(no subject)

The bad news: the instability, the unemployment, the fear, the first trifling gains by demagogues-in-waiting—yes, this is how it started before. The slightly better news: the future is not written. The mainstream parties will have to work harder than once they would to counter the BNP ^[1], since attempts now to engage with its arguments will not be from the position of strength that they would have been five years ago, but:

(a) the party has actually taken fewer votes this time than it did back then, and

(b) as we have found before, by far the best defence against the BNP is allowing them to run their mouths off in public.

^[1] The National Front and Moss Bros: together at last!

(no subject)

When a goalkeeper killed two children in a car accident, I found it a little odd that it was reported on the BBC, among others, under the category of “SPORT”. Similarly, I’m not entirely persuaded that it can be classified as “POLITICS” when David Blunkett is trampled by a cow.