When will David Cameron do the honourable thing?

So, now it’s the turn of the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, John Yates, to resign. Last night, it was the Commissioner himself, Sir Paul Stephenson, and, on Friday, it was Murdoch’s senior colleagues, Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton. Some of these were pushed and some jumped but this storm of resignations illustrates the seriousness [...]

The old slogans are the best!

In those dim and distant days when Margaret Thatcher was running her one-woman campaign to change the face of Britain, the left used to have a slogan about the Tories that said ” they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing!”

And, it struck me this morning how well that slogan sums up the [...]

A local and national mandate

Phil Riley is election agent to Jack Straw

At around 4am, after a slow but meticulous count, the General Election result was announced in Blackburn and, to the surprise of the candidate (but not, I’m pleased to say, to me) Jack Straw’s majority had increased from 8,009 in 2005 to 9,856 – a swing of 1.1% to [...]

Grinding his axe: yet more sour grapes from Craig Murray

Phil Riley is election agent to Jack Straw

So, the Victorian concept of treating has raised its head in the current General Election campaign in Blackburn. For those of you of a historical disposition, the law around treating (or the process of buying votes through the provision of food or drink) was developed as a response to [...]