11 Jul 2026

Count Binface and electoral theatre

Don’t be a costumed loon — It’s trivially easy to stand for Parliament in the UK. Any loon can do so. You need ten electors to nominate you and £500 for a deposit – and it’s actually been getting easier. The deposit was introduced in 1918 (£150 – quite a lot of money then). Before […]

3 Jun 2026

I hate this

But does it matter? — I don’t usually say that sort of thing here. I try to be more measured, less personal. I’m talking about the police face recognition vans obviously. This might not surprise you: I mean that I don’t like them. I’m an old git after all, a man who’s written here before […]

13 Jan 2025

Where is my patriotism?

Come, love of country, fill my heart… — I do love Britain. I guess I love England more. London most of all. I hope that in my life I’ve honoured the place I live and not disgraced it or undermined it (I support England and GB in sporting events – I fly a little flag […]


  • Bloggers in the house

    Maybe it was the over-stuffed surroundings – the Grand Comittee Room of the House of Commons – but last night’s ‘blogging and politics’ event, organised by The Work Foundation and…

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  • Don’t prejudge the Comms Bill

    Richard Tait in the FT (subscription required) says we shouldn’t be too quick to predict the long term outcomes of the Comms Bill. After all, ten years ago: “…you could…

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  • Cars, green and not so green…

    A genuinely green car is, of course, impossible. Moving a tonne of steel and plastic around could never use no energy at all and even the zero emissions hydrogen fuel…

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  • Buy this thing

    It looks like a home enema kit but you are definitely going to need this baby for your upcoming fortnight in Suffolk or the Dordogne or wherever you take your…

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  • Top media people

    I feel obliged to link to The Guardian’s MediaGuardian 100, even if only for the old outboard brain, but I also have to link to Russ Taylor’s commentary. He’s an…

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  • 25% of Anglican vicars are metrosexual

    It’s not a new term but ‘metrosexual’ is ready for primetime and is now a fully-fledged market segment. The New York Times profiled an actual specimen a couple of weeks…

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  • Platform frenzy

    Nigel Walley is a partner at clever iTV consultancy Decipher and the motor behind an intriguing research and viewing facility called iBurbia. Nigel reckons iBurbia is the only set-up in…

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  • OS X wisdom

    I’ve been using Macs since 1985 (I make that 18 years) so I’ve felt at home there for a long time but OS X is a fascinating and foreign place…

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  • Mailer, Bush and the war

    Whatever you think of it, this is one of those articles you’re going to want to have read. You’ll thank me for linking to it ? no, really, you will.…

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  • Boys

    As father of two girls and a boy I really enjoyed Jenni ‘Woman’s Hour’ Murray’s

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  • Last week’s media news today!

    I’m a week behind (blame recent sleep deprivation) but there were some really good articles in last Monday’s Media Guardian. David Liddiment, who used to be in charge of programming…

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  • The downside

    Rosa is nine weeks old. She turns out to be entirely adorable – but then I would say that. Juliet’s latest column for Tigerchild (written a couple of weeks ago)…

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