Toeing the party line

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Lord Triesman quits FA and 2018 World Cup bid jobs

Lord Triesman is to stand down as chairman of the Football Association as well as the England 2018 World Cup bid.  His exit follows what he has called his "entrapment" by the Mail on Sunday [sounds about right].  The newspaper article said he suggested Spain could drop its 2018 bid if rival bidder Russia helped bribe referees at this summer's World Cup [does anybody else not understand this?].  The England 2018 team has apologised to the Russian and Spanish FAs as it tries to rescue the World Cup bid with a Fifa decision due in December.

 Ms Jacobs is single - there's a reason for that

You too can look like a fat-arsed Westminster whore in the pocket of the pimps at the Daily Mail - details here.

Khan takes Manhattan

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Besian Idrizaj

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Twenty-two year old Austrian striker Besian Idrizaj has died from a suspected heart attack while sleeping. He was at home with his family in Austria. Idrizaj signed for Swansea last August, having previously been on the books at Liverpool; he also had loan spells at Luton Town and Crystal Palace.

BBC News

Practically psychic

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Gerald Scarfe, August 2009

Observer readers flock to The Independent on Sunday

Sales of The Independent on Sunday rose by 18.9 % in April. The month-on-month increase is the highest in the market, taking circulation to 168,151. The rise of The Independent on Sunday coincides with a fall in sales of 21.3% at The Observer.

Hmmm, would that be the same Observer that came out in support of the Liberal Democrats before the election?  Yes, I think it is.

Quote of the Year 2008

Nick Clegg

"I will never allow the Liberal Democrats to be a mere annexe to another party."

Read the BBC article here.

Caroline Lucas: 'We could have had a new politics. This isn't it'

The Guardian writes: "The [Green party's] manifesto articulates a world in which maximum wages in any corporation can be no higher than 10 times the lowest, the railways will be nationalised and the NHS de-privatised; where most people cycle and ride trains, have decent pensions and are paid a living, as opposed to a minimum wage, a maximum 55mph on motorways.

But the manifesto also articulates some policies that, if highlighted during the election, would have been red meat to the tabloids: the idea that everyone should eventually receive a citizen's income, for example, whether they are working or not; that heroin should be available to addicts on the NHS; that the needs of refugees should be prioritised over the economy. There was an idea knocking around their spring conference of a kind of NHS for pets – it didn't get into the manifesto, but might well return for further discussion. How is she to sell this kind of proposal in parliament without, frankly, opening herself up to mockery? 'It's a question of priorities,' she says."

Read the full Guardian article here.

Sarkozy threatened to pull out of euro over Greece row

The Guardian writes: "Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to abandon the euro unless Angela Merkeldropped her hostility to the EU's €750bn safety net for the single currency, sources in Brussels and European capitals said yesterday. In a confrontation between Europe's two most powerful politicians, the French president said he would walk out of the talks and warned of lasting damage to the Franco-German relationship unless the German chancellor backed the plans.

Read the full Guardian article here.

Nick Clegg: we caused offence by joining Tories, but it's worth it

Nick Clegg today defends his decision to spurn a progressive coalition government with Labour, saying it would have been unworkable and regarded as illegitimate by the British people. But in an article for the Guardian the Liberal Democrat leader acknowledges the ill-feeling that his party's decision has created, admitting: "It has caused both surprise and with it some offence."

Knowing me, knowing you

Before a closed party conference on the decision tomorrow, Clegg concedes: "There are those on both the left and right who are united in thinking this should not have happened. But the truth is this: there was no other responsible way to play the hand dealt to the political parties by the British people at the election. The parliamentary arithmetic made a Lib-Lab coalition unworkable, and it would have been regarded as illegitimate by the British people. Equally, a minority administration would have been too fragile to tackle the political and economic challenges ahead."

Read Nick Clegg's article in the Guardian here.

"I will never allow the Liberal Democrats to be a mere annexe to another party," said Nick Clegg in 2008. Read the BBC article here.

How to delete your Facebook account

The Daily Telegraph writes: "Facebook's privacy policy is a whopping 5,830 words long. As the New York Times recently pointed out, the Constitution of the United States is just 4,543. In recent months, Facebook has made revisions to its privacy policy that makes a growing amount of information public by default; users must opt out if they want to keep their information private, or share it only with a trusted group of friends."

Read the full Daily Telegraph article here.

The state of the Coalition

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Ministers looking for a new logo for the LibDemCon party were quite excited when they came across German artist Stefan Rohrer's remodelled Volkswagen at the opening of a horticultural show in Villingen-Schwenningen, southern Germany.  They swiftly moved on when a child pointed out that it looked like it had been thrown together in a matter of hours.

UK Government's ministerial salaries (May 2009)

Office-holders in House of Commons Ministerial Entitlement (including parliamentary salary of £64,766)

Prime Minister   197,689

Cabinet Minister   144,520

Lord Chancellor   144,520

Government Chief Whip   144,520

Minister of State   106,136

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State   96,167

Solicitor General   134,257

Advocate General   134,257

Government Deputy Chief Whip  106,136

Government Whip   91,390

Assistant Government Whip   91,390

Leader of the Opposition   138,383

Opposition Chief Whip   106,136

Deputy Opposition Chief Whip   91,390

Speaker   144,520

Chairman of Ways and Means (Deputy Speaker)   106,136

First Deputy Chairman of Ways & Means (Deputy Speaker)   101,126

Second Deputy Chairman of Ways & Means (Deputy Speaker)   101,126

Office-holders in House of Lords Ministerial Entitlement 

(no parliamentary salary)

Lord Speaker   108,253

Cabinet Minister   108,253

Minister of State    84,524

Parliamentary Under Secretary   73,617

Attorney General   113,248

Advocate General   98,307

Government Chief Whip   84,524

Government Deputy Chief Whip   73,617

Government Whip   68,074

Leader of the Opposition   73,617

Opposition Chief Whip   68,074

Chairman of Committees   84,524

Principal Deputy Chairman   79,076

Source: Parliament website

Not forgetting their other jobs, of course.

Cameron takes an axe to the grass roots of democracy

The coalition government's move to make it harder to dissolve Parliament is a "constitutional outrage", ex-Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said. The ConDem plan will mean that 55% of MPs must approve such a move to get it through the House of Commons. Currently, it takes 50% of MPs plus one vote to scupper a government.  Not content with this, David Cameron plans to cut the number of parliamentary constituencies to 585, and decrease the size differential between them, in a move to reduce a pro-Labour bias in the electoral system. 

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary faces a petition demanding her dismissal, one day into her tenure.  It's not so much the Home Secretary bit that has upset people but the fact that Theresa May has also been appointed Minister for Women and Equality. In 1998 Ms May voted against equalising the age of consent; in 2000 she voted against the repeal of Section 28 (legislation that banned the 'promotion' of homosexuality by local government and schools) and in 2001 and 2002 she voted against gay couples jointly adopting children. 

Conservatives plan to cut seats - The Guardian
Petition to hang Theresa May

£1 million in lost deposits at General Election

The General Election saw nearly £1 million in lost deposits from candidates achieving less than 5% of the vote. The biggest losers were the small parties with UKIP losing 458 deposits at £500 each, costing them £229,000. In addition to the cost of ensuring Caroline Lucas was elected as their first ever MP, the Green party was hit by a £164,000 loss (equal to half the annual package accrued by Caroline Lucas as a member of the European Parliament), 265 lost deposits cost the BNP £132,500 and the English Democrats were out of pocket by £53,000. In contrast, the Conservatives lost just two deposits, Labour five and the Liberal Democrats didn’t lose any.

At-a-glance: Coalition policy plans

Here is a link to the BBC's tidy summary of the Coalition policy document and within it a link to download the full document. And here is a summary of that summary!

• Emergency budget within 50 days
• "Accelerated" action to cut the budget deficit: £6bn of spending cuts this year
• Next year's 1% National Insurance tax rise to be partly scrapped
• Referendum on the Alternative Vote system for general elections
• Fixed-term Parliaments - next election in May 2015
• Trident renewal to go ahead but cost scrutinised
• No further powers ceded to EU without referendum
• NHS spending to rise in real terms every year of the Parliament
• Great Repeal Bill including abolition of ID cards
• Restore the link between the state pension and earnings from April 2011
• No new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted
• Tax break for married couples and civil partners

BBC News: Coalition's policy plans

1,500 complaints to Ofcom about Boulton and Burley

Media regulator Ofcom has received almost 1,500 complaints about Adam Boulton's on-screen clash with Alastair Campbell and Kay Burley's interview with electoral reformist David Babbs. As of this morning Ofcom has received a total of 1,418 complaints from members about the two incidents involving Sky News presenters. Burley's interview with Babbs, of electoral reform campaigning group 38 Degrees, attracted 722 complaints. The complainants accused Burley of bias and aggressive behaviour in the interview. The interview resulted in the presenter being heckled by protesters saying 'sack Kay Burley' and a Twitter campaign.

Ofcom has also received 696 complaints about Sky News political editor Adam Boulton's on-screen row with former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell. Most of the complainants are understood to have objected to what they viewed as unprofessional behaviour by Boulton, who appeared to lose his temper after Campbell accused him of being 'upset that David Cameron is not prime minister'.

Ofcom is still assessing 700 complaints that Boulton allegedly 'heckled' Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg about his expenses in the second leaders' debate."

Organised crime fears cause ban on 500 euro note sales

Exchange offices in the UK have stopped selling 500 euro banknotes because of their use by money launderers. The Serious Organised Crime Agency says 90% of the notes sold in the UK are in the hands of organised crime. Soca deputy director Ian Cruxton said 500 euros had become the currency of choice for gangs hiding their profits.  Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait till the gangs had all of them?

The move means nobody will be able to buy the note in the UK - but travellers will be able to sell them if they enter the UK carrying them from abroad. There has been mounting international concern over the note, which is worth more than £400, and its use by criminals or tax evaders."

Mervyn King hails the deficit reduction plan of his Tory pals

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has backed the new government's deficit reduction plan, calling it "strong and powerful". Mr King said plans for spending cuts worth £6bn in 2010 were "sensible". Investors also gave a cautious welcome to the new government - with UK bond prices rising, although sterling weakened. Meanwhile, earlier Conservative plans to scrap the Financial Services Authority have been shelved.

Mervyn King took the unusual step of praising the new government's plans at the Bank's quarterly Inflation Report media conference. He said the measures planned by the Conservatives and agreed by the Liberal Democrats demonstrated a commitment to cutting the deficit. He also implied that the previous Chancellor Alistair Darling had not gone far enough with his Budget policies.  Wanker.

Mr King warned that recent events in the eurozone had shown how quickly markets could turn against a country which was seen to lack credible plans to cut borrowing.

VAT will have to rise, say economists

VAT is set to rise under the new coalition government, according to a BBC survey of influential economists. Of 28 independent economists currently used by the Treasury to assist its forecasts, 24 said they expected the rate to rise in the coming parliament. The majority predicted a rise from the current 17.5% to 20% before the end of 2011. Analysts say a 20% rate would raise an estimated £11.5bn a year.

VAT was temporarily cut last year to 15% to aid the economic recovery. But the tax on consumer goods is seen as an attractive way to boost the government's tax income, with cutting the country's budget deficit a priority for the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. There are 35 economists listed as independent consultants for the Treasury's UK economic forecasts. Six declined to take part in the BBC's survey.

Coalition government: Like a flat-pack with screws missing, this deal will wobble

Polly Toynbee writes for the Guardian: "Weddings stir deep emotions. Some weep with simple joy as the happy couple plight their troth. Some cry with disappointment. But some wise old heads sniff into their handkerchiefs because they have sat through too many costly 'happy ever after' ceremonies that ended in acrimony. Those who remember the Two Davids of the 1987 SDP-Liberal Alliance will recall the exquisite agony only too well, cruelly captured by the Spitting Image puppet of little Steel perched in big Owen's pocket. I was responsible for the appalling daily press conferences during that election, when all the press sought was a wafer of difference between the two: they often found a crevasse, even between those similar parties." "

Read the full Guardian article here.

Chris Evans brings one million more listeners to Radio 2's Breakfast Show

Astonishingly, Chris Evans has added more than one million listeners to the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show since he replaced Sir Terry Wogan, official figures show. His daily show now attracts a record 9.5m listeners a week, according to the figures from industry body Rajar. Figures for the Chris Evans show, which is on air for half an hour longer each day than Sir Terry's programme, are the highest audience for any radio show since 1999 when the current system began. Though quite who would want to listen to that twat is beyond me.

Another day in Downing Street

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The Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Cabinet

PM: David Cameron

Deputy PM: Nick Clegg

Foreign Sec: William Hague

Chancellor: George Osborne

Business/banking: Vince Cable

Defence: Liam Fox

Health: Andrew Lansley

Energy/Climate: Chris Huhne

Justice Sec: Ken Clarke

Home Sec: Theresa May

Education: Michael Gove

Chief Sec to Treasury: David Laws

Scottish Sec: Danny Alexander

Communities Sec: Eric Pickles

Culture/Olympics: Jeremy Hunt

Work and Pensions: Iain Duncan Smith

Tory chair: Baroness Warsi

A day in Downing Street

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A class act

Heil,  Murdoch

Anyone know where Downing Street is?

Leave it to them

I must add my voice to the increasing number of Labour MPs who have been voicing concerns about the possibility of a Lib/Lab pact and now hope that the Clegg/Cameron talks bear fruit to save us from an unworkable rainbow coalition.  Just imagine being answerable to the Greens.

But as I write, it is emerging that Labour has withdrawn from the talks.  Time then for Labour to reflect on the past thirteen years, elect a new leader and be prepared for government following the next general election.  Just a thought.

Capello's first choice for England

England's 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup finals:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

But no Bentley.  Hmmm, I wonder if he would like to take up the offer of writing for us during the World Cup, so unceremoniously declined by Aaron Ramsey!

Meanwhile, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valckehile has admitted an extra £67m ($100m) had to be injected into the project to ensure hosts South Africa were ready.  England officials expressed deep concern about the team's World Cup base, particularly the state of the training pitches, when they visited the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus in December ...

 ... they had a point.

Gordon Brown resigns

"We have a parliamentary and not presidential system in this country and as I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the general election, my constitutional duty as prime minister is to ensure that government continues while parties explore options for forming a new administration with majority support in the House of Commons.

"The business of government has continued including concerted action in Europe today to avert the financial crisis in the Euro area. Alistair Darling the chancellor spent much of his time yesterday in the European finance ministers meeting in Brussels. This morning I have had conversations with the president of the European council, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and the president of the European Central Bank. I have said I would do all I could to ensure that a stable, strong, and principled government is formed able to tackle Britain’s economic and political challenges effectively.

"As we know, the Liberal Democrats felt that they should first talk to the Conservative Party. Mr Clegg has just informed me that while he intends to continue his dialogue that he has begun with the Conservatives, he now wishes also to take forward formal discussions with the Labour Party. I believe it is sensible and it’s in the national interest to respond positively.

"The Cabinet will meet soon, a formal policy negotiating process is being established under the arrangements made by the Cabinet Secretary, similar to the negotiations between other parties. The first priority should be an agreed deficit reduction plan, to support economic growth and a return to full employment. I know that both parties recognise the importance of ensuring economic stability in the markets and protecting Britain’s standing and both are agreed on the need for a strong and full deficit reduction plan over the coming years.

"There is also a progressive majority in Britain and I believe it could be in the interests of the whole country to form a progressive coalition government. In addition to the economic priorities, in my view only such a progressive government can meet the demand for political and electoral change which the British people made last Thursday. Our commitments on a new voting system for the House of Commons and for the election of the House of Lords are clearly part of this.

"I would however like to say something also about my own position. If it becomes clear that the national interest, which is stable and principled government, can be best served by forming a coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats then I believe I should discharge that duty, to form that government, which would in my view command a majority in the House of Commons in the Queen’s speech and any other confidence votes.

"But I have no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the path to economic growth is assured and the process of political reform we have agreed moves forward quickly. The reason that we have a hung parliament is that no single party and no single leader was able to win the full support of the country. As leader of my party I must accept that that is a judgement on me. I therefore intend to ask the Labour Party to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election. I would hope that it would be completed in time for the new leader to be in post by the time of the Labour Party conference. I will play no part in that contest, I will back no individual candidate.

"I believe that the British people now want us to focus on the economy, the continuing fight against terrorism, the terrorist threat to our country, they want us to continue to pursue the economic recovery and I will do so with my usual vigour and determination and I will do all in my power to support the British troops whose service and sacrifice cerate a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay. And I believe on Thursday the country was also telling us that they want a new politics and that the political reforms we seek will help deliver that change. I now intend to facilitate the discussions that the Liberal Democratic party has asked for. Thank you very much. As you will understand I will take no questions this evening, other discussions can be had later. Thank you very much."

I hope the great British public is happy now.

Merkel loses majority in "bitter defeat"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted her coalition suffered a "bitter defeat" in regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).  The chancellor acknowledged her new government, in power since October, had "many avoidable disagreements" that had hurt its chances of re-election in NRW.  She warned that tax cuts would not be possible "in the foreseeable future".

The NRW result means Mrs Merkel's coalition no longer has a majority in the upper house of parliament.

Read the full BBC News article here.

Lena Horne dies, aged 92

Boredom, probably.

Errrm ... she was black?

What's the difference between Lena Horne and Julie Andrews?  Lena Horne didn't die on stage.

Julie Andrews at the O2 Arena, London

Oh don't, it's too painful to write a review.  I'll leave it to the Telegraph: "A theatrically tragic spectacle, all told. Americans are gonna love it. The rest of us should cherish recordings of Julie in her prime. This is no way to treat a national treasure, and especially not a Dame." 

THE END

Tories planned to change British relationship with Europe if elected

A draft letter obtained by the Observer and devastating to the future of any LibCon power-sharing agreement, reveals that William Hague was preparing to tell David Cameron that "the British relationship with the EU has changed with our election" to one firmly against any further integration, assuming that they would be elected with a majority.  The Observer writes, "Hague says he would demand the right to repatriate powers over criminal justice as well as social and employment policy during the first term of a Tory government – demands many EU leaders say they would resist."

Hague planned to tell his EU counterparts: "Rest assured that we seek engagement, not confrontation. But our aim is to achieve these commitments during this parliament." He would also tell his first foreign ministers' meeting "we will never join the euro" and would conclude: "You will find us firm but fair, playing a leading role, fighting our corner, practical and straight-talking."

I don't think this is quite what Nick Clegg had in mind.

 

Read the full Observer article here and the full contents of the leaked letter here.

You never let us down, Nadine

Tory Nadine Norries has already become the first MP of the forthcoming term to be embroiled in an expenses scandal.  It just had to be her, didn't it?  Dorries claimed the money for consultancy services and an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP but her former Commons researcher, Peter Hand, is writing to John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, questioning whether the claim can be justified.  Hand said he never saw the report or worked on it.  Dorries claimed a total of more than £40,000 in expenses for services provided by Marketing Management (Midlands), owned by her friend Lynn Elson.  They live near each other in the Cotswolds.  How very cosy.

Ms Dorries adopts the 'listening with concern' pose

Recrimination, recrimination, recrimination

They're coming in thick and fast now as Simon Heffer lays into David Cameron in the Telegraph.  All Dave had to do, he says, was "fight a widely despised Prime Minister leading a Government incompetent and destructive on a scale unseen in living memory. Seldom has there been a softer target; but seldom has one been missed so unnecessarily. With just 36 per cent of the vote, the Tories stood almost still since 2005. They are now on their knees to their other enemy, the Lib Dems."  You can read the whole article here.

The website of Lord Tebbit, the former party chairman, was running an unsigned article calling on David Cameron to ballot the Conservative membership before entering into any deal with the Liberal Democrats.  The article, published on the Chain Reaction blog, accused him of trying to freeze out the membership, while Liberal Democrat rules included a formal endorsement mechanism.  It suggested that Mr Cameron's "utterly flawed" strategy had landed the Conservatives in a "disastrous" position, and claimed a deal with the Lib Dems would have the sole purpose of "saving his skin as party leader".  Fair point.

Adams, Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph also informs us that Lord Adonis has been appointed chief negotiator between Labour and the Limp Dames despite rumours that Brown had more or less told Clegg to fuck off last night when Brown's resignation was mentioned as being pre-requisite to any deal. I wish I'd been there.

Seven Old Etonians join the Tory ranks

So there we have it. Or not. We have decided not to elect a government. Ninety-seven new Conservative MPs and ninety-one less Labour MPs, the Limp Dames oddly losing five. George Galloway, Lembit Opek and Jacqui Smith are out, Esther Rantzen, Nigel Farage, Philippa Stroud and Joanne Cash all failed to replace the incumbents they chased, yet that fucking idiot, Jacob Rees-Mogg (the one that once took his nanny out canvassing with him in the Bentley), was just one of seven Old Etonians to gain a seat for the Tories. Bizarrely, Hazel Blears and Chris Grayling both held on to their seats. 

Caroline Lucas - pitching her look somewhere between Joe Orton and panto

The local government elections that took part in much of the country brought better news for Labour as they took control of fourteen councils, the Tories losing eight and the Limp Dames four. It's goodbye to the BNP as they lose all twelve of the council seats they won at the previous local elections. Shame.

Talking of shame ... Brighton Pavilion. The first "Green" MP in the country. What the fuck?! Get real, people! Caroline Lucas is a self-obsessed career politician who has made an industry out of "Green" and completely pulled the wool over your eyes. Are you still so fucking stoned from the sixties that you can't tell the difference between red and green? She chose her moment, didn't she. Choose a constituency where a Labour MP is retiring, a city that is desperate to be famous for something other than its 'gay scene' (a Wetherspoons pub with a pink lightbulb, to be precise), move there, pitch your look somewhere between Joe Orton and panto and Bob's your transgender uncle. I give her till the next election. Which will be soon, won't it? Won't it?!

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Steve Bell, the Guardian

Just say ...

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Be smart, says the Daily Mirror

"Today’s election is the most important in a generation. Not for its closeness, not for its excitement, not for the intriguing prospect of the first hung parliament in years. This election is important because it’s about how we will live our lives. It’s about our jobs, our incomes, our pensions, our tax credits, our hospitals, our schools, our police forces, our social services and scores of other issues.

David Cameron is undeniably a fine salesman, a slick purveyor of the Tories as shiny and modern, a new party that’s dumped its nasty past. Don’t believe a word of Mr Cameron’s patter. He would take us back to the 1980s, an era scarred by poverty and public squalor, a decade when the world looked at Britain, shuddered and turned away."

Read the full Daily Mirror article here .

Meanwhile, the Sun goes with

Yes, your only hope, Murdoch.

Spurs join the elite of Europe

Didn't Monkeyboi play well?

And I know times are hard, David ...

... but Umbro boots?!

While Athens burns, Europe's future is at stake

As the Greek government tried to save its country from bankruptcy, tens of thousands of outraged Greeks took to the streets demonstrating against the proposed austerity measures and protesters tried to storm parliament; some hurled paving stones at police who responded with tear gas. Three people died after a firebomb was thrown into a bank. The government is demanding painful 'sacrifices' after the country secured a 110 billion euro (145 billion dollar) debt bailout; Labour Minister Andreas Loverdos said: 'We have only one aim, to save Greece, and we are not going to budge.'  

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged MPs to back the emergency loan package agreed by European finance ministers at the weekend. It requires Germany to pay the largest proportion of the loans. "Quite simply, Europe's future is at stake," she said.

Gordon Brown - a friend, a partner and a brother

Gordon Brown yesterday put in one of the most extraordinary performances of his tenure as prime minister when the three party leaders took part in an unofficial fourth debate – addressing community groups in the largest live audience of the election campaign.

As the Labour party battles to avoid coming third on Thursday, Brown appeared to find an emotional range and vocabulary previously unheard from him. Prompting repeated standing ovations, he told the audience: "As you fight for fairness, you will always find in me a friend, a partner and a brother." The speech, before 2,500 voters in a large church hall, may end up having been the most electrifying event of the campaign. Critics of the prime minister described it as one of the best speeches they have seen by a politician.



"When Cicero spoke to the crowds in ancient Rome, people turned to each other after hearing the speech and said 'Great speech'. But when Demosthenes spoke to the crowds in ancient Greece and people turned to each other, they said: 'Let's march.' Let's march for justice, dignity and fairness. That's what we have all got to march for, and let's march for it together."

Gordon Brown, in his address to members of CitizensUK at Westminster Central Methodist Church in London, yesterday.

Lynn Redgrave

Actor Lynn Redgrave has died aged 67 after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.  In a statement, her children said: "Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven-year journey with breast cancer. She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives."

Cameron insists he will win - one way or the other

David Cameron is set to claim victory if Labour comes third in Thursday's election even if he fails to win an overall majority. His plan, revealed in an interview with The Independent, raises the prospect of a constitutional wrangle in which the Conservatives and Labour fight for the right to form a minority government if neither wins outright.

Mr Cameron said: "There is convention and there is practice and they are not always quite the same thing." He added: "In 1974 it was clear the Conservatives had lost and therefore they were out of office."

Read the full Independent article here.

Peter Mandelson: Don't gamble away the recovery

As an Independent on Sunday poll puts David Cameron's party within touching distance of a working majority in the Commons, Peter Mandelson gives us an indication of who he'll be voting for. "We've reached the point in this election where the time for TV debates is finished and the time for decision has begun. Anyone who has been out on the doorstep knows that there are millions of people who have yet to make up their mind. So there is everything to play for. And Labour is the only serious choice. We have a leader of immense strength and resilience, a man who combines toughness with a deep sense of fairness. A man who has been tested."

"This is the best chance in a generation to revitalise our political system but any such hopes would die if the Conservatives were to gain power this week. The Tories would kill electoral reform stone dead."

The paper goes on to urge readers to vote tactically at the election - against the Tories.  Better than nothing, I suppose.

Read the full article from the Independent on Sunday here.

What you put on me?

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This week's Goal of the Season

... had to be Tom Huddlestone's thunderbolt from twenty yards that keeps Spurs in fourth place with two games to go.  However, Tom isn't the most handsome man in English football so here's a picture of James Milner instead.

Brighton: from pier to modernity

Most people who come to Brighton for the weekend are after a cheap hotel, an even cheaper bar and a quick shag (preferably at no cost at all).  And off they go, leaving behind them a bucketful of culture, untouched by stag party-goers and their conquests.

Take this weekend, for example.  You've quite wisely missed the Children's Parade, though its fucking whistles and drums woke me up at 11.00 this morning.  There's the Brian Eno-supervised Brighton Festival, including his own 77 Million Paintings at Fabrica (a former church), open until 11.00 tonight; alongside this, the Brighton Fringe Festival with free and paid-for events, all over the city and beyond. 

Tomorrow Stonewall holds its Equality Walk, starting with a picnic and "entertainment" in the Pavilion Gardens and while you're there you could check out the From Sickert to Gertler exhibition at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery or the new permanent exhibition at the Pavilion itself, The Royal Pavilion as an Indian hospital, as explained quite nicely by Maev Kennedy in the Guardian.  

I highly recommend rounding off the weekend in stitches with the Ladyboys of Bankok's new show, Fantasy and Feathers, in a tent off Old Steine, followed by dinner at Hotel du Vin, taking advantage of their offer of a room on Sunday night for twenty-five quid. 

And all this on my doorstep!  Really, I spoil myself.

Brian Eno is interviewed by the Guardian here.

Royal Pavilion buys George IV cartoons - BBC News here.

METROPOLIS

Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction masterpiece is scheduled for a September re-release in the UK.  Remarkably, an almost complete print of the film was found in a Buenos Aires film museum in 2008, with an additional twenty-five minutes of  hitherto  lost footage.  

  

As is obligatory these days, a Facebook page has been created for this event and a trailer can be seen on the film's website here.