rlBit of a battle going on in Barkingrl

Well, it is Alistair Campbell!

I dont follow politics,but what a very good thread to read.To all the posters keep up the good work.

If it was made compulsory those who it's targetting wouldn't want to do it.

as long as we fatties have the right to smash your face in for such sizeist statements...

all's fair in love and food!

am i joking??? must be, cos i've read the AUP

I AM

Vote UKIP: Same policies as the BNP, but you won't get branded a racist.

Billy Bragg/Red Wedge typifies champagne socialism.

By the way does he still live on the A13 or does he have a huge pileup in the West Country?

"Don't pay more than £5.99 for this album". OK Billy I won't.

PS - I'd love to see whether his income as an artist is accounted for as self employed with NI or whether it's via a Limited Company and dividends and corporation tax.

I was going to buy it, but I decided not to after finding out he cut out all the juicy bits so as not to embarass Brown, when it's re-released I will get it

Heseltine's autobiography is a good read, I could reccomend you quite a few books but they are mostly for/by tories!

A lot of political memoirs are good reads. Unlike sports autobiographies, they wait until their career is over, and they take time over them and write them themselves rather than being rushed out by ghost writers.

The best and most readable IMO is John Major: The Autobiography.

Nigel Lawson: The View from No. 11, and Thatcher: The Downing Street Years are good reads but a bit more technical ie there are parts which go into detail about the economics which might bore you if you just want a general read, Major's book is good bedtime reading.

A good book if you are interested in economics is The Chancellors Tales, edited by Howard Davies, this has a chapter each from Denis Healey, Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Norman Lamont and Ken Clarke about their time as Chancellor, some of the accounts are quite witty (Lamont/Clarke) but also explain what was the thinking behind the various decisons taken at each time.

Overall probably my main book recommendation for someone with a general interest in finding out more about British politics is The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders since 1945, by Peter Hennesy, this has a chapter profiling each PM up till Blair (no doubt there will be a revised edition out soon including Brown). That's written well and because Hennesy has been a political writer for donkeys years he is very well connected, and has loads of quotes from "anonymous Cabinet ministers" about the various PMs. He also has a section about rating them in a Premier League of Prime Ministers.

Thanks for the great reccomendations, I will add them to my reading list

I wonder if Helen Southworth will publish her memoirs? Cant see it being a very long book...

Not Tony Benn, Sally?

rlLabour Party Manifestorl

Some good ideas in there, spoiled by Chapter 5 which puts Crime and Immigration together. Talk about doing the BNP's work for them.

It would be wrong not to examine the links. Of course crime was committed well before the huge increase in immigration since the 1950's but a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by the population with recent overseas heritage, especially gun crime and stabbings.

I see that Rugby League gets a mention.