…was the little matter of PMQs. There was a slight set-to over the election for Mayor of London. Emily Thornberry, the MP for Islington South, asked the PM about transport in London; his answer highlighted Boris Johnson’s failure of accounting over conductors:
Bus usage in London is at its highest level since 1965. In other words, [...]

Raymond Horne (not, as the Daily Mirror insists on calling him, Raymond Thorne) is to be deported from Australia on his release from prison in a couple of weeks. Horne is a paedophile; I would venture that if he is still a ‘clear and present danger’, it might be best for him to remain in [...]

A press release has come from Boris Johnson about the buses. This great, analytical missive runs:
Responding to London’s Transport Commissioner, who today stated that buses in London are safe, Conservative Candidate for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
“So City Hall says buses are safe places? You tell that to the people who have to travel [...]

The Official Secrets Act is not to protect secrets; it is to protect officials.
-Jobs for the Boys, Yes Minister.
Tom Watson has been musing about civil service bloggers following the Civil Serf incident. He has come up with some thoughts but, before I list them, it’s worth repeating that these are thoughts, not a statement of [...]

I was able to interview Ken Livingstone this morning following the launch of his transport manifesto. Unfortunately, announcements kept coming over the tannoy, hence the odd cutting and jumping.Dave Hill also spoke with Ken, and his interview is available here along with thoughts on the Mayor’s transport manifesto here. There is more on [...]

As we all now know, Nick Clegg will not be joining a Conservative or Labour government. His speech at his party’s conference was unequivocal:
Will I ever join a Conservative government? No.
Will I ever join a Labour government? No.
He’s starting to sound like Iain Paisley. Unfortunately, like the good doctor, he’s a slippery wee thing. You [...]

Viktor Bout has finally been not only caught but arrested. There is plenty of background on Viktor Bout - probably the world’s leading arms trafficker - on the Yorkshire Ranter’s blog. According to the UN, he has illegally shipped arms to Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Congo-Brazzaville, [...]

As has been reported in the press, an art auction raised some considerable funds for Ken Livingstone, not least because a Banksy went for £195,000. I bought a piece by STOT21stCplanB for the rather less princely sum of £200; I may post a photo because I rather like it. Just next to the Aquarium L-13 [...]

Ewan Watt asks me what I think about military uniforms being worn in public by service personnel and, more particularly, the instruction to troops of a RAF station commander not to wear uniform in town. Remarkably, this issue has affected me; at school, we weren’t allowed to wear CCF uniforms in the minibus if [...]

A recurring theme of late is honesty in politics or, rather, the lack thereof. Politicians want to appear as straight-talking but frequently are not. Three things have struck me on this today.
Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London. As the Evening Standard reports, he has said that the Underground is the most [...]