Randomly Selected Article or Link

One last post on this, not because I care, but because I report "news" in this instance...

It was to be expected I suppose that the events of the past few days would be mentioned in Vince Cable's talk at the Oxford East constituency dinner this evening, and he didn't disappoint.

So for all of those out that are talking of splits in the party and and bad feeling, his message was quite clear.

There are no splits. We are (except perhaps for me) the most united party on the whole issue of Europe. There were differences of opinion over tactics; whether abstaining was going back on a manifesto promise, or rather whether abstaining specifically on the treaty rather than the constitution was going back on such a promise. Some people took that position. Those who resigned the front bench before voting did so with good grace and no rancour towards Nick or anyone else.

He did seem to me to suggest, but I'm sure not say explicitly, that the regrets are over the events of the last couple of weeks as a whole. The profile that by implication Nick has given to this one issue. For me of course, I think that's just the new boy not quite realizing in time he was being set up by the Tory Euro-shambles to take the fall for their own irresponsibility on the issue. And perhaps a regret that Nick was backed into a position in which he felt it was right to make it a three line whip issue.

Cameron has not faced such a media backlash for his massive rebellion because although it was a front bench position to abstain from Bill Cash's amendment, he had not insisted on whipping it - but the rebellion was larger than ours and shows up the Tory incoherence on Europe.

The parliamentary party are only too aware that they have caused headlines for the wrong reasons and are apologetic for that. But todays newspapers...

...and households on average incomes will be able to afford to get on the housing ladder again:

From the Guardian House prices suffer biggest fall in 5 years as mini-boom stalls:

Rupert Jones and Angela Balakrishnan
Friday July 7, 2006
The Guardian

House prices fell by their largest monthly amount for almost six years in June, lopping £2,200 off the value of an average home, according to Britain's largest mortgage lender.

The 1.2% decline reported by the Halifax yesterday was blamed in part on householders feeling the pinch from higher utility bills and fears that interest rates were set to rise. The distractions of the World Cup are also likely to have caused what may be a temporary lull in buyer interest.

But there's another interesting factor at work in here:

"Substantial increases in utility bills and above-inflation council tax rises are putting pressure on householders' finances, with the majority of the impact of these increases yet to be felt," said Mr Ellis (Halifax)

Utility bills - well it certainly ain't telecommunications costs, so presumably it must be energy. Our houses aren't fit for a post oil-age world, if that's what we are about to enter. The signs are not good on energy costs - already elsewhere (though I can't find the link at the moment) it was reported that consumer spending estimates have been revised downwards because people have 10% (yes, a whopping TEN per cent) less disposable income for goods and non-energy related services because they are feeling the pinch from higher energy costs.

And note the property tax angle too. If the Lib Dems remove all vestiges of domestic property tax, what do *you* think will happen to house prices, everything else being equal?

Technorati Tags: affordable housing, climate change, guardian, house prices, property tax

In the shadow of Crewe and Nantwich but much closer to home we have an Oxford City Council by-election. And we have the apparently imminent prospect of a by-election for Boris's Westminster seat of Henley. The Henley headquarters is now open for business in Thame and, in a departure for me (!), I have been to offer my help. I'm not doing that phone thing - I'm sorry, canvassing is traumatic enough for me when I can see the colour of the front door before I knock! But there is lots of delivery to do (or was when I was there mid-afternoon on Friday) and I've got a bundle to do in Benson over the weekend.

So if anyone in Oxford without transport wants to help before things get into full swing for the city council by-election, let me know and I can pick up more, drop you off at the HQ, take a (small!) gang out delivering or something.

Here's a serious story that made me giggle a little:

Transgender MP in toilet fracas

An Italian opposition MP and former showgirl has expressed outrage after meeting a transgender colleague in the parliament's ladies' toilets.

Elisabetta Gardini, spokeswoman for former PM Silvio Berlusconi's party, said she felt ill after the encounter during a break in Friday's session.

They certainly don't do things by halves in Italian politics do they? Surely the show girl must be used to having all sorts of strange sexualities parading around her in dressing rooms, make-up areas and so on?

But it's the compromise suggestion that is the funniest - that there should be a third loo for Ms Luxuria, the pre-op transsexual MP that has apparently caused the outrage for Ms Gardini. Or maybe Ms Gardini should just take some of the chill pills and spliffs her colleagues use to help them through the day.

(For what it's worth, the principle I would go by is that it is the post-transition gender that should generally apply, unless and until she decides she's not going to finish the sex-change. So Ms Luxuria - what a great name too by the way - should in fact be using the ladies. Indeed, unless they do things very differently in Italy than we do here, it's presumably the more private of the two anyway. And that Ms Gardini is indeed being a nasty prejudiced piece of work in raising the issue in such a way. Calling it "sexual violence" is just laughable.)