Nick Clegg

They're laughing now,but later?
"Are we nearly there"? The cry of the bored traveller who has not kept alert on the journey, disappointed to be still on the train but not at the destination. When Nick Clegg, with an almost child-like approach, asked us to say which laws we wanted him to magic away he had not been more then half awake.

Perhaps like a child on the way to the seaside he had nodded off, lulled by the motion, and had dreamt all was well. Poor man! His plan was for us to direct our attention to the pettiness of government, he would do the rest. What happened was that many people, well aware a lot of government is awful, said they were more than happy to let this stand, for a while. But what they would really like would be for large chunks of legislation that have come from the EU to be removed first. Clegg, as an ex-MEP, had only himself to blame for this pratfall. Is this the sort of mistake the Deputy PM should be making?

However, the devoted EU supporter is always of the opinion that the UK public is further on than 'nearly there' when it comes to the EU. They like to think that 'the journey', the act of acceptance, is over. We have arrived and we are all so happy with out lot.

William Hague, or some journalists on his behalf, tried something similar.

Old joke?
The Icelandic volcano spewing forth ash has done its bit to derail Blairism. Tony Blair is unable to fly to London to promote his book or help on the election trail. The London Book Fair is badly hit by the ash cloud and we can imagine the publicity for Blair at this event might have been used by the living saint as a platform for a bit of glad-handing in key marginals. This however, would not have suited Harriet Harman. The Times tell us that-

With the election in the state it is, have you seen many posters, had a canvasser at your door? You would have thought that Nulabour would have been only too pleased for Blair to put up a show and liven things up. Indeed the Times also tells us -

Let's hope that Nulabour HQ are not banking on this event as Blair has lost so much credibility he could be more trouble than he's worth.

Cameron and friend
Today Glenrothes seeped into our world. For, following the death of the sitting Labour MP, John MacDougall, the Glenrothes' constituency will have a by-election anytime in the near future. But where is Glenrothes? Well look for the county of Fife on the map, Glenrothes is roughly in the middle. Also, when is 'anytime in the near future?' Well that is the part of the problem, for the the real question is which side of the Labour Party Conference to hold the by-election? So another trip-wire is already strung out for both poor old Gordon Brown and the Labour Party. If the party does badly need he fall too?