Only the Lib Dems can win any Euro seats at all

I'm assuming you've had your Lib Dem leaflet? Never let it be said that they are a party who found a vote winning strategy and discarded it too early. I refer, of course, to their infamous graphs.

Now, even under normal circumstances Lib Dem graphs can be, shall we say, ingenious with the truth when they have to be. They are dead keen to show that only the Lib Dems can win any particular election but it gets awkward if you don't actually have the figures to back it up. You have to start stretching the science a bit (like drawing a graph about a different area, different kind of election or one that doesn't even represent votes).

However, at these Euro elections they're taking their reputation for dirty maths to new heights. Either that or they don't understand how the elections work.

In 'Lewisham Central Ward Focus', for example, we are treated to bar graphs showing Labour at 26, Lib Dems 17, Greens 6 and Tories 3 with big arrows pointing at Greens and Tories saying "CAN'T WIN HERE"

This is intriguing for what is clearly labeled a Euro election leaflet. It proclaims that it's "Lib Dem or Labour round here" but the Greens will win at least one seat in London, the region people will be voting in, and the Tories will out poll the Lib Dems. So it makes you think what are these numbers? What have they to do with this election?

I'll tell you - they are the number of councilors on Lewisham council and they have nothing to do with this election at all. They appear to think the electorate are idiots, and will therefore vote for them.

So then let's look at the main Camden leaflet. It begins "Elections here in Holborn & St Pancras are always a close finish between your Lib Dem team and Gordon Brown's Labour Party." It then has some stats from the General election where "your Lib Dem team" fought Tony Blair's Labour Party.

Once again we have the big arrow pointing at the Tories saying "can't win here" which is why, they claim we should "Back the Lib Dem Team on June 4th." But not only can the Tories win seats in London it's inconceivable that they wont.

The Lib Dems are willfully using statistics from completely different kinds of elections and constituencies to give the appearance that a vote for other parties at this election is wasted when it blatantly isn't. No other party does this because they know, in the long term, serious voters will be put off by dodgy graphs.

I'm not the only person in London to notice this. They even do it in Scotland.

Now I know it's not the most Earth shattering revelation that a main stream political party might deceive the voters, assuming they are too thick to know what election they are voting in, but what on Earth do the activists think of it? They have to give these out knowing full well it's deceitful garbage. Don't they feel embarrassed when people pull them up on it? Don't any of them resent hawking sloppy merchandise?

When the Lib Dems first started using this tactic it was pretty effective but they've overused it and now loads of voters understand what they are up to, it certainly isn't just political nerds.

I mean, we're meant to trust their figures when it comes to budgets but just put aside their figures when they tell people any old bull shit on their election literature.

I had an email from a friend saying she'd had a leaflet in Cambridge telling her the Greens don't want the EU to do anything about climate change... ummm... if you're going to tell a lie go big I guess.

They then follow it up by saying Greens and Tories can't win here. Once again the Tories are likely to out poll everyone in the Eastern region. This sort of thing doesn't do them any favours to be honest.

A well placed, truthful bar chart can be a thing of wonder, but if you consistently use them to deceive the electorate surely the law of diminishing returns will apply because people see how the election result bears no relation to the claims made during the election. Unethical behaviour aside I suspect these graphs are a rod they've made for their own backs, and they seem utterly tied to the method no matter what the circumstances.

Weekending: next week we'll be celebrating

The weekend.

• Just recently came across this really interesting blog. Left Outside.
• Green councillor Amy Kennedy has also started blogging. Excellent!
  
• More sci-fi into reality. GM monkeys? No thanks.
• Rejected asylum seekers face torture in the Congo.
• Good interview with Peter Tatchell on the Third Estate.
  
• Frank Skinner asks whether Britain has political talent.
  
• Election geeks alert! Download and upload election leaflets of all parties here.
• You can also read Bob from Brockley's weekending.
  

Our video of the week comes from the awesome Red Army Choir. Who the hell are the guys with weird quiffs though? Bizarre. Mind you so much better than the Tatu version which, like so many Red Army to banal pop cross overs, is disappointing.

Prediction time!

It's that time in the campaign to make some predictions on how the votes are going to fall next Thursday.

To help us I've produced a handy chart. Here I've outlined the donations to the various parties in the first quarter of 2009 (Jan to March) and how it compares to the Greens.

Party	Donations	/ Green donations
Tories	£ 5,514,300	254.35
Labour	£ 2,904,996	133.99
Lib Dems	£ 1,492,769	68.85
UKIP	£ 462,949	21.35
Green	£ 21,680	1.00

I confidently predict that the Greens will get more than 1/254th of the Tory vote, 1/133th of the Labour vote, 1/68th of the Lib Dem vote and 1/21st of the UKIP vote - just see if we don't. In fact there's no doubt that we will. Now ballot for ballot that's value for money.

Whilst it's very satisfying to know the other parties have to pour money into their campaigns to compete with us but let's not make a virtue out of a necessity. A little extra cash might be handy as the odd leaflet and poster is useful at times like these. If you'd like to donate to the Greens you might like to visit here.

Today Camden tomorrow the world

If you thought that we'd seen the last of Georgia Gould then fear not. Last seen with the old New Labour top brass trying, and failing, to win the nomination for the Erith and Thamesmead Parliamentary seat you might have imagined that she would have stepped back for a moment to reflect.

But happy day Gould has secured a Labour nomination, proving you can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Of course, the nomination is for the Kentish Town ward on Camden council is a slightly less lofty aspiration but it may well be a more fitting place for a twenty three year old to set out on their political career, no matter how grand her parents may have been.

Let's hope that this election goes better for her than her teenage experiences. The extremely impressive Camden New Journal tells us that a friend recalls;

“When she was 15, she ran in the school’s mock general election with Alex Birtles, the daughter of Patricia Hewitt,” said one. “They had their Labour Party posters printed at Millbank, when everyone else was using clip art and felt tip. They still didn’t win because the Green Party candidates promised to legalise cannabis.”

Let me assure everyone that the cannabis policy is still for legalisation, but never the less best of luck with the election next year Georgia.

Mr Palin makes another treacherous journey

I've always been a fan of that nice Michael Palin so I was concerned when I heard that he'd undertaken another dangerous journey. Just because he's Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society now doesn't mean he's immune from trials and tribulations you know.

The thing is he went to speak at the Palestinian Festival of Literature (you can see their website here). Now you'd have though a festival of literature might not be a particularly dodgy place to visit but when the Israeli authorities have decided to shut it down it does rather up the odds.

Due to the presence of foreign notables the authorities seem to have taken a strangely half hearted approach to repressing the festival thus achieving the worst of all possible worlds. They've demonstrated a petty minded vindictiveness on the one hand but whilst they forced them to change venues, disrupted the festival and intimidated the attendees they didn't do enough to actually shut the gig down.

One eye witness wrote this to the Guardian;

I was at the opening of the Palestine literary festival in Jerusalem on Saturday night, when heavily armed police pushed their way into the midst of talks by Michael Palin, Deborah Moggach, and Henning Mankell, along with many of their readers from Palestine, Israel and elsewhere (Israel shuts Palestinian literary festival, 25 May). The police had come to close the festival down, and in another PR debacle of the type for which Israel is becoming famous, their clumsy actions drew far more attention to Israel's oppression of the Palestinians than if they'd allowed the event to continue.

The sight of the expelled participants and audience as we filed down East Jerusalem's main street, some people carrying dishes of canapes, to the new and hastily organised venue at the French Cultural Institute might have seemed merely odd or amusing. In fact, it was a vivid reminder of Israel's fear of anything which might suggest that Palestinians are as cultured, civilised and deserving of respect as their Israeli neighbours.

Karl Sabbagh

Mira Vogel has an interesting round up of some of the responses to the heavy handed approach to the festival, including a useful little YouTube video that gives a good feel of the atmosphere.

It was good to hear that everyone got out unscathed, if not unharrassed, and in particular Michael Palin who seemed in a positive frame of mind when he said;

"It's an example of the pen being mightier than the sword... We managed to say what we wanted to say... it's the reaffirmation of power of culture over the culture of power."

Dinosaurs hold their head up high

No, no - I'm not referring to Members of Parliament here - it will be some time before those dinosaurs can hold their heads up.

I am, in fact, referring to the big lizards from a long time ago. Yes, Norman Tebbit. No, sorry, I mean this story out today that the old idea that dinosaurs with long necks (like the diplodocus, the brachiosaurus and the apatosaurus) used to hold their necks out in front of them was incorrect.

I'd never thought about it before but it's obvious really. The amount of muscle power required to keep your head from sagging down when held out in front of you on a very long neck would be excessive to say the least. Far better to be like the giraffe and balance your neck and head vertically up from your body.

After all the long neck has a purpose - to reach high things for example - it isn't there to look good by making elegant swooping motions. I guess they'll have to remake one million years BC, otherwise it might be historically inaccurate.

We should embrace the break up of politics

I saw Esther Rantzen on Question Time a while back and was impressed by someone who was free to articulate what most people understand but respectable politicians find impossible to say. She came across like a solid, normal person with an admirable commitment to public service. That's head and shoulders above most of the politicians rattling round the House of Commons.

Whilst you certainly wouldn't want her running foreign policy or in charge of designing intricate legislation, hers is the kind of voice that could help ground Parliament with a more common sense, unspun approach. It seems to me a swathe of independent MPs would be an extremely healthy thing for democracy in this country.

The tribal loyalties of the voting blocks in Parliament are a barrier to genuine political debate. Whilst they gain their support through appealing to certain sets of aspirations the political behaviour of the parties is mediated through layers of whips, press officers, leader's speeches and backroom deals.

Those layers are specifically designed to iron out any idiosyncrasies that particular MPs have and to steel them against any pressure their constituents might put on them to vote the other way. The tight party system hinder supporters and the public having a direct say over their representatives and it should go.

Whilst I think that an injection of independents would be a very healthy thing I would prefer that many of those MPs were from community campaigns like Richard Taylor in Kiddeminister, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm not a fan of celebrity politics but if you get the odd one popping up here and there supporting a good cause I guess it's all to the good.

The core difficulty with Rantzen-ism is whether it's consistent with a politically coherent choice at the ballot box, and that's something that the most doctrinaire will have problems supporting. However, I personally find the need for ideological micro-managing to be highly over-rated and ineffective. The desire to insist that people speak and think exactly as you do stands in direct opposition to 'power to the people' no matter how radical you think your slogans are.

As part of the political mix a number of sensible, unwhipped independents could be a very good thing. Not that this has to be exclusively made up of those who are not members of political parties. Electing Adrian Ramsay in Norwich, Salma Yaqoob in Birmingham and John McDonnell in Hayes and Harlington would all be fantastic advances for grassroots politics even if each one of them is a committed supporter of their respective parties.

Building that movement for democratic change can't just be a movement for structural reforms, it needs to be a progressive rather than purely populist movement. Whilst Martin Bell was a thoroughly nice chap (if a bit lacking in the policy department) without some basic safeguards you could get lumbered with reactionaries and fools.

Over the next few months I suspect we'll see a ground swell of independents some of whom will be atrocious and some will be eminently supportable. Whilst those of us who are loyal supporters of particular parties might be resistant to this development I'd argue that we need to keep an open mind and be prepared to cooperate, compromise and support these candidates when appropriate.

The time's right for ethical politics

People forget politicians were not well respected before the expenses scandal. Much of the present rage isn't simply over a few liberties between friends but about a class of people that have been seen for years as privileged, out of touch and who have a casual disregard for the will of the people. The public don't see this as a one off but as the culmination of years of arrogance.

It probably feels like some horrendous tidal wave, or other natural disaster, to those MPs who are feeling the brunt of it but anyone who's been talking politics on the doorstep over the last couple of weeks will know that the public mood did not just appear over night and does not just involve expenses.

Most MPs are hard working, honest folk who vote for war and privatisation. Most people go into politics because they're passionate; about ideas, about making the world a better place, about hearing the sound of their own voice. It's certainly not a sure fire way to make a million and I doubt there are many politicians who've pursued politics for financial gain, that's just a side benefit.

But let's not pop those sainthoods in the post just yet.

Careerists

Whilst most activists are not in it for the cash (in fact activism costs money) let's not forget that politics, like the trade union movement, is polluted with careerists. Those who started out thinking that as they have to have a job it may at least be one that makes them feel like they're doing something worthwhile. Not evil in itself but this layer begins to develop very different interests to the rest of the movement they represent.

They begin to see the 'ordinary' supporter as something separate from themselves, something lower down the ladder. It becomes harder and harder to unpick their personal interests and those of the cause they work for until one day they stop even trying. Any political drift away from the party is brushed under the carpet in order not to jeopardise their position.

You can guarantee that Green Party members aren't careerists. Not because they are made of pure and holy stuff but because there are precious few jobs to be had, so anyone wanting to make a career out of politics gravitates to those places where there are more opportunities to make a living. That said Green politics is about ethics so you'd hope that the tendency to stuff your pockets the moment you're near the till isn't quite as strong.

The established parties, just like trade unions, have developed a deeply conservative infrastructure which serves a purpose but also forms habits that are undemocratic. They get used to making decisions behind closed doors for other people. They get used to seeing themselves as more important, more able to make those decisions until even the idea of accountability becomes offensive to them.

Of course the expenses system should be reformed, and it isn't that hard to work out how either. You won't be getting the same stories about MSPs or London Assembly members because they use a logical system where the opportunities for abuse are not so available. However, the core to the problem, the reason why people were so quick to anger, is that there is a lack of democracy and the fairest expenses system in the world won't address that. Democracy has to extend beyond the occasional tick in a box for someone to misrepresent us.

Democratic reform

For a start people need to feel represented. Their voices need to be heard. First past the post doesn't deliver this and that's why there's wide support for proportional representation, where minority views with support get heard. It also means the monolithic blocks get broken up and a more grown up politics ensues where people from different perspectives have to talk to one another and work together to get things done.

Whether the questions are war, privatisation, immigration or the climate the public are better placed to push for the politics they want under a proportional system and these ideas have a far better chance of influencing the outcome. Time servers are too comfortable to bother listening to the people and democratic reform can help keep them on track.

A two party system might have felt democratic during the post-war consensus but it's pretty clear that many right wingers don't feel represented by the Tories and that the Labour Party is no longer a place where everyone in the 'broad church' gets a go in the pulpit. We need more parties now because there are more political viewpoints that have a substantial following and are unrepresented by the main parties.

A movement for democratic change

We need a movement for democratic change that goes beyond addressing the kind of representative democracy we use. We need to promote ways to democratise society as a whole, not just how we elect those in the corridors of power. We should rethink what it means to be a citizen in a democracy.

Whether it's our workplaces, our communities or our political parties I think we should imprint the idea of democracy throughout society like words through a stick of rock. Is it really any wonder that in a country where the main parties have become less and less internally democratic that they have become more and more out of touch with the people at large?

We should have a say in every aspect of our lives no matter how much wealth we have, no matter how well placed in the bureaucracy we are. We can't rely on representatives to do this for us, no matter how charismatic they are on YouTube. A society where every citizen has a voice doesn't need brilliant leaders but it does rely on participation.

Those of us who argue for a more democratic society ought to be careful because the implications of this argument is that we all have a collective responsibility for the way society functions. If you want someone else to sort everything out for you go live in a dictatorship, if we want democracy we have to build it for ourselves - and that means work.

A couple more international broadcasts

The Irish and German broadcasts made me wonder about other Green election material from round the world. I've found these two from New Zealand and Canada, again both strong broadcasts that are very different from each other. Obviously these aren't for the European elections!

First from Canada;



And from New Zealand;

String him up?

As you can see David Lucas is a fine example of the master race. As a European Parliamentary candidate for the BNP in the Eastern Region his strong stance on law and order has been somewhat 'controversial' over the years.

He hit the headlines a while ago when he revealed he was manufacturing mobile gallows for use in peace loving democracies like Zimbabwe and Iran whose policies on hanging gay people and trade unionists are no doubt close to his heart. When criticised for his sale of execution equipment to totalitarian regimes he said that "business is business".

He told the Guardian at the time; "I'm not a horrible person. I believe in law and order. The production of gallows is for law and order, not for bad people to get hold of it. You can't pick up a set of gallows and go and shoot someone with it. Gallows can't fall into the wrong hands like knives or guns."

The man's a genius and he's absolutely right - you cannot shoot someone with a set of gallows. This fact is incontrovertible. However, Mr Lucas, you *are* a horrible person and if current evidence is anything to go by you *don't* believe in law and order either as, according to the East Anglian Daily Times, you've just been arrested for handling stolen goods.

What's the Sharia law punishment for that then?

Never mind David, your party still loves you and have decided that no matter what despicable or criminal acts you commit you're still one of the gang. It seems that the BNP's law and order agenda is more nuanced than it might first appear. Facilitating Sharia Law is just good business as is handling stolen goods.

Weekending: Are you tweeting too hard?

Hello, this is the weekend.

• Today we have a Carnival of Socialism at The Third Estate.
• I like Jacky Fleming. Just saying.
• Are you tweeting too hard?
• Vice Presidential candidate Nixon explains away some interesting money.
  
• Zombie fire ants the stuff of science fiction? Not one bit of it!

• South west London eco-village occupation... nice one.
• Check out New Zealand Greens podcast on embarrassing protest moments.
• To know him is to love him, Matt Hanley has just done his first interview. Good job.
• This week I had an article in the London Paper. You might like it.
• I'm one of Modernity's favourite bloggers. I take all compliments deserved and otherwise.
  

• Fifty/fifty representation for women in the European Parliament? We'll see.
  
• UKIP leader brags of how much he squeezes out of the gravy train.
• Tom Wise concurs that can make "shed loads as an MEP".
• Make votes count says PR can solve the complacency of MPs.
• There's a new site called re-select promoting the deselection of dodgy MPs.
• Gordon is putting together a wiki guide to the election. It's here feel free to add info.
• Listen up election nerds, you need the online D'Hondt calculator, yes you do.
  

Quote of the week from the exceptional Mark Steel;

Perhaps this is a result of a strain of dyslexia, in which the sufferer mixes up the word "sorry" with the word "caught". What they mean to say is: "I'm giving back some of the money because I feel truly, truly caught."

If you've not heard of Tom Lehrer do look him up, but as a taster here's one of his classics.

Libertas candidate stands down for Greens

Breaking news: It's not just Joanna Lumley who's backing the Greens. The North West's lead candidate for Libertas is standing down and supporting the Green Party's Peter Cranie for the win.

Ben Tallis, who is also the UK Policy director for Libertas, has decided to stand down for two very good reasons.

As a committed anti-racist he's decided that the battle to keep Nick Griffin out of the European Parliament has to take precedence over other concerns. That means backing the Greens.

Secondly, he'd become disturbed by some of the candidates in the Eastern European nations for the Libertas slate. Tallis has criticisms of the Lisbon treaty and EU structures, as do I, but is also a committed European and by no means sees himself as a Europhobe. However, he fears that some elements in Eastern Europe are distinctly dodgy, particularly about Jews and he felt, understandably, he could no longer lead the North West list for the organisation that makes great play of its pan-European nature.

Whilst Libertas are unlikely to make political waves here in the UK, especially now, they are a significant force in some parts of Europe - Ireland particularly - so it does matter what their politics are. Whilst there are some positive aspects to their platform (the criticism of Europe's institutions without feeling the need to blame the EU for everything, UKIP style) it is a deeply contradictory organisation.

Just a quick google search will show that for an organisation without borders they make an extraordinary number of comments on immigration, nor does there seem to be much coherence from one state to another, which is surprising given that the slates were essentially determined from the office of one wealthy businessman in Ireland.

Ben has taken a principled stand and withdrawn his candidature from the race and we sincerely thank him for his endorsement of Peter Cranie.

A couple of Euro-broadcasts from Europe

I thought you might be interested to see a couple of Euro-broadcasts from other Green Parties standing in Europe. You don't need to speak any other languages to get the full effect.

The first is for the North of Ireland where Steven Agnew, who seems like a lovely, softly spoken young man, is the lead candidate.



The broadcast is very environment orientated with even an animal protection bit (cue cute puppy). He delivers the Green New Deal jobs section very well and the use of the airplane was absolutely inspired.

This second one is from the German Greens and has a very different style.



A much slicker and funnier approach which focuses on the causes of the economic crisis. Lighter on policy than the Agnew's version although, as the Greens are represented on almost every council across the country, it's probably not as necessary.

Can a cola be "nutty"?

I thought it was my duty to try something "ethical". I know, I know it's a slippery slope. One moment you're drinking an ethical cola the next you've dedicated your life to helping one legged orphans, lost in a miasma of "do gooding".

However, my quest to explore every corner of the Cola world has brought me here - to Whole Earth's "Sparkling, delicious Cola".

It didn't begin well. Firstly it only comes in a can. In my book that's a shame. Secondly it proudly proclaims it's organic. An organic cola... Surely an oxymoron? In fact here is a list of the ingredients;

Carbonated Water, Organic Apple Juice from concentrate (18%), Organic Sugar, Organic Lemon Juice from concentrate (2%), Barley Malt Extract, Natural Flavourings, Cola Nut Extract

So, as you might imagine, it was with great trepidation I raised the tin to my lips, bracing myself for the self proclaimed "nutty" flavour. Completely unexpectedly it tasted like actual cola rather than bark or worms or twigs or something.

Then I realised something even more shocking. It was delicious!

I couldn't believe it, it was nutty, but in a good way. I know - crazy! In fact, I'd say this was the best Cola I've ever tasted. How extra-ordinary, it doesn't even have e-numbers in it.

Well, I say there are no e-numbers, but there must be - otherwise how come it's so nice? I expect they just aren't owning up to them. That must be it.

Other cola reviews:
Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, Marks and Sparks own brand.

How Peter Cranie could stop the fuhrer

Not sure how the voting system works? Not sure why the Greens say they are the main contenders against the BNP leader Nick Griffin? This short film will help;



Just as an example of the difference; whilst the BNP hate the Ghurkas, the Greens have been endorsed by Joanna Lumley. The choice is clear people.

The Independent: floundering but not out

It's no secret that the most left leaning mass circulation paper in the country has been in financial trouble for some time. It seems like they have a temporary reprieve from sale or receivership, which is good news, but they are not out of the woods yet.

Good journalism costs money and the Independent has been losing ground because it simply doesn't have the funds to be an A grade news source, even though its comment pages and general campaigning orientation are second to none.

I do feel loyal to the Independent as the only paper to take a firm stance on the Iraq War right from the beginning but even I can't justify buying it everyday. It just doesn't have the ability to cover the news properly and you can't survive on a diet of opinion, opinion and more opinion.

Personally, I think it would be a disaster if the Independent were to go under but if it can't sustain itself then what options are there?

It's worth remembering that the Sun was a left wing Labour supporting daily, the Daily Herald, before its sale and re branding in 1964 so there is no guarantee that if the paper is bailed out it would retain any of the old ethos. Just look at the Evening Standard who, under new ownership, are understandably trying to distance themselves from their divisive past behaviour.

The recession has hit newspapers particularly hard as they rely on advertising to survive and the Independent is not the only struggling publication. Local papers are fighting for their lives and as they tighten their belts they rely more and more on reprinting press releases as they just don't have the capacity to do consistent and thorough journalism on a shoestring.

For what it's worth I wish the Independent the best of luck getting through the current crisis and, if it is able to get back on its feet, I hope they're able to invest a little more in reporting the news to build on the excellent work they've produced over the last few years on limited resources.

Is radical change coming to Europe?

Whilst the political meltdown here seems more than likely to benefit the smaller parties, other nations across Europe are bracing themselves for seismic shifts in the political landscape. The European elections may well see some radical developments on the continent.

In Italy we will see the first serious political test of the parties since the Berlusconi victory which saw the far left and Green Party swept out of Parliament for the first time since the war. Berlusconi launched his new party earlier in the year with a fanfare but the government has disappointed many of its supporters, internal rivalry is disrupting its operations and Berlusconi's personal antics seem to have caught up with him at last. 

The weakness of the government, natural disasters and the economic situation are likely to provide the 'perfect' backdrop for a left wing comeback in June. In 2004 the Greens stood on their own slate winning 2 MEPs. At this election the Greens are standing as part of the "Left  and Freedom" alliance with a number of socialist parties and appear very confident. With Berlusconi's crisis and the directionless nature of the centre left they are likely to perform very well indeed, a moment that I hope will mean a return of the left's fighting spirit in Italy.

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In Germany Die Linke, a fusion of old Communists, left Social Democrats and assorted anti-capitalists will be seeking to entrench its astonishing success at the General Election by sending the maximum number of MEPs to Brussels. Old fashioned socialist politics is back on the agenda and with a rising tide of working class anger it seems that Die Linke is well placed to take advantage of the capitalist meltdown.

Certainly the Labour / Tory coalition government is unlikely to have won much support over this period of uncharacteristic economic instability. Whilst other radical voices on the left and right might be able to tap into the potential of this situation from a distance Die Linke seem to have been able to most deftly position themselves for the current climate.

----

In France the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) is set to reshape political geography and on its first electoral outing is expected to do extremely well. "One extraordinary opinion poll in March suggested that Besancenot [a leading figure in the NPA] was almost level-pegging with Sarkozy as the most credible politician in France. Asked who is most capable of changing things 38% choose the president and 35% Besancenot. The leader of the main opposition party, the Socialists, got 28%."

Whilst the NPA wont get 35% of the vote at the Euro elections it's likely that they will be bursting onto the political scene in an unprecedented manner. This wont simply be a question of some radical MEPs shaking things up a little, these are representatives of a grassroots movement that look set to make real waves in the context of rising militancy across France.

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Likewise in Portugal a resurgent left is likely to perform well. The Unitarian Democratic Coalition (the Greens and the Communist Party) won 7.6% of the vote at the last election and the Left Bloc received 6.4%. They are predicted to continue to improve their poll performance and between them may collect one in five of the votes cast for their radical, progressive alternatives. The Portuguese left is stepping up to today's daunting challenges.

----

Across Europe people are questioning 'politics as usual' and are beginning to look towards positive alternatives. In the UK whilst some will be looking backwards to UKIP, or even further right, polls are suggesting that the Greens are also picking up strong support from the anti-politics mood. 

If that momentum continues it will show that when the electorate turns its back on the main three parties it doesn't have to be a victory for the reactionary and the racist but can be a progressive choice for a more equitable world. 

Weekending: there's always time to vote

Here's this week's crop, in no particular order;

• Poll out today puts the Greens on 11%... 4 MEPs here we come?
• Cambridge-ites might like this gender symposium: oppression and revolution on Weds.
  
• You can watch the entirety of Land and Freedom free online. Great film.
• The Times tells us how to protest in style (fashion pages, tut).
  
• Good interview in Socialist Worker with fantasy writer China Miéville.
• In Red Pepper Brigg57 has some very cogent arguments against radical poetry.
  
• Ben reports on the ongoing battle in Brighton against Starbucks.
• You can look up local elections taking place near you here.
• UKIP vs Green video.
  
• Great coverage of Caroline Lucas in the Independent on Sunday.

Letter of the week goes to this one from Wednesday's Guardian.

Last summer, Conservative MP David Davis, the then shadow home secretary, resigned his parliamentary seat so he could fight for re-election to it on a platform of defending civil liberties. He won the resulting byelection. Davis is one of the Tory grandees exposed by the press, having claimed £10,000 on home renovations and furnishings, which include a portico at his Yorkshire home worth £5,700 (Cameron threatens to discipline MPs, 12 May). He's gone from pretending to defend liberties to taking them.

Sasha Simic
London

Finally, as this video makes clear, there's always time to vote.

Labour activists abstain from election

It's only a couple of weeks since Derek Draper was the most loathsome and corrupt individual in British politics. Oh how his Parliamentary colleagues must admire him to come to his aid in such a spectacular fashion. It's like a modern day Spartacus isn't it? "No - I am the most corrupt political figure!", "No, it is I!" Or something like that anyway.

In reflection of that my poll now only has Derek Draper in last place as Labour's biggest arse with 14%, votes which were almost all cast before the expenses scandal broke. Anti-immigration Phil Woolas attracted a mere 25% placing the terrible twins of James Purnell and Hazel Blears at the head of the poll at 32% and 38% respectively.

Blears made a late rush for top place after waving around a cheque for over thirteen grand and richly deserves her place as Labour's biggest arse. Congratulations.

The voters are angry

I've been working hard to ensure the Greens maximise their vote in the coming elections and I have to tell you the level of anger on the streets at the current crop of politicians is pretty fucking frightening. I had the angriest voter I've ever seen yesterday tell me he was voting Green because, and I quote, "All the others are BAAAASSTTAAARRRDDDSSS". I made a squeaking sound, thanked him and scuttled away.

One thing I've noticed is that Labour just isn't out. Not at all. I know the MPs aren't showing their faces, and I don't blame them, but it does seem to me that if Labour don't get their activists out campaigning there isn't much point in lecturing everyone else about how awful the BNP will be. At this rate they'll be completely wiped off the map.

Labour activists abstain from election

It got me thinking as to why they aren't out. Now they were starting from a fairly low level but you always saw someone around come election time - but this time they seem to be relying on freepost and the news. In the current climate that doesn't seem wise - at least at a local level there must be some decent Labour councillors who could do their bit to shore up the Labour vote. It might be they don't want to.

Maybe they want to lose. A bad result might mean a Brown abdication and so one way an activist might help this along is to sit back during the election. If Labour members want Brown to go it makes sense that they should help the party to a bad result come June. That seems harsh, but it could be a factor.

Labour may well be saving money. All non essential spending has to be saved for the General Election so perhaps they think losing MEPs is a price worth paying. The coffers are empty (or rather are in massive debt) so it could well be that there has been a national decision to stand back from the Euros. Certainly the election broadcast had some of the lowest production values I'd ever seen.

Perhaps they're scared. If Labour activists are spotted in the street perhaps they fear they'll be attacked. They might even have some justification for this. You have to be pretty brave to step out the door with a Labour rosette on these days I'd have thought.

Maybe they are ashamed of their party. They could well be demoralised and there is no reason why they shouldn't be as angry as everyone else. Under these circumstances I suspect many will leave Labour and certainly in the short term not be bothered with turning out a vote for a party so at odds with public opinion.

It is with this in mind I'm launching my new poll - where are all the Labour activists? Top right hand corner, get voting people!

Review: Francis the Holy Jester

I've not been to many premiers of plays by Nobel Prize winning writers on the life and times of medieval saints. Not many at all. But then Dario Fo is no ordinary playwright and Francis of Assisi was no ordinary Saint.

Last night I took myself down to the Italian Cultural Institute to see the first public performance in English of "Francis the Holy Jester" and I have to say it was superb. Translated and performed by long time Fo collaborator, Mario Pirovano, we were treated to a classic mix of history, passion and laughter.

Pirovano's performance was energising, taking on, as he did, the parts of Francis, wolves, peasants and Popes with equal gusto. His relentless humour was infectious and the ad libs and asides well genuinely affecting.

Dario Fo's play gently paints Francis as a simple man who founded the first anti-war movement and who pioneered environmental thinking which led to his status as patron saint of animals. The play makes a convincing case and, as a confirmed cynic, I found myself unexpectedly inspired by the idea of this man who confronted authority in the cause of peace and against social injustice.

One episode sees Francis undergoing trials and tribulations trying to gain audience with the Pope in order to be "allowed" to preach the gospel in the language of the people, including the provincial languages. His hilarious encounter with Innocent III (the Warrior Pope) dressed in rags and covered with dung emphasises the authoritarian power of the church and their fear of the people.

There are dates around various parts of the country and I'd recommend seeing this very modern history lesson. When Francis tells us that "in order to get people to listen, you must talk to the animals" he says more about the power of allegory when inspiring political ideas than a hundred tomes by much respected radical academics.

Tourism is anti-development

Your friend and mine Tony Blair has been arguing that tourism is the way out of Sierra Leone's troubles. Mr Blair wrote in the Guardian that;

"economic collapse and a decade-long civil war drove tourists away – many to neighbouring Gambia which now attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year, mostly Europeans in search of winter sun.

"But the fundamentals that made Sierra Leone an attractive destination remain strong: unspoilt beaches, beautiful tropical islands, world-class fishing and diving, and a rich cultural and historical legacy linked to its role in the slave trade and beyond."

The day after Aminatta Forna disagreed. She points out that;

On Blair's last few trips to the country he has never left the airport... But it is the madness of how modern aid is distributed and prioritised that, despite the billions spent by the international community, the country's infrastructure remains scarcely improved.

In 30 years every new leader - be they dictator or democratically elected president - has promised the economic miracle of tourism, the quick fix. It hasn't happened yet. For the Gambia, a small strip of country with few natural resources, tourism offered the only choice. Forget diamonds - Sierra Leone, with rich agricultural soils, has a better choice. Once a rice-exporting country, it is now a rice-importing country. Investment in agriculture is long-term, sustainable, and would benefit the entire country.

But nothing can happen without a working infrastructure.

Quite. For real development you need a real economy, but there's a deeper issue here about how tourism effects nations in the developing world. It creates an economic and political apartheid.

In many countries it creates entire swathes of a nation where the poor cannot go. Sometimes the poor are simply priced out by a parallel economic system, sometimes they are literally barred from entry by force. Tourism can also create an economic distortion that actually shifts people away from the long term work of building an economy that benefits everyone. As I wrote in January 2008;

"If people in the local area see that they can, potentially, make five times as much engaging in tourism rather than, say, agriculture or manufacturing the simple truth is that you are encouraging that area to develop the least sustainable, least useful part of their economy. Your friendly tour guide has made a very rational choice to try to groom tourists rather than doing something that might actually help build up long term resources."

In order to create safe zones for Westerners an overt militarisation takes place to keep out those whose living standards fall well below that of the wealthy visitors. The corrupting influence of corporations entrenches a staggering inequality.

A new resort in Sierra Leone would require helicopters priced highly enough to exclude 98% of Leoneans. A resort would mean beaches "unspoilt" by Africans, Hotels where the only locals in sight are taking out the bins and turning down the beds. Lastly it requires walls. High walls well manned with armed guards so that one patch of Sierra Leone excludes Africans just as surely as Fortress Europe and the USA.

Health care, electricity and policing are all improved for the tourists. But this comes to the detriment of improvements for the poor. I'm certainly not opposed to tourists per se, we should all have the opportunity travel, but I am opposed to gearing a poor economy towards prostituting itself to the Global North.

It makes sense to Blair who appreciates the benefits that living in a pampered parallel universe brings. For the millions living in grinding poverty tourism offers nothing because it closes off opportunities rather than creates them. Building infrastructure, economic regeneration and democracy has to be done for the benefit of all the people.

Civil war in Pakistan's Piochar Valley

The Pakistan army has launched a renewed offensive in order to dislodge the hold of the Taliban in Swat's Piochar valley. The news is tucked away in the back pages of most papers but the scale of the offensive seems immense.

General Abbas was reported as saying “The troops have surrounded the terrorist camps and are closing in on the militants’ command centre... Our main strategy is to block the free movement of the militants and eliminate the entire leadership.”

As things stand over 750 militants have been killed and 800,000 civilians have been displaced. This figure is expected to rise to over a million. That's an extraordinary humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes, if the West was looking that is.

The offensive had also sparked riots in a number of areas across Pakistan and, I'll be honest, I'm pessimistic about this strategy which is likely to cause far more human suffering than it solves and does nothing to unite an all too divided region.

It's true that the areas controlled by the Taliban are not lands of milk and honey, quite the reverse, but how many times do we have to try bombing people into happiness before we realise it never works. Whether this can even succeed as a military strategy against an experienced guerrilla force also seems to be dubious.

The BBC have a useful interactive map to help understand some of the detail of the conflict.

Lib Dems limp on expenses

I'm not sure what's happened to the Lib Dems this election. I've barely seen them at all. Even their election broadcast was just a watered down version of the Tory one. At least the expenses scandal is their opportunity to shine so it was with eager anticipation I opened my paper today to see what joys awaited.

Whilst we had Hazel Blears cheerily waving around a cheque for over thirteen grand, paying us back for the tax avoidance she'd just been caught in the act of (why gee, how generous) gaining valuable column inches in the process, the Liberal Democrats total saga isn't even enough to wrap your chips in on day one.

What we have got is Lembit Opik paying back £40. £40! The man's stepped out with weather and cheeky girls, surely he should be hiring teams of Egyptian labourers to constantly dig moats and then fill them in again.

Chris Huhne bought some dusters for his pergola. I don't even know what a pergola is but I do know it's exactly the sort of thing I expect a Lib Dem to buy dusters for. What next - an inappropriate packet of polos?

Mind you Menzies Campbell bought a king size bed. I bet he did the dirty bugger, but the thought that his London home should have a bed in it is hardly scandalous. I mean his constituency is way up in Scotland so we can't expect a man his age to go without sleep entirely can we? Just give him a cardboard box and he can make himself comfortable.

Only their leader, Nick Clegg, has anything approaching the requisite trousering we've come to expect. Where's the grandeur of the claims for tennis courts and chandeliers? Where's the otherwordliness where you are so "brainy" that you need to pay someone to screw your light bulbs in for you?

Do you know what I think? I think Liberal MPs have an inferiority complex, so they don't think they deserve the luxuries that Tory and Labour politicians have been lavishing on themselves.

Michael Gove's wife, Sarah Vine author of 'Walking Backwards in High Heels', has a column actively bragging about her spending. She told us in January "Like it or not, shopping is part of our cultural DNA: we can no more resist the urge to spend than we can the need to eat, clothe ourselves or tap our toes to Dancing Queen."

Where is the yellow equivalent? Julia Goldsworthy's rocking chair? Hardly, she didn't even charge for the slippers and Horlicks that went with it.

Whilst people might welcome an end to the never ending hand wringing I think it shows a distinct lack of character on the part of Lib Dems. Just another opportunity they've missed I guess.

Darren Johnson on MPs expenses

I thought this was a good letter from London Assembly Member Darren Johnson on the current car crash over MP's expenses, so I thought I'd highlight it here.

Dear Editor,

The MPs' expenses debacle has really undermined the public's faith in the political process and in politicians. And I can't say I blame people for losing faith. As a councillor and London Assembly Member I have always been used to operating under ultra-strict rules about what we can and can't claim for. So I'm utterly appalled at what many MPs have been allowed to get away with.

With elections to the European Parliament coming up on June 4th I am sure many people are wondering whether it's worth bothering to vote at all. But that worries me. If the turnout is really low it makes it easier for the BNP to win a seat. So to decent people who cannot bear the thought of voting Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem this time, I urge them to think about voting Green. Not only will this help Jean Lambert, London's Green Party MEP, get re-elected it is also a positive vote for the future.

As we said in our election broadcast - if you don't want things to continue as they are, if you think fairness, integrity and the environment belong in politics then think about voting Green.

Cllr. Darren Johnson AM
Green Party Member of the London Assembly

Salma Yaqoob endorses West Midlands Greens

Cllr Salma Yaqoob, a leading voice in the Respect coalition, endorses West Midlands Green candidate Felicity Norman.

I think this endorsement, coupled with our adverts in Asian News and The Voice pointing to the excellent Stop Nick Griffin site, is really important in terms of mobilising those who might otherwise have stayed at home with Euro-apathy.

More exciting news!

The excellent Craig Murray has come out in support of the Eastern Region's Rupert Read saying;

"out of the whole country, in the Euro elections I would vote for Rupert Read in the Eastern Region of England. Rupert is an honest and hard working man with a passionate concern for the environment and for the quality of life in this country. He sees the need for a society not motivated solely by greed. He is that rare thing in modern politics - somebody who wants to serve, not to rule."

People might also be interested in this statement from George Galloway endorsing Peter Cranie.

Interview: Colin Fox

Today is the launch of the Scottish Socialist Party's Euro campaign Make Greed History. I thought this would be a good moment to interview their lead candidate, Colin Fox.

1. What do you think are the main problems facing Scotland today?

Like everyone else Scotland faces a very severe economic collapse given the dominance of the financial sector up here. Edinburgh for example is Europe's fifth biggest financial centre after London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan when measured by equity under management. The collapse of RBS and HBOS is obviously a hammer blow to the Scottish economy and there is a sense that when the full impact is finally felt tens of thousands of jobs will go.

So the main issues are economic and social - unemployment, severe cuts in public expenditure, industrial turbulence poverty and inequality. Labour's proposed privatisation of Royal Mail is hugely here. Public ownership is still popular and fiercely defended.

2. Could you explain a little more about the SSP's current slogan Make Greed History?

In contesting the European Parliament elections we looked at the worst recession in 80 years and its causes. We recognised a remarkably widespread mood of anger at the bankers and the bankers parties seeking to make working families pay for their crisis via job losses, public spending cuts and higher taxes.

There is widespread belief that the economic collapse has been precipitated by a greedy banking elite with its huge profits, obscene bonus culture and outlandish pensions who passed on 'toxic debts'.

We wanted a slogan and campaign which encapsulated the attitude and the assurance this could not happen again. Mindful of the huge Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh in 2005 which galvanised that developing political mood we have put this demand at the centre of our Euro campaign and established a website and plan of attack on the essence of neo liberalism.

3. The SSP is for Scottish Independence. Why do you feel this is an important issue?

The SSP has been in favour of an independent socialist Scotland since our inception ten years ago. We believe that working people in Scotland will be economically, socially, politically and culturally better off if able to control all our revenues and all our own decision making. It is clear to us that if this were the case then Scotland would be a radically different country from the one we live in today. There is no doubt whatsoever that an Independent Scotland would not have sent troops to Iraq or Afghanistan, would not have nuclear weapons stationed on the Clyde, would not have entertained the privatisation of our hospitals and schools and, since a majority here are in favour of a modern democratic republic, we would not have the Queen as our head of state either.

The desire for independence will take on added impetus if, as seems likely, the Tories win the next Westminster election. It was a similar 'democratic deficit' in the 1980's with Scotland ruled by a Tory party all but wiped out up here that led to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

The Parliament is now universally seen to have insufficient powers - even the Tories here agreed with that - and the mood here will react badly to a Cameron victory.
At the same time the neo liberal SNP are set to drop their promise of a referendum on the issue next year fearing it would be defeated. They are probably right but the truth is they have done nothing to promote independence and persuade a majority of working people they would be better off. In fact the SNP's problem goes deeper still as they have been rather undermined by the banking crisis and their years of cheerleading for the greedy reckless Scottish bankers who have near wrecked the economy.

4. Specifically what role can members of the European Parliament play on these issues?

Members of the European Parliament can use the platform the elected position affords them to speak up for working people on many, many issues. Scotland has had no one to do so at this level for an awful long time, if ever.

There has been an interesting debate here in the past few weeks on the European Working Time Directive. One of our two Scots Labour MEP's broke ranks with his party's dreadful line that upholds the British opt out 'protecting workers rights to work more than a maximum 48 hours a week'. David Martin MEP said he agrees with the Directive and workers in Britain should be afforded its protection.

Even die hard political activists would be hard pushed to name Scotland's current 7 MEP's. On June 4th that reduces to six 'invisibles'. If the SSP won an MEP on June 4th the whole world would know about it and we'd ensure they'd not forget it for 5 years!

5. From your experience as a Member of the Scottish Parliament what is the main lesson you've learned about representative democracy?

The SSP has learned the hard way that it is extremely difficult to get your political opinion heard effectively when you do not have elected representatives.

In 2003 we got 6 MSP's elected and we used the positions to establish the party as a household name. Since 2007 we have had to work very hard to assure people we still exist such has been the lack of coverage we get in the mainstream media.

I learned as an MSP that you have to judge very carefully how much time is spent in Parliament, in Committee and in the 'belly of the beast' as it were. You are just as effective outside building up political strength and influence in the streets, communities and workplaces. That is after all where your vote comes from at election time.

I also learned the importance of the body of work you leave behind. The SSP received many reluctant complements from the new SNP administration at Holyrood. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The SNP picked up all our Bills in 2007; the abolition of the Council tax, abolition of NHS prescription charges and the introduction of free school meals.

Finally, in the current febrile atmosphere over Westminster MP's expense abuses, it is especially important the SSP can point to an honourable and unique record - Members of Parliament who gave money back! The SSP's 'Workers MSP's lived on Workers Wages' for ten years. I gave back £1,300 every month from of my wages for 4 years.

6. If you could achieve one thing through your current campaign (other than getting elected!) what would it be?

One thing I hope to see emerge from our campaign is an emboldened spirit of resistance to neo liberalism.

It has been heart warming to see factory occupations in Belfast, Waterford and Dundee. It has been equally inspiring to hear parents in Glasgow tell how they occupied their children's schools to prevent the Labour local authority from closing them. And I was engrossed by the speech Mark Lyon, the Unite convener at Grangemouth oil refinery, gave at this years Edinburgh May day rally about the Lindsey dispute and the wildcat action which spread throughout out Britain's engineering construction industry earlier this year in defence of jobs and conditions. We saw power stations, oil refineries and several other powerful, industrial sites come to a standstill through trades union militancy.

And lets not forget the resistance to privatisation. I am working closely with the postal workers in Edinburgh combating Labours sell off of Royal Mail and I look forward to its defeat.

So I hope the SSP campaign emboldens that developing spirit of resistance still further after all it has been a long time coming.

Thanks very much for for that Colin!

Readers might also be interested in reading an earlier interview with the Green candidate Elaine Morrison, and I should also point out that there is a new Euro election 09 tag.

Whilst the squabbling continues...

Here is a picture of the Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia. On the left we see it in 1996 and on the right is what it looks like today.

This glacier used to be the world's highest ski run. No longer.

Alas, the problem extends beyond the ability of the rich and famous to ponce about with sticks tied to their feet. It also means that indigenous peoples who've lived there since before the Aztecs are running out of water which means they are running out of time, running out of life.

I'd quite like to see the politicians in this country begin addressing some pressing global issues with a little more alacrity. Alternatively we can keep wranging over their pay packets. Arguing about why some unknown MP charged £4.60 to the tax payer for dog food is going to get us annoyed, but it doesn't get us very far unfortunately.

We can't trust a sty full of pigs to focus on political issues over how full their troughs are. Perhaps we ought to replace them with politicians of principle and no, I don't mean UKIP. That's for the short term, in the longer term we really need to start addressing how we improve our democracy and whether the representative model is up to the job.

Stopped clock right twice a day shocker

It had to happen in the end. Norman Tebbit has called for a vote for the Green Party in order to punish the larger parties for their poor performance. I thought it would take a few more years of patient hard work but I knew he'd come round in the end.

Some people might argue that when Tebbit calls on people to vote for one of the smaller parties he's making a coded appeal for rightwing nationalist scumbags, but I can see through the smokescreen and I'm certain he's advocating a green vote.

"What I am advising people is to show the major parties that it is the electors who are masters and the electors are extremely upset with their employees in the House of Commons and I said don't vote for the major parties."

You see? Couldn't be plainer!

If this throw back to the eighties can support us I wonder who'll be next? Boy George? The team behind Miami Vice? JR?

Some might argue that the support of a demented rottweiler is not necessarily what green politics needs right now, and they're probably right. So sorry Norm, but you'll have to throw your lot in with Socialist Labour, I'm sure Scargill will welcome you with open arms.

For your viewing pleasure

As we're talking party election broadcasts I thought I'd do a quick review of those available online right now (an idea sparked by Joseph in the comments thread). I've linked to them all so you can judge for yourselves, and it's kind of nice to have them collected all in one place too.

Firstly Labour.

Truly, truly dismal. Three minutes of Gordon Brown droning on about something or other. A few shots showing what close friends he is with Obama and then he kind of lurches at you at the end grinning like a buffoon.

High point: Who knows? Lost in the droning monotone.
Low point: Brown's desperate lunge towards the voters.

Secondly the Conservatives.

Slicker than a Brylcreemed weasel on his way to an indecent proposal - far better production values and coherence than Labour's effort. Extraordinary selling points include "Yes, we'll keep tuition fees" and "No, I won't sort out your son's schooling". Actually I think that will play rather well despite the villainy behind the politics of it all.

High point: Jaunty pace. Cameron does some expert pointing.
Low point: Attempts to appear in touch with yoof culture.

Now the Liberal Democrats

Professor Clegg lectures an extremely board, silent schoolroom. For something billed as a conversation it's extremely one sided, I'd call it the Clegg monologue. In many ways it's a carbon copy of the Tory broadcast, just not as good. Town hall meetings, but no fizz. Serious pointing, but unconvincing to say the least. Does have more ethnic representation though.

High point: The beginning has pace and looks like the start of a great broadcast.
Low point: Clegg lecturing people who look like they've been there for hours.

What about UKIP?

One message repeated endlessly, hypnotically reinforced with large letters looming out of the mist. Europe costs us £40 million, £40 million, £40 million, £40 million - get it? Interesting interview with an EU bureaucrat standing for Europe to "go back and sort them out" which may go down well with some.

High point: They know their audience and play to them well.
Low point: The constant lies really.

Then there's the SNP

Starts out with Salmond as the trendy teacher sitting on the edge of the desk giving us a friendly chat, which works reasonably well. It then inexplicably transmutes into a bizarre metaphor about politics as a game of keepy uppy. Very Scottish weather.

High point: Salmond reassures us with numbers.
Low point: Do they really want us to associate them with football in the cold and sleet?

Last but not least there's Plaid

I'm really torn on this one. It has a bleak and dark feeling to it. It vividly paints a picture of a miserable nation - but maybe that will play well in Wales? It's very humane and I liked the scale of it, but simultaneously it did feel like it was locked in the last century (the ambiance not the policies). The political equivalent of Diazepam or the kindly hug of a well meaning uncle.

High point: A real sense of rootedness.
Low point: Not many laughs in it.

As an aside. Love the intro music when you enter the Plaid site. Very crystal healing.

I've already highlighted the Greens, so I wont do so again (but I liked it).