Liberal Burblings

Archive for June, 2010

The Usual Suspects have today been getting hot under the collar about the absolute certainty that the EU is going to ban the sale of eggs in dozens. We’ll have to have them in 1.923 kgs packs in future. Man the ramparts! Pull up the drawbridge! It’s an outrage! An attack on the British way of life! Bring on the photo of a bulldog in a Union Jack waistcoat!

Blimey. Is it really worth getting hot and bothered about this? It’s not going to happen. It never does. I’ve gone back to the original story in the Grocer magazine about the passage of EU Food Labelling legislation. There has been an exemption (enjoyed by all countries in the EU) to nominate goods to be sold by number rather than weight. The exemption has been dropped from the legislation as it goes through the EU Parliament.

As it stands, worst case, from what I can read, the egg industry will still be able to sell eggs in boxes of a dozen or half a dozen, but they won’t be able to write ”12 eggs” or “6 eggs” on the boxes. They’ll have to write the weights instead. 

However, I then dive down to the bottom of the story in the Grocer and read a bit not repeated by other publications such as the Telegraph:

“…When food industry lobbyists tried to rectify the omission with an amendment, after it was discovered in the 174 pages of amendments to the initial 75-page proposal, there was not enough time to convince members of its importance before the crucial vote”, …added (Gordon Polson, Director of the Federation of Bakers).

…But with a second reading still to come, the BRC (British Retail Consortium) spokesman…(said): “There is still time for this to be changed. We are pushing hard.”

-As will be all the other countries. So in other words, this is not going to happen. So why does it consume the anger of the right wing media today?

They appear to be pandering to a national inferiority complex.

Hang loose and chill out, say I.

By the way, I loved this comment from the Grocer’s editor:

The scary thing is this legislation was the EU’s attempt to simplify and rationalise labelling systems. Instead it’s created a monster, with several unattractive heads. The Daily Mail is going to have a field day.

…A prediction which proved to be spot-on.

There was a bit of tweetycuffs on the #blognation front earlier today when James Graham made an excellent point:

Sorry ppl were offended by me pointing that LDs form the fulcrum of politics atm, but its a fact ppl we all have to deal with

We always have to deal with the centre of gravity in politics – for years LDs had to put up with the fact it lay in Labour

In a funny sort of way, that point – that the LibDems are very much forming the fulcium of British politics at the moment, is underlined by Martin Rowson’s cartoons in the Guardian. We’ve waited decades to be lampooned like that! – Simon Hughes as Jiminy Cricket! Hilarious! 

Forming a substantial counterweight to the cartoon in the Guardian this morning, was a very mature and sensible leading article called “Liberal Democrats – Growing Pains”:

…the past seven days in politics…can be seen as a tough lesson in the realities of coalition politics that everyone who favours a fairer electoral system is going to have to get used to. No single party can ever deliver everything its supporters want and nor can a coalition: the best it can aim to do is to deliver as much as it can of its programme while conceding as little as possible of what offends against its principles.

…while historians point to Liberals’ past unhappy experience of coalition, it has never before produced the prize that Mr Clegg now has within his grasp: constitutional reform that would include a change in the voting system that will end the automatic dominance of one of two main parties. The long-term reward of a more transparent and accountable political system and one, moreover, that will make sharing power a commonplace is the prize that has to be weighed against the pain of a regressive budget. Judging from reports of rising membership and contributors to websites like Lib Dem Voice, this is the interpretation of many of the party’s activists. Like estranged lovers, Labour and Lib Dem supporters each angrily blame the other side. But beneath the jibes, the political culture is beginning to change.

I mean. We’ve bitten our pride and gone into this coalition for the good of the country. We’ve put up with a budget which made pillocks like Redwood gleam and kicked the poor. Do we now have to have the Prat from Peasemore – Mr Cameron - turning up at our conference and patronising us?!

It’s adding insult to injury!

No! No! No! No!

Allow us some dignity – pul-lease!

…A bit of a cultural diary for the week.

* Our local Sainsburys are now stocking a wonderful selection of bottled beer. To go with the hot weather, I bought a few bottles of Bath Ales’ Golden Hare. I must say it is a superb beer for the summer. A light, golden brew but with a full slate of flavours.

I notice that this particular brewery has set a number of hares running. As well as the Golden one, they have Dark, Wild and Rare Hares as well.

* I have belatedly realised that I can hook up with friends on Spotify in order to try other people’s playlists. This is a delight. I had found it rather tedious to create Spotify playlists from scratch but now I just try other people’s, as well as sharing mine. It’s opened up a whole new world.

* I was very moved by a recent Red Cross TV advert which showed a little girl who died choking on a grape. It’s based on a real incident, and features an actress playing the little girl speaking ‘from beyond the grave’, saying “There were adults there. I knew I was safe – they would know what to do”. Unfortunately they didn’t and the girl died – which, of course, she might have done even if someone had administered first aid.

Well, this advert affected me very deeply. I immediately went to www.sja.org.uk and booked myself on a one day first aid course which I completed this week. It’s amazing what can be packed into a day. I did attain a St Johns ambulance certificate for First Aid about 35 years ago, so this was a timely updating! In fact, quite a lot has changed. For example, in the old days, I remember you began heart massage with one huge blow to the chest and the objective seemed to be to try to get the heart going again. Now, there is no huge blow, it’s just 30 press downs at the speed of “Nellie the Elephant” (100 per minute) and then two blows, then 30-2-30-2 etc ’til professional help arrives. – The objective being to keep the blood moving.

* During the week we wanted to watch some telly together as a family but there was nothing on and we had nothing the right length recorded. So we had a play with iPlayer and found something called “Blessed“. We gave it a whirl. It turned out to be a delightful family film with James Nesbitt as a stockbroker who loses his family, then becomes a lighthouse keeper and finds little girl in a wrecked boat. He eventually adopts the little girl (mind you, Social services didn’t appear to be much in evidence) and buys the island with the lighthouse after it is automated. It really was an enchanting and heart-warming film.

 * My objective for the next week is to persuade my bank manager to lend me £3.5 million so I can buy this – my boyhood dream!

From the Guardian:

Support for Nick Clegg is holding up among Liberal Democrat MPs at the end of the most difficult week for the coalition after the budget heralded a freeze in child benefit and a VAT increase from next year.

A Guardian survey of Lib Dem MPs found unease about some of the harsh measures, but also consensus that tough action needs to be taken to tackle the record fiscal deficit and agreement that Labour is in no position to offer lectures.

Well, in the list of “101 uses for a Lembit” this certainly comes high up.