Eric Pickles is a Tory, and a member of the Coalition Government, and so one would think no friend of Wessex. Yet this weekend, his department flew the Wyvern outside its head office, Eland House in London, to mark St Ealdhelm's Day, the 25th of May. View the photographic proof.Pickles' politics apart, he has done good workContinue reading "The Flag of the Future"
Peak Collateral
The latest insights on vulture finance, from Golem XIV.
Review of 2012
Every year when we submit our accounts to the Electoral Commission we are also required to provide a ‘Review of Political Activities’ covering the year just gone.The 2012 Review has recently been forwarded to the Commission and here is what it says:“Between elections, our principal means of communication with the public are now predominantly online.Continue reading "Review of 2012"
Times of Tension
It was good to hear Nick Clegg last week distancing himself from the PM. We’re all Thatcherites now, claimed Cameron. Oh no, we’re not, insisted Clegg. Any reminder that the man is Deputy Prime Minister and not Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party is very welcome.So too was another breaking of ranks last week, whenContinue reading "Times of Tension"
Contesting The Legacy
“There are certainly parts of the country that are more anti-her than others, but I think they tend to be the parts that have become relatively less important.”Charles Moore, former editor of the Daily TelegraphMoore spoke on the day that we saw the last of the Rt Hon the Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. At leastContinue reading "Contesting The Legacy"
Among The Ruins
Lector si monumentum requiris circumspice.(Reader, if you seek a monument, look around you.)The media had decades to prepare for the death of Margaret Thatcher, who checked out at The Ritz today. It still seemed this evening to have taken them by surprise. The BBC were the worst, like a bunch of prefects, busily orchestrating theContinue reading "Among The Ruins"
On Banking And Being Boring
Ed Miliband spoke this week at the conference of the British Chambers of Commerce. He called for regional banks to be set up to lend to local businesses, an idea modelled on Germany’s Sparkassen. It’s an idea we first published in our 2005 election manifesto: “a Wessex regional government will support the formation and fosterContinue reading "On Banking And Being Boring"
Kleptocracy UK
The MP for Maidenhead made a very interesting speech this weekend. Theresa May set out what some observers perceive to be her stall in a future contest for the Tory leadership. (Sad isn’t it, that the chatter is about what British politics can do for her career and not what she can do for British politics?)Continue reading "Kleptocracy UK"
Faith In The System
Is a fatal flaw. Vote for the same old crooks as last time and you’ll get the same old policies they promise and don’t deliver. Consider a couple of planning cases in Gloucestershire that were reported in the press this week.At Tetbury, nearly 300 homes at two separate greenfield sites outside the town were approvedContinue reading "Faith In The System"
Upping the Occupation
Nearly a quarter-century after the Cold War ended, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond this week announced detailed plans for the withdrawal of British forces from Germany (along with the £600 million annual injection into the German economy that they represent). The Army’s presence there dates from the Second World War, nearly 70 years ago. We mayContinue reading "Upping the Occupation"
Wessex Regionalists 