MI6/SIS Building Balconies?

As that we have had a new chief of MI6 I thought that I might muse on his future office.

Every time that I go to my girlfriend I cycle past the MI6/SIS building in Vauxhall and I wonder why it has so many balconies? You can see a brilliant picture here. Would you have to be mad to go out onto a balcony when you are a spy? (obviously I know it's not totally full of spy's). Imagine if you were Money Penny, a lovely secretary, going about your business, you walk out side to have a tea break and pop, someone has shot at you.

Did they do that to make the building look more approachable, or more imposing? Will the new head fancy his chances out on the roof tops?

My taking of the building is that is one of the most imposing buildings in London. Unlike the MI5 building, there is no pretence to blend into the background. One of the other reasons I love the building is that architecturally it was pushing the boundaries on the mid 90's. Very few of the other buildings of that time are quite so outrageous.

It also has a sense of Art Deco in it. That use of colour, the use of circles and vertical lines. Wonderful.

H/T: CoffeeHouse, Chris Larvin

Clunking Fist

Amazing!!

http://www.clunkingfist.co.uk/

PMQs Live Blog #pmq

Conclusion: Brown back to uninspiring usual pre-major dip. As usual never answered the question, and always answered with "Tory-Cuts". 6

Cameron: Good but not quite there. All the points showed how unfit GB is for PM, but didn't stick the knife in a turn it. No soundbite, and not enough fire in his belly. 7

Clegg: vey similar to Cameron, again no soundbite. 6.5

12:29 A question by a Conservative MP asking about whether the government has recieved any thing from McBride, Gordon said "I have not". Meaning that others in government have.

12:25 What a long whinded question about buying knifes and other object online.

12:24 Wonderful question about DoT compiling dossiers about anti-Heathrow expansion. And whether there was one on the MP in question. GB said had not heard about it. House murmered.

12:23 Tom Drake question about a constituent.

12:20 Ah the LibDems - Simple questions about bank regulation (darling this morning said they would not change regulation). GB answers with saying that they are going to.

12:17 Brilliant - DC lays out the link between policy and personality. It is very important.

12:14 DC moves on to whether the PM is straight with people, but he uses "you". GB answers with "it's not policy only personality" plonker

12:10 DC is calm and measured. GB is nervous and floundering.

12:06 DC Real terms cut. Asset sales? hmmm. GB just doesn't have the fact about Tory policy.

12:04 David Cameron (Con) (DC) nice jibe about Mr-10% ie opinion poll. Asking about real spending. Brown says he likes the talk on policy hmmm. Doesn't even answer question.

12:01 Dr Whitehead (L) Climate change and how we can stop it with cuts. Brown usual Tory-cuts.

12:00 Start! It is always very funny to see only cabinet members sitting on the back benches staring into space.

11:59 Waiting for Scottish Questions to End

11:42 BBC PMQs Live here

11:31 Don't forget that this is the Speaker's last outing

11:30 Order of today here. Likely people to be asked for questions.

11:25 BBC Parliament here, BBC News 24 here

11:20 Will be doing a live blog of PMQs

Speaker's Hustings

Here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8101121.stm

Swords have finally been drawn but will Labour grow up enough to debate?

Shadow Chancellor George Osbourne has finally laid down why labour have been so wrong about the line "Tory Cuts". In an article in the times (here). I was very pleased when I read this this morning. He has put it beautifully.

Let's just hope that he can do more.

Trooping the Colour: Live Blog

11:55 The timpani are on Shire horses.

11:49 Now the regimental tune. Didn't think they could do it but they they really have got sharper and crisper. (Scotts Guards have spacing of 3 buttons)

11:47 Commentator "Gordon Brown enjoying....." Didn't really look like it.

11:45 If you look very carefully you might be able to see the buttons the guardsmen have on their tunics. This is important. The different Foot Guards have different spacing. Irish Guards have groups of 4.

11:40 I forgot to mention that the young officer holding the colour willl have his uniform for today personallly taliored for him. Once he takes it of this evening it will be hung in a special room where all the uniforms of the colour bearers are hung.

11:38 When I was at school we would have to march past up to 25 abreast. They are double that, and all I can say is that is is very hard getting that straight line.

11:34 That was amazing. They are now 50 men wide. 

11:31 What they haven't said is that the young officer holding the colour is the youngest officer in the Irish Guards. Will probably only be 19.

11:28 The LtC is doing the backwards match. imaging doing that on a horse?

11:26 The trooping of the colour has started in slow time. The best part of it all. The colour will match through the ranks of the Guardsmen.

11:25 All the moves on the parade will be very sharp and crisp. This sometimes means that the momentum of say their leg moving will move the hole of their body. 

11:21 You could see that it was a young officer giving the commands to the colour. Whereas it would be a much older RSM (non-commissioned officer) supports him.

11:17 Very crisp drummer.

11:16 An interesting fact about the drummers is that they are both drummer and buglers. So they not only have to be able to ratatat but also toot toot toot. 

11:14 You can see that the drums are made by Premier, very good make.

11:12 The mass bands are marching in slow time. You can hear they are playing in  3. That is a huge massed band.

11:10 They talked about the beat setter. When I was at Pangbourne I was the beat setter in the band for 3 years. Very large responsibility, you do literally set the tempo. 

11:08 You can hear a the end of each song a double beat, this marks the end of each song.

11:06 Passing past the guns.

Only thought of it now.

Gutsy and stupid

Below is Tom Harris talking about what he said to Gordon Brown in the PLP meeting. Two points:

1. If he honestly things that Labour can win the next GE with just simply topping the head, stupid. It will help but winning is a longshot/forlorn hope.

2. He does have some guts and a backbone if he not only was able to tell GB in that meeting but to go in front of the cameras later saying he did so.

+++Miliband: "Johnson is the leading candidate"

Interview with Nick Robinson on Radio 4. Very interesting.

Are they alll stupid, liers or bad at politics?

A very interesting blog post from Hopi Sen (who I meant for the first time on the weekend helping out with Iain Dale's Election Broadcast - you can find the podcast here) where he talks about how bad the plotters - or lack of - have been. I think there has to be two additional arguments: stupidity and lying. 

So ministers are wheeled out to proclaim that it is all alright and that Labour can win the next election. That GB can lead GB through this all. They are either lying to us. Which obviously none of you will be surprised with. But it is this makes politicians look bad. If politicians can't even be frank about a situation that is obvious to all the rest of us, when can they ever be honest?

The other option is that they are stupid. Plain, simple and worryingly stupid. This is the option that I believe more reflects the truth. 

Also we have learnt that the Conservatives are amazing. (I'll try to find a link for that someday)

Would have been Egg on my face.

This got through Gmail's spam filter! I don't even have an Egg account! Someone will get Egg on their face if they do anything about this.





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When is a Cabinet Minister going to Cross the Rubicon?

When will Johnson or some other Cabinet Minister going to cross the Rubicon. It is wonderful to see Gordon Brown wanting to "stay on" and ruin the fortunes of the Labour party once and for all. Obviously he can't see that he is an election liability, which is what always happens if you don't have your finger to the political pulse. Cabinet Ministers know that he is one of the major reasons people are not going to be voting Labour.



Now speaking as a British subject I am not sure whether there is anyone at the top of the Labour Party that looks like they could be leader. I once thought David Miliband was the most likely to step up to the plate (if I was blogging then I would link to it) but he failed. And now there only looks like it could be Alan Johnson. He has been prostrating about being Holier Than Thou which I hope he is. All the others have either been totally di



I am Conservative. I never want Labour to do well. What I want is working Parliament. So I want Labour to be lead by the best person possible. Reason? Landslides don't make for good scrutiny of the Executive, and I know that if GB leads Labour into the next election they will be destroyed and we, the Conservatives, will have a (stupidly) big majority of over 150.



But what is that I hear you say, "if Labour have a good leader they might win the next election". I am 99% certain that the Conservatives will win the next election, (I'm an engineer - nothing is ever totally certain, even the sun might not rise tomorrow). So who they have as leader is a matter of damage limitation not winning or loosing.



So if Labour can get a leader with heavy Union sympathies who nevertheless is popular it will make for better legislation, better reputation for Parliament and eventually better for the country.

Is Johnson Holier Than Thou?

A screen grab of a previous page from Alan Johnson's Wiki page shows that he is a song writer! Maybe he is trying to say something? Especially with lyrics like this: 

"Before you judge me take a look at you

Can't you find something better to do
Point the finger, slow to understand
Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand"