The ThunderDragon

[I]n Glasgow East, [Labour] is presenting the former Conservative prime minister as a hate figure and accusing her government of “wrecking” the country. (The Telegraph)

How times change:

I am currently trapped in my office, since a “suspect package” has been handed in to the police station opposite - and the entire road outside has been blocked off.

The bomb squad is apparently on their way, and we have been warned to stay away from the windows.

Ooh, the excitement!

The Watford Observer article on what is going on is here.

UPDATE: All over now. Bit of an anti-climax, really.

Still, it made our day several notches more interesting!

Today the Labour Party is humiliated. The Henley by-election was an even worse result than Crewe and Nantwich. The results are as follows:

1. John Howell:  Conservatives, 19,796 (56.95%, +3.46%)
2. Stephen Kearney: Lib Dems, 9,680 (27.85%, +1.84%)
3. Mark Stevenson: Green, 1,321 (3.80%, +0.54%)
4. Timothy Rait: BNP, 1,243 (3.58%, -)
5. Richard McKenzie: Labour, 1,066 (3.07%, -11.68%)
6. Chris Adams: UKIP, 843 (2.43%, -0.07%)

There’s really only been one story in the news this week.

However, there’s more than enough bad news going round, so let’s look at something good instead. Parachuting Archbishops.

Not a phrase you’re likely to ever hear again, it must be said, but - as was well documented - The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, completed his parachute jump with the Red Devils (how did he cope with that analogy?) at the end of last week.

His target - raising at least £50,000 through sponsorship for the Afghanistan Trust that supports injured soldiers from Arghanistan.

A worthy cause, and I hope that he proves successful.

However, I heard a comment about the story asking quite an interesting question. Why did the Archbishop feel that he needed to jump out of a plan at 12,500ft to fundraise in this way?

Have you ever heard a conversation along the lines of:
“Would you like to donate to [charity]?”
“Sorry, no”
“How about if I jump out of plane? Sit in a bath-tub full of baked beans perhaps? What about if I run several miles?”
“Oh, of course I will - I didn’t think they were a worthy cause originally, but if you’re going to sit in a bath of baked beans, of course I’ll donate!”

We are quite a giving nation in the UK. We all like to give to charity where we can. This sometimes gets problematic - you can’t give to every charity that has a box in a shop, sends you a letter, or appeals on TV. Otherwise, you’d need to launch your own appeal as you’re starving and homeless. Different people can give different amounts - some that can’t give monetarily are prepared to give their time instead. See the recent volunteers week.

But, it’s so much easier to say “no” to a letter or an advert than it is to a fellow human being. Which is the flaw in sponsorship - if a friend wanders up to you with a sponsorship form asking you if you’ll donate to their sponsored walk, you almost feel obliged to give something - even if you can’t afford it.

I understand that in some offices things are getting too stupid. An “All Staff” e-mail is sent from Beryl in accounts. Beryl is taking part in a “wear a silly hat” day for the Tooting Bec Performing Farts Foundation [sic]. You’ve never met Beryl, as you work in sales, and have never heard of a Performing Farts Foundation. However, Beryl is asking if people will sponsor her, and a sponsorship form is available in the kitchen. You don’t really want to give - but what will other people think if your name isn’t on the list? Tight arse. Best give something then…

And then there’s the cost of putting some of these events on. In some cases, the costs come out of sponsorship fund - in other cases, they come out of the organisers own pocket. The latter case is preferable, of course, but how many more [whatevers] could have been saved if that money went directly to the charity?

I might be sounding like a mean old miser now, but I’m not against sponsorship. These occasional ideas do work well in promoting a charity and getting much needed publicity in many cases. The costs of running a sponsored whatever are often overwhelmed by the extra monies that come in as a result. Obviously, I do give to charity. But it’s a case of what I can, when I can.

I just get the feeling that sometimes these things are getting to overkill. So, don’t be offended if I ignore your e-mail asking me to go to a justgiving page. It’s just I’m being selective.

~ Asp

 

“Blah”

Well, the so-called Scottish “Government” does, anyway.

Not exactly a well-though-out and articulate response to a query about drug finds in prison. Or indeed to anything.

Nevertheless, it does bear quite some resemblence to most press releases from this Labour governemnt, though they do kinda go on a bit. Maybe “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…” instead?

And what can be the response to such an answer?

“D’oh”

Indeed.

So claims a Canadian writer, saying that English men are “repressed homosexuals, drunkards or woman haters” after her experiences. And so is making a television drama out of it.

Well, maybe, Leah McLaren, it is you that’s the problem. Either:

(a) you have terrible taste in men, or

(b) the good men just don’t like you.

Or both.

XKCD

Well, I was definitely wrong. This Crewe and Nantwich by-election does matter. Even though the Conservative vote share wasn’t 50% as Nick Robinson was suggesting, it was damn close at 49.5% - a majority [well, plurality] of 7,860 for Edward Timpson MP.

This is a result nearly twice that of what was needed for a “really good result“. A swing of 17.6% from Labour to the Conservatives. And this is the first by-election victory for the Conservatives in my lifetime.

But that’s enough triumphalism. Justin McKeating is right that:

Any Tory who thinks they are winning rather than Labour losing needs to stop jumping around and take a bit of breather…

This isn’t some massive ideological swing behind the ideas of the Tory party. It’s the political equivalent of the electorate switching to a new washing powder.

We must ensure that we do not get caught up in overt celebrations and act as if the next general election is in the bag. It isn’t, and won’t be. No matter what the polls say. Until the general election has been called, held, and every single vote has been counted and verified, we do not know what the result will be. Even if Mike Smithson of Political Betting is now calling a Conservative majority at the next general election.

If we start developing a smug satisfaction and act like we expect the get elected, the public will rightly tell us where to get off. We should allow ourselves a short and understated celebration - after all “for any Tory under the age of 45, success on such a scale is a sheer novelty” - but then get right back to work proving ourselves ready and able to take over and lead Britain back to greatness.

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