I’ll be doing the paper review on Sky News tonight at 11.30.  I wonder, will the Liberal Democrats be in tomorrow’s papers?  Probably not… bless. 

A friend Simon Maynard recently alerted me to a new website he’s set up called BePolitics, a non-partisan hub of politically commentary that affords anyone the opportunity to get involved:

"BePolitics is an online political community that allows you to reach and interact with people throughout the country.  Have an opinion?  Then write an article and we promise to publish it.  After that it’s for everyone else to tell you what they think.  Guaranteed readership, guaranteed feedback.  But be careful, you’re probably guaranteed criticism too!

Young or old, rich or poor, right or left, marmite lover or hater, we don’t care.  You can write about anything, from how best to help the developing world to how best to organise rubbish collections on your street. Because politics is both of those things and more.

Gone are the days when you can complain that no one will listen, because BePolitics offers you the opportunity to reach, well, everyone.  They’re already out there telling their story, sharing and shaping opinions."

Check it out:

For good reason the latest Policy Exchange report has provoked quite a bit of discussion (I guess that’s what happens when you essentially argue that there’s little hope for regeneration in the North).  However, Iain Dale made an interesting point with regard The Sun’s response to the report:

"One thing I was most amused by in The Sun was the short editorial spluttering by their Whitehall editor, the extremely affable Dave Wooding. Dave defends his home city of Liverpool and attacks the report for suggesting that Liverpool is anything other than the most wonderful place on the planet to live. I always find it amusing that Liverpool’s greatest fans seem to be people who have done just what the Policy Exchange reports suggests - and moved away."

It’s difficult to find fault with Iain’s point (although as one of those who move away from the place of their birth I’d like the record to state I’m a bigger fan of England than Northern Ireland), and it also hits on key aspect of the whole issue, an aspect that applies to any number of places outside London; the brain drain.  I remember sitting in a talk at secondary school about the problem of the brain drain in Northern Ireland and reflecting that I was going to be one of the people who fell into the category of those who move away to take advantage of the better options available elsewhere. 

And the same was true for most of my friends.  Whatever way you cut it, there’s more money in London. 

But the simple fact of people departing the place of their birth to find a better options elsewhere does not consign the place of their birth to death.  The simple fact is that any area in the UK can be regenerated if the right economic policies are pursued, and in part that means giving local areas more control over their own destinies, allowing them to compete with other areas to create the most business friendly environment, and ultimately it means acknowledging that local problems need local solutions, not nationally driven regeneration projects. 

Oh, and if you think Liverpool is dying a death, I suggest you take a look at the number of graduates from the universities who choose to stay in the city rather than move on to pastures new. 

Here’s the clip from Sky.com/News last night:

If you’re not too keen on Monday mornings then I highly recommend starting your week with a trip to the Total Politics web comic (by the ever amusing Hoby).  This morning’s strip particularly tickled me:

I’ll be doing the movers on the Sky.com/news show at 7.30 this evening.  I’ve just had a quick look through some of the stories being discussed, and as ever it promises to be rather amusing! 

If you’re not near a TV you can watch the show online by going to the Sky News website and clicking on the show’s link from 7.30. 

In the interests of full disclosure I am currently sailing down the Thames dressed as a pirate.

Doesn’t everyone do that on a Friday evening?
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The capacity for so-called experts to state the obvious as if it were some kind of mind-altering revelation has never ceased to amaze me.  What’s even more amazing though is their apparent capacity to state the obvious with such unyielding regularity.  Today though, it would seem it was the turn of the Prince’s Trust to raise the bar for experts everywhere.  Apparently, and make sure you’re sitting down for this one, young people join gangs in part because of a lack of role models in their lives. 

But as if that little nugget of gold weren’t enough, we’re also told that the formation of gangs is at its heart an attempt by young people to create alternate communities.  As Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Trust, puts it:

"All the threads that hold a community together - a common identity, role models, a sense of safety - were given by young people as motivations to join gangs,"

Wow, mystery solved. 

Whatever else you think about her, I think it’s fair to say this is pretty damn funny:

Oh dear, it would appear Michael Gove’s tirade against magazines like Nuts and Zoo were a larger misjudgment than originally thought (and in fairness I originally thought it was quite a large misjudgment).  You’ll remember Gove said the following:

“Titles such as Nuts and Zoo paint a picture of women as permanently, lasciviously, uncomplicatedly available.  We should ask those who make profits out of reveling in, or encouraging, selfish irresponsibility among young men what they think they’re doing.”

Well, what exactly does Mr Gove think he’s doing?  You see, Nuts TV gave his constituency office £2,000; which looks very much to me like a profit…

[Hat Tip: Guido]