Would Nicola Stugeron be good for restoring a sense of equilibrium in the Labour Party? Or merely help to combat nausea?
For those who are wondering what unemployed political leaders might be up to -
Walesoncraic is an extraordinary website, but I don't know who runs it. A fun page on its site is entitled, 'What if famous Welsh people had had mobile phones back in the day' with entertaining texts from such legends as Dylan Thomas, Richard Burton, Gareth Edwards, JPR, and Owain Glyndwr...
http://www.walesoncraic.com/if-famous-welsh-people-had-mobile-phones/
But seriously for our friends and relatives across the sea, it has been a fascinating few days with a remarkable end result. It seems clear that the Labour dogma of class envy just did not appeal to a majority - because the majority of people are working hard to better their own lives. Ed Milliband's resignation speech indicated clearly that he had not thought this through, whereas Nick Clegg's resignation speech was full of thoughtful introspection. Even Farage's resignation speech was well thought out, though parenthetically you could here him saying, 'Look, that's enough of this caper, I'm off to the pub for a pint and a fag (that's a cigarette to you Americans).'
I do believe that people were terrified of what Labour would do to the economy, given their previous track record under Gordon Brown, and some if not all would have been aware that both Ed Balls (Shadow Chancellor) and Ed Milliband were key members of Gordon Brown's 'think tank' on economic matters.
Two more items, one poignant, but both of historical interest. Following a letter to the Daily Telegraph about a fighter pilot who took a teddy bear with him on all his missions in WWII, a plethora of spin off letters and the teddy bear went viral. But I noticed the following letter a few days later, which said more about life in general, I think:
Valiant Bear
SIR - I was interested to read about the teddy bear that accompanied a Battle of Britain pilot (report, April 21) as I too have a little bear, with my maiden name tape sewn on it, which I gave to my fiance to take with him on his operations over Germany during the Second World War. He was a Mosquito Night Fighter pilot and flew 50 ops accompanied by my bear, and together they won the DFC. We were married for 50 years but now, sadly, I just have the bear.
Jean Mellows
Dorking, Surrey
And this too is of historical interest, though perhaps in a different sense. It appeared in the Daily Telegraph on or about St George's Day (23rd April for those in other countries). A 'Sketch' from Michael Deacon:
Handy with a lance, that St George, but would he make it through immigration?
UKIP, it might not surprise you to learn, was the only party to hold press conference devoted entirely to the subject of St George's Day. As journalists entered the room, party officials were handing out red-and-white jester hats hung with tiny St George's crosses. Patrick O'Flynn and Peter Whittle, Ukip's two spokesmen on St George-related issues, sat at a table decorated with English flags. Journalists invited them to wear the jester hats, too. Somewhat unpatriotically they declined.
Ukip has pledged to make St George's Day a bank holiday in England and St David's Day a bank holiday in Wales (just as St Andrew's Day is in Scotland). St George, of course, was not himself an Englishman: he was born in what would now be Turkey. I asked whether Ukip would prevent St George from coming to live and work in England, or whether the party would consider him a skilled migrant.
"Well, I guess dragon-slaying is a skill," said Mr O'Flynn. "But whether it's one that is in short supply for the British economy would be a matter for our migration commission."
Not an unqualified welcome, then. Mr O'Flynn did add, however, that he wasn't "particularly hung up" about "where St George came from", which I hope Ukip's migration commission will take into account in its deliberations.
Over in Ramsgate, in the South Thanet seat he's contesting, Nigel Farage had arranged a celebratory drink at a working men's club. The bar was festooned with English flags; the tables had them as tablecloths; even the barmaid's baseball cap had a St George's cross on it.
Mr Farage, a red rose blooming from his buttonhole, sauntered behind the bar for the inevitable photos of him pulling a pint. Revelation of the day: he doesn't like Foster's. Odd. I though he wanted an Australian-style pints system.
He posed with an England flag, then a plastic England hat, then an apron with an England flag on it. He also complained that England "gets a rotten deal" compared with Scotland. "Our politicians are ashamed of the English flag, and they've appeased Scottish nationalism. The history of appeasement is, if you keep giving in, they only come back and ask for more!"
Wasn't the United Kingdom Independence Party in danger of morphing into the England Independence Party? "We're the only party with elected representation in all four corners of the UK!" he trumpeted.
"But here in Thanet we are certainly not ashamed to be English!" He then rolled up his jacket sleeve to reveal England flag cufflinks, and announced that he'd had roast beef for lunch and was having fish and chips for dinner.
Did he really mean to quit as Ukip leader if he loses in South Thanet? "Quit?" he cried. "I'll be gone in 10 minutes!" I have a strange suspicion that even the people who hate him would miss him.
As I said, of historical interest only, but great fun.
Finally, to interject a really mundane note, I hope to post some photos soon of our epic trip to Yorkshire last week, a county which is so different from Dorset that one can only wonder if where Nicola leads in Scotland, someone in a flat cap with a sheepdog (or to bring it right up to date - a sheepdog on a quad bike) will surely follow. Passports to get into the Yorkshire Dales? Don't whisper it too loudly...
