Gavin’s Gaily Gigest

The BBC’s Nick Robinson, not usually known for major howlers, has dropped the ball somewhat on the Government’s proposals to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days:
"Unlike on the 10p tax, the PM knows that the public is, largely, on his side on this one."

Err… is this the same public that said in a recent opinion […]

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The new edition of Politalks, your weekly satirical news roundup, is here. This week we discuss Labour’s obsession with controlling every aspect of our lives, alongside a less-than-healthy obsession with Jacqui Smith:

Feel free to share and share alike, and for those who are interested, here’s the transcript:
Jacqui Smith and her knee-covering breasts were out in […]

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In a move that surprises precisely no-one, government lackey Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair has been giving evidence to a House of Commons committee today in support of the answer to life, the universe and everything extended detention without charge:
“We have reached a point where at 28 days we feel sooner or later - and […]

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Gordon Brown mouthpiece cheerleader Jackie Ashley, writing in today’s Guardian, implores Government MPs to think of what matters most when deciding how to vote on the 10p tax rate abolition and 42 day detention without charge. Not the country’s best interests based on a cost-benefit analysis or evidence supported argument, but the Labour Party:
"Discipline under […]

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This has slipped out, pretty much unnoticed. Nick Gargan, Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police, has been giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and has indicated that MPs should not expect to be exempt from having their conversations recorded when they visit constituents in prison (as happened to Labour MP Sadiq Khan […]

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AC Grayling on The Guardian’s Comment is Free makes a decent attempt at dispelling the age-old myth perpetuated mostly by supporters of the DNA database / ID cards: “If you’ve got nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear”:
“The assumption behind the “if you have nothing to hide” claim is that the authorities will […]

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For those of you still clinging to the idea that control orders work, read the account of Cerie Bullivant, a British convert to Islam placed under such an order, seemingly due merely to the associations he had with others:
“The only time I have ever been close to suicide is since they put me on these […]

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Listen to the show:

 

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Alistair Darling’s first Budget and Balls’ outburst.

Jacqui Smith announces how ID Cards will roll out (watch Taking Liberties!) and Dizzy’s critique.

Clegg wants to cut the slash the number of MPs following his weekend conference speech.

Tories lose another MP.

Mixed polls for all the parties.

If […]

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The new edition of Politalks, your weekly satirical news roundup, is here. This week we discuss Labour’s treatment of Nineteen Eighty Four and Margaret Thatcher’s non-death:

Feel free to share and share alike, and for those who are interested, here’s the transcript:
Nineteen Eighty Four tells the story of Winston Smith, a man trapped in a totalitarian […]

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Oh god. Via the BBC:
"Non-EU migrants, baggage handlers and students will be the first to receive identity cards, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will announce later.
Ms Smith will tell the Commons that foreign national workers from outside the European Union will be the first to be issued with cards this year. In 2009, cards will […]

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