Good Old Steve Bell

There's something I thought I would never write !

However I have recently been following a lot of the cartoonists in the mainstream quality newspapers (Times, Telegraph, Guardian and Independent) and have been coming to realise the power of them as a means of expression.

The one below is simply brilliant, not to mention tragic and saddening. Good old Steve Bell- there I go again !

The great Daniel Hannan

Thank you to my blogging friend Joanie, who brought this speech to my attention from the other side of the Atlantic. Maybe a case of a prophet being without honour in his own country.....

I have heard Daniel Hannan speak in the past in Kent and he is a rare breed, someone unafraid to take a lonely path or court controversey in pursuit of what he believes in.

He has really become the man of the hour at a time when Britain seems to be becoming buried in its own debt. Daniel Hannan has undoubted gifts as an orator and he offers hope of a challenge to the status quo. If only he could assume a greater role in his party.

He is great in this speech and it is no surprise it has become a youtube hit with over a million views (comparing very favourably to the usual number of views his speeches get as a Conservative MEP for South East England !) . I encourage anyone who has not seen it, to watch it. It is in the European Parliament and Gordon Brown, despite only being shown once, is present and is the intended audience !

They don't make them like they used to.....

Listen to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher speaking on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War.

Although nearly 17 years into retirement, her speech (for Forces Radio) sounds both considered and passionate in a way few politicians sound like today. She even chooses to touch on the conflicts in the world today.

Margaret Thatcher Speech on 25th Anniversary of Falklands
Uploaded by mikerouse

Whatever your politics, it seems there are few politicians that have come close to the calibre of Margaret Thatcher to this day.

Party Animals

It is a bit late to call this a new series but I still recommend it. "Party Animals", coming from the makers of "This Life" portrays the lives lead by those at the "sharp end" of contemporary British politics- researchers, political assistants and lobbyists.

It is a cross party programme in that both Labour and Conservative workers are represented. As well as the superficial differences in origin and motivation between the two sets of party workers, the most obvious detail is the many similarities between the two sides and how closely they interact in the Westminster Village. As political reality eats away at their original idealism the two camps become more and more alike although they'd rather die than admit this.

Highlights for me include Patrick Baladi (also of "the Office") who plays the incredibly sleazy (and realistic) shadow cabinet minister James Northcote and Shelley Conn who plays the "tick all the right boxes" new Tory candidate Ashika Chandiramani .

The series is now in the middle of a by-election campaign in a traditional Labour seat that pits Ashika against a dinosaur old Labour party candidate. Labour's only hope is Scott Foster who is drafted in to "manage" the dinosaur. The only complication is that Labour Party Scott is romantically linked with Tory Ashika when she is not involved with the disreputable Northcote.

As someone who has spent sometime on the edges of the British political world at a few conferences as well as campaigning in by-elections and general elections, I think this seems quite a realistic portray of British Politics in general. The current climate of a rejuvinated, if slightly insincere ,Tory Party making headway against a tired Labour Party is the particular backdrop for this series.

Worth a watch at least once- Wednesdays BBC2 9pm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/partyanimals/

"Tory boys" are yesterday's news. Meet "Tory babe" Ashika who is seeking to inflict a by-election defeat on an old Labour dinosaur