaries before regurgitating the longest and most abstruse entries. So clever are some of them that I either end up with a headache or give up the vain attempt at understanding them.

So, today’s lazy post consists of references to four recent postings, all very good, all written in plain English.

Lord Ashcroft’s War on my CLP? is the sort of posting I should be writing. Tom Williams’ well researched article makes very interesting reading. It demonstrates that when it comes to money we are always going to be outgunned by the Tories.

The time for leadership talk has passed, Charles I do not agree with every sentiment here. I do think Charles Clarke should now get on with fighting the Tories rather than battle against our party leader. As it happens, I believe that Gordon Brown is our best leader for the current fight.

Luke Akehurst’s analysis of polls and where Labour is positioned is essential reading. He has written another excellent article here – Labour resurgence in the North. It confirms my belief that the election is far from a foregone conclusion and that there is still everything to play for.

Luke has managed the remarkable feat of two excellent articles in one day – On “Class War”. This, in a nutshell, explains the current class issue that is beginning to dominate the left v right argument.

My top ten international political moments of the decade

Following on from my top ten yesterday, I have created a non-domestic list for LabourList. Read it here: My top ten international political moments of the decade

My top 10 political moments of decade

As the decade draws to a close I thought I would have a go at listing my top ten political moments of the last ten years. This leaves me as a hostage to fortune as I am bound to have overlooked something truly momentous. Hey ho, here is my list anyway, in no particular order. Let me know what your list would include.

911: 11st September 2001 and those awful terrorist atrocities which led to two wars and significant changes to our laws. I still have vivid memories of the events of that day.

2001 General Election: General elections, somewhat predictably, are always going in a political top ten. This was Tony Blair’s first test at the ballot box as PM, and he passed with flying colours. The Tories managed one gain (Castle Point) as Labour amassed another huge victory. The election itself was delayed from the widely perceived favourite date as foot and mouth shut down huge tracts of the countryside. Killed off William Hague’s leadership of the Opposition – now seen as being given to him too early. Did he really claim to have once downed fourteen pints?

2005 General Election: Seen against the backdrop of the two previous elections this gave Labour a modest majority. Yet at 66 seats it was still very healthy. Perhaps remembered for the low turnout, it was also a ‘vote Blair, get Brown’ election as the fallout over the Iraq War began to impact.

MPs’ expenses row: Some of the revelations had an air of French farce about them but far too many generated real anger. Clashing with a recession, the greed and unreality that lay behind the revelations put into stark contrast the lifestyles of the elected and their electors. The repercussions are still being felt and this will have an impact on the forthcoming General Election.

Nick Griffin MEP: Two members of the BNP now sit in the European Parliament, beneficiaries of public anger over the MPs’ expenses and of a List PR system that allows these extremists to sneak over the electoral winning line. Far right movements have had brief, and electorally unsuccessful, flowerings in the past. Nick Griffin has surpassed the achievements of Oswald Mosley and Malcolm Webster, and now has his sights on Barking and the House of Commons. Like it or not, June’s elections gave the BNP a degree of credibility previously denied them.

The 2007 election that never was: I was at Bournemouth in 2007 when everyone was talking about a late October or early November election. I never wanted it then, but many of my colleagues disagreed. That the speculation was not dampened allowed this story to grow and grow, and to ultimately label Gordon Brown as a ditherer – irrespective of whether this is actually true. It also forced David Cameron to deliver a conference speech that was widely admired (though not by me). Since then Labour has not led in the polls.

2004 hunting act: Many hours of Parliamentary time were given over to this act; an act that should have hit the Statute Books in 1997. To many of us it is incredible that this is still an issue, but its repeal is at the forefront of many Conservative minds, and it looks like being one of the battlegrounds in the months ahead.

The recession: After a record-breaking fourteen years of growth, a recession deeper than any seen since the 1930s assailed all major western economies. This will be the main battleground for the forthcoming election. Much that the Tories would like to lay the blame at Gordon Brown’s door, this is clearly an indictment of international capitalism and an overly light touch for financial bodies (a light touch that was condemned as being too heavy handed by senior Tories prior to the recession!)

Gordon Brown’s leadership election: Or not. The failure of a significant challenge has cast doubts over Gordon’s legitimacy. I do not think we will see another leader gain the reins without having to face a challenge. This not only allowed the ‘unelected PM’ tag to stick, it also annoyed many Labour activists. I have no doubt I would have voted for Gordon, but would have liked a choice.

Lisbon treaty: A highly contentious issue which says more for the attitude of the Euro-sceptics than for the content of the document. In itself the document really only sorted out the mechanics of how an enlarged organisation is going to work. However, it is a cipher for the discontentment of those who really do not like our engagement with the continent. Now that the treaty has been ratified the Conservative leader had no real choice but to abandon any thoughts of a referendum. Whether this damages him and his party’s hopes for the future and whether it re-opens old wounds remains to be seen.

A little less tarmac, a little more grass

A widened pavement

In my corner of Essex I see many road improvements being carried out by the local authorities. Road layouts are changed in the name of safety, comfort, and to improve an area for residents and road users alike.

Many times I have witnessed widened pavements. What I have not seen on many occasions is this being used as an opportunity to create extra verges or shrub borders, although to be fair sometimes a tree is planted.

In an era when all of us are becoming more aware of our impact on the environment it would make sense to utilise some of the very wide pavement and kerb build-outs to give something back to the natural world. Very wide pavements are not created for pedestrians, so using the extra space to do a bit for the planet will have no impact on the road and pavement users.

There is a maintenance issue, yet I believe that the little extra cost will be more than compensated by the environmental benefits, both in giving a bit over to the plants (and the accompanying insects and birds that will use it) and in the aesthetic enhancement.

Tarmac is ugly, and also has to be maintained. Every little nibble, and there are many nibbles, at our green heritage takes away that bit of greenery for ever – very little ever being given back. Here is a chance to both enhance our urban scenescape and to do our bit in holding back the concrete and tarmac from engulfing our world.

News from the League Against Cruel Sports

I have received an email from the League Against Cruel Sports with some very good news. I shall not reproduce the whole email here, but some extracts are definitely worth reproducing:

It’s official: There is no ‘human right’ to hunt

With impeccable timing a week before the Boxing Day hunts, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has delivered a landmark verdict in a case brought by the Countryside Alliance and an individual, Brian Friend.

They had argued that the Hunting Act 2004 breached human rights under Article 8 (the right to a private and family life), Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association), Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and also Article 1 of protocol number 1 (protection of property). The Court dismissed the case on all counts.

The Court ruled that the Acts did not negatively affect the hunters’ right to private and family life. Further, they said that the hunting community could not be regarded as an ethnic or national minority or that the hunting lifestyle was indispensible for a persons identity.

The Court also ruled that the concept of home did not include the land over which the hunters allowed people to hunt or hunted themselves. In essence hunting is a public activity and not a private one. The Court ruled that the hunters did not have a valid claim for compensation and that the bans did not restrict the hunters right to free assembly.

The league are also using the annual Boxing Day hunt to expose the grim reality of what repeal of the Hunting Act would actually mean. Graphic footage filmed before the Hunting Act came into force is being released showing not only the horrific cruelty of fox hunting, but also of deer hunting, hare hunting and hare coursing; all of which would become legal again should the Act be repealed.

I am backing the ban, are you?

This site is definitely worth a plug: http://www.backtheban.com/boxing-day-fox-hunt

Thee by-line to this site reads: The next parliament may see legislation introduced which specifically allows foxes to be ripped apart at the teeth of hounds. Will you join us in fighting this barbarity?

I am happy for anyone to contact me for my opinion on fox hunting. However, I can shortcut this here by categorically stating that I am opposed killing animals for sport.

A walk in the woods

A couple of snaps from yesterday’s stroll through Belfairs Great Wood. Peaceful, although I was not entirely alone as there were a few people either exercising their dogs or strolling. These woods are one of my favourite places.

Merry Christmas, war is over

(With apologies to John Lennon -this was the first thing I played this morning.)

The post title is a lie. For starters I do not celebrate Christmas, although I could offer merriment to those who do, I suppose.

War is not over either, much that I regret it. Still, we are out (almost) of Iraq, and next year should see plans to withdraw from Afghanistan at some point. Whether humankind will ever see the end of warfare is a deeply philosophical point – it certainly is not going to happy in the near future.

There is a week of this first decade of the twenty-first century left – a decade that has only seen Labour Government. In that, a whole decade of Labour, it is unique. (Last century saw roughly 45 years of Tory government, as opposed to 23 for Labour. Those 23 years came in six spells, which is the same number as the Tories.)

Anyway, one and all have a happy and peaceful holiday period. I wish all, political friend or foe, all good wishes.

The New Year will herald a political scrap, as the General Election will shortly be upon us. It will be an interesting, and closely fought, campaign. I hope to emerge without too many bruises.

The ongoing spat between Luty and RAW

Westborough, a Southend Borough Council Ward, is where I was born and lived for the first seventeen years of my life (and my parents for longer). I still have family in the ward and now live less than a quarter of a mile from its borders. I take a great interest in what goes on there.

CouncilBust has a story about the Residents’ Association of Westborough, and a Conservative councillor who lives within the ward (but represents another). These two, I can state without fear of contradiction, do not see eye-to-eye. Read the story here (Exclusive: Row between councillors and residents association escalates).

I have no time for independents, but in this spat they get my sympathy. Two of the three independent councillors (Dr. Velmurugan and Mr. Terry) representing Westborough are former Labour members (I have never even met Tania Paignton). I even counted Dr. Velmurugan as a friend until his defection. (There hangs a tale, which I might elaborate on some day.)

RAW’s usual meeting place is where my mother married her third husband.