Monday, December 24, 2007

Eight for 2008

Tony Benn has a piece on OPEN HOUSE where he says what he'd like to see in 2008. It's a predictable lefty wish list. I thought I'd start one of those Blog Memes called EIGHT FOR 2008. Here are mine. In 2008 I'd like to see...

1. The Campaign for an English Parliament step up a gear
2. Dominic Grieve in the Shadow Cabinet
3. Audi let me have my long awaited A5
4. West Ham qualify for Europe
5. The Politico get as many readers as this blog
6. The Conservatives win a by-election in a marginal seat
7. Me score a sub 85 round of golf
8. My new book delivered to the publishers on time

I now put the curse on these ten blogs to repeat the exercise... Dizzy, Caroline Hunt, Ben Brogan, Bob Piper, Jonathan Calder, James Graham, Kiwiblog, Cranmer, The Devil, Norfolk Blogger. Please all nominate five further blogs to do this...

21 comments:

  1. For what it's worth, here's mine!
    1- Conservatives to be more pro-English.
    2- Politicians/media to stop confusing England with 'Britain'.
    3- Liberal Democrats set up party HQ in Soho. Or Clapham Common.
    4- Alex Salmond to continue to make mincemeat of Labour and the Libbies here in Scotland.
    5- The Irish to vote 'NO' in their EU Constitution referendum.
    6- Criminal charges bought upon Harriet Harman, Wendy Alexander and 'Lord' Levy.
    7- Gordon Brown to slip to even grater depths in the polls.
    8- Tom Watson MP to bring out a 'pie' range- especially pork pies!

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  2. 1. The Liberal Democrats become more 'liberal' and less like a social democratic party - and for them to start to work with the Tories, instead of against them!

    2. For Gordon Brown to continue his extremely successful premiership, and for his poll ratings to comtinue to plumet accordingly.

    3. For Labour to lose a by-election in a marginal - preferably coming fourth behind Respect/UKIP

    4. For Plod to look seriously at charging someone in the Labour party over dodgy finances

    5. For Cameron to really start hitting home on taxation, Nanny stateism, England/Scottland issues, Europe and the consti-treaty, public services, and the state of our armed forces.

    6. For the Shaddow Cabinet to up their game, and William Habgue appointed Dep. Party leader

    7. Nadine Dorries to get a higher profile role

    8. For Barack Obama and Rudi to get the respective nominations!

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  3. Dominic Grieve may talk a lot of sense and deserve a shadow cabinet place, but his manner is very off putting. Too patronising.

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  4. 1.Scottish people to stop telling the English they don't want an English Parliament.
    2.A referendum on an English Parliament.
    3.Anti regional assembly Conservatives to withdraw from regional assemblies now.
    4.All monies filched from English council taxpayers to pay for unwanted assemblies to be re-imbursed.
    5.English cancer victims to be given the drugs they need to stay alive regardless of cost.
    6.The Telegraph to stop its stupid britishness campaign.
    7.David Cameron to stop calling us names everytime he goes to Scotland.
    8.England's Cross of St George to fly over Westminster.

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  5. Do I need to patronise someone who can't break 85?

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  6. 1. No more lists on blogs
    2. An end to surveys
    3. More original thinking on blogs
    4. Fewer references to other people's blogs

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  7. His Grace shall be pleased to do this, but is having a day off tomorrow.

    Bless you.

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  8. I hope that 2008 sees an end to these boring, self-regarding, pointless tag memes.

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  9. West Ham to be relegated.
    Manchester United to be second to Arsenal.

    And far more importantly.
    No new Laws to be introduced without 2 old ones being repealed.

    Then MPs would get the salary they deserved and the HOC could sit 3 days a week.

    Happy Christmas.

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  10. Don't care if you post this or not Iain, I know its off topic, but I hope you and your partner have a nice day tomorrow, and good luck in the new year.

    Merry Christmas and happy new year from me.

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  11. 1. Labour in the wilderness.
    2. Labour in the wilderness.
    3. Labour in the wilderness.
    4. ditto
    5. ditto
    6. ..

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  12. Fair expectations. I think most of that list will come to fruition. But West Ham in Europe ?? Typical Tory fantasist.......

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  13. 1. A celebration, not of narrow "Englishness" (whatever that is), but of pride in being British.

    2. A recognition that in the 21st Century. we will stand or fall by the extent of our commitment to a modern Europe in which Brits play a full part.

    3. The start of the realignment of the Left which will see Labour and LibDems unite to dispose of the common enemy once and for all.

    4. The return of Gordon Brown's self confidence in such a way as his principles will be seen to be real in contrast with Cameron's arrogant opportunism.

    5. The end of the Tories superficial veneer ("hug a hoodie" et al) and their subsequent marginalisation as a serious force for progress in Britain.

    6. The media to realise that sleaze is alive and well in the Conservative Party and Ashcroft to join Black in Jail.

    7. The disappearance (at last) of the Balfour tendency in the Conservative Party and the return of Cameron, Johnson and co. to their homelands in the killing fields of the grouse moors.

    8. Charles Moore to stop being a prat and buy a TV licence for his London flat.

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  14. You can solve the round-in-85 problem in two ways.
    1) New Labour: define a "round" as consisting of 14 holes.
    2) Bill Clinton: cheat.

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  15. Ah, those nice chaps at the Audi UK press office gave us an A5 3.0 TDI Quattro a few months ago and I can recommmend it as a driving machine. It's noticable less heavy around the nose.
    Don't care for the over-illuminated dash and the odd swadge line down the side, though.

    best wishes, an Autocar staffer

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  16. Sterling abolished, as UK adopts the euro at parity.

    Not a wish, just an inevitability.

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  17. I'll second number two!

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  18. Number 1 could be more easily achieved with someone running, for instance, one of the top political blogs in the UK giving the CEP a bit more exposure. Or even giving the CEP a free ad on a blog advertising network they might happen to have a share of.

    Just hypothesising you understand ... ;o)

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  19. English Parliament seems the main one.

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  20. My “wish list” is as follows:-

    1) An end to “blind faith” in science e.g. acceptance of all dogma about global warming and the idea that low copy number DNA analysis is infallible (now partially discredited).

    2) A realisation that an increasingly elderly population will need decent pensions in future and that the politicians might as well make provision for those now because demographics will force them to do that anyway.

    3) A realistic view of the effect of the probable fragmentation of the United Kingdom i.e. goodbye U.K. international influence and hello E.U. permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council.

    4) An end to speculation about the late Princess Diana. After the inquest let her “Rest in Peace”.

    5) An end to the belief that western liberal democracy has triumphed and we ca complacently “bask in glory”. We have all forgotten that the fastest growing economy belongs to a communist state and that we are competing with that state for global mineral resources.

    6) An end to the belief that passing more laws makes us more secure.

    7) A realisation that computer and I.T. technology is actually in its infancy and that huge government computer schemes are deemed to fail for a little while longer.

    8) An end to “consultations” and “reviews” which are actually “orders” and “diktats”.

    Sadly, I must say that No. 4 is the least likely to happen.

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  21. Progressive Paddy and His kin to foxtrot back to Ireland 10 x over butto add binary would confirm the point.

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