Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East and Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, has released a code of conduct for blogging civil servants. It reads:
1. Be credible
Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.
2. Be consistent
Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times.
3. Be responsive
When you gain insight, share it [...]

On Monday, Lovemore Matombo and Wellington Chibebe, respectively the President and General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions (ZCTU), will stand trial to face charges of ’spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state’. Those falsehoods are, in fact, criticisms they made on May Day of Mugabe’s government and telling the truth about the violence [...]

Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, says on her website1 that
“The figures released this morning by the DoH show that there is a 23 per cent increase in abortions in girls under 14.”
The figure for abortions for under-fourteens in 2006 and 2007 are 135 and 163 respectively (see Statistical Bulletin: Abortion Statistics, England and Wales [...]

The controvery around the expansion of Heathrow keeps on rumbling. There is no doubt that having a hub like Heathrow near London is a boon to the regional economy. Beyond the immediate benefits to employment, the multiplier effect is substantial. You cannot fly (for instance) from Bangui direct to Moscow. However, you can get from [...]

A couple of friends of mine have started blogs.
Shayaan is backpacking around South East Asia, starting in Kuala Lumpur, and his blog is at shayaanafsar.blogspot.com. Aled is the General Secretary of the LSE Students’ Union and very much involved in the Green Party - he ran for the GLA in the North East London constituency [...]

With apologies for the awful title, I have a post on Europe after the Irish referendum up at the Wardman Wire.
xD.

Alice said yes.
xD.

I was delighted to read that Iain Dale and his partner of thirteen years, John Simmons, are tying the knot. I hope everyone who reads this blog will join me in wishing them a long and happy marriage.
xD.

It is very rare for a politician to volunteer for an election. The risk calculus is pretty simple; even if the chances of you losing are minimal, the consequences for you are (at best) unemployment and the consequences for your party can be even worse.
So what to make of David Davis’ decision to resign his [...]

I’m in the process of registering with the ICO so I can use a computerised system with people’s details for work. The idea of data protection is a good one as it assumes privacy is desired unless there is a specific indication to the contrary. It is perfectly legal to share people’s data if they [...]