Shane Greer

…if the LibDems got a 20% swing against Labour in the next general election:

I wonder how many people sat in LibDem HQ today have used The Telegraph’s interactive map to produce just such a result? I’d wager more than a couple…

The Telegraph have launched a new interactive map on their website containing data on every constituency in the UK (each one being represented by a hexagon). The level of detail available through the map is incredible, including for example how the government is performing in crucial areas such as health, and crime.

I’d describe the interactive map as being a web 2.0 version of The Almanac of British Politics.

The answer of course is very sound; as Donal Blaney explains. It’s a shame more local councils haven’t shown the same initiative as Harrow in their attempts to clamp down on benefit cheats.

A few more councillors like Paul Osborn would mean lower council tax for a lot more people, and more importantly would mean more money in the pockets of hard working families.

Despite his protestations of "smear" and "hatchet job" in recent days it would appear the cards have begun to tumble around Ken Livingstone. Whilst his inner circle has so far remained intact (although Lee Jasper is looking increasingly shaky) the outer wall has started to fall.

Rosemary Emodi, Jasper’s deputy, has quite after being caught out lying to the BBC. When a statement to the Beeb a few days ago read:

"Rosemary Emodi has never visited La Campagne Tropicana and neither has any other representative of the GLA"

It should actually have read:

"Rosemary Emodi has indeed visited La Campagne Tropicana in Nigeria, and in fact was joined by another representative of the GLA. Naturally this trip was paid for by Ms Emodi’s hosts, Kamp Africa, who were under the impression she was there to finalise a link between them and the GLA. Of course no such link had been authorised by the Mayor’s office and Ms Emodi was merely using the missunderstanding with Kamp Afrika to get a free holiday"

Oh dear.

As mentioned a while ago I will be taking part in a Question Time style discussion in Tooting next month. The event is taking place on the 26th in the evening and you can sign up here. I’ll be sitting on a panel with Jesse Norman, the PPC for Hereford and South Hereford, and one other speaker who is still to be confirmed.

It should be great fun, and for anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to hear Jesse speak before I would strongly reccomend coming along. Jesse is without question one of the leading lights in British conservatism, mixing a first rate mind with the kind of communication skills that enable him to bridge divides that have traditionally left the Conservative Party issolated from many groups in society.

Nick Clegg has come out with his proposals for the care of the elderly and some of them sound oddly familiar. For example, Clegg would like to see the elderly given the power to determine what type of care their government payments would be used for; in fact they would even be able to top-up these payments with their own money (did somebody say patient passport scheme?).

It’s good to know it isn’t just Labour that steal conservative ideas!

Ok, so it’s not really political, but it is cool; apparently the Queen plays the Nintendo Wii, and in particular enjoys playing the bowling game (sadly not Resident Evil, which let’s be fair would be really cool). Chances are of course that the story is just a well executed piece of spin by Buckingham Palace, but even if it is I think it says a lot that the idea of the Queen playing the Wii is believable.

Politics, as I’ve said a few times, is a funny old business. But every once in a while an MP comes along and attempts to raise the bar just that little bit higher. Ronnie Campbell is one such MP. In speaking up his support for National Fetish Day (yes, you read that right), Ronnie said:

"I must have a thousand [fetishes] but, hand on my heart, I couldn’t tell which is the most important one. Probably the horses."

Apparently though, Ronnie had misunderstood the meaning of the term fetish:

"Oh my God almighty! I thought a fetish was a worry, like worrying about backing the right horse."

Honestly, you really couldn’t make it up.

Hat Tip = Gavin Whenman

Westmonster has a deeply worrying post that draws attention to a piece in the Indy which speculates that the Ministry of Justice may be outlining some options for doing away with the first-past-the-post system in Westminster.

If it’s true it’s very worrying indeed and shows just how cynical Gordon Brown is.

Yesterday Iain drew attention to Lynne Featherstone’s comments regarding fixed term parliaments, stating that her argument for such fixed terms was one of the best he had heard:

"It’s 80 minutes into an Arsenal-Tottenham football derby. Tottenham lead 1-0.
Arsenal are piling on the pressure. The Tottenham manager shouts at the ref,
“OK, that’s it – can we have the final score now please?” The ref agrees, all
the players troop off the pitch 10 minutes early and Tottenham get the three
points. Sounds absurd doesn’t it (and I don’t just mean the idea of Tottenham
beating Arsenal!)? But that’s what passes for normal in the world of Palace of
Westminster politics when it comes to general election dates. The Prime Minister
– and the Prime Minister alone – gets to choose the date. Now – in theory
Parliaments last for five years and the monarch has to agree to any earlier
election, but in practice – the PM always gets his or her way."

Here’s the thing though, Lynne Featherstone’s analogy simply doesn’t work. There is absolutely no similarity between her football match example and the Prime Minister’s ability to call an election whenever he wants. It might sound nice, but as with most over simplifications faces to capture the reality of the situation.

The reality is that whenever the PM calls an election the voters have the power to return the PM to power, or indeed to vote for one of the other parties. If they vote for the PM’s party they do so knowing that as a result of their vote they may be stuck with the PM’s party for another five years. The voters decide; there is nothing undemocratic about it.

The logic behind the campaign for fixed term parliaments is essentially as follows:

• The PM gets to call an election whenever he knows he’s going to
  That’s not fair

But here’s my question to advocates of fixed term parliaments: what is unfair, indeed undemocratic, about millions of voters going to the polls and expressing their desire to see the party in government returned for a further five years?