Quote of the day

Baz McElduff on Twitter is in sparkling form, one of yesterday's classics:

In Newcastle for North South Parliamentary Forum Conference. Good no. of TDs/ MLAs here already. I think of myself as TD for West Tyrone.

And I suspect he wasn't joking.

Quote of the day

William Hague:

"A sovereignty clause on EU law will place on the statute book this eternal truth: what a sovereign parliament can do, a sovereign parliament can also undo."

Even Lisbon?

From our man in Birmingham.

Dilettante has been a busy bee indeed at the Conservative Conference:

"I personally am against the splitting of the Scottish Conservative Party from that of the United Kingdom." - Annabel Goldie

"I believe that the Conservatives will be allowed to run in Northern Ireland - we're having a meeting about it tomorrow." - Irwin Armstrong

"I would not run as an independent, no." - Ian Parsley

"UCUNF was too complicated, and there are those out there who were naïve about what was achievable." Reg Empey

The first two statements are (potentially) good news. Read more and comment here.

Quote of the day

Too poetic for Iain Gray to have come up with it himself:

"Today is one of these clear mornings when you feel like you can see for miles. So where does the First Minister now look for his arc of prosperity today? Australia? New Zealand, The Basque country? Iceland, or Ireland?

“Everyone knows we would have tipped over the edge on which Ireland teeters today. Alex Salmond is the last man in Scotland not to realise that his obsession with independence is, daft, deluded, deranged and downright dangerous."

Possibly one alliterated "d" too many there, but still a good one.

Quote of the day

Peter Robinson:

I want to see the DUP secure its place as the unionist party that can win support from right across the community. We need to reach out not only to our traditional support base but to the whole unionist community

Very subtle. The "community" within the space of a sentence transmorphs into the ever so slightly more restricted "unionist community".

Quote of the day

Fraser Nelson in The Coffee House:

I know Coffee Housers have a variety of views about immigration, but London’s wonderful diversity is one of the main reasons I love the city. Like New York, it has a melting-pot character. I know this is a lot better for those who employ immigrants (as barmen, plumbers, nannies, etc) than those who compete with immigrants for jobs. It has its downsides, as well as upsides. But one such upside is that Britain's capital has become the new Rome of the globalised world - with incredible music on offer, and we've probably overtaken New York as the world's capital of visual art. As Joseph Roth said about pre-war Berlin, the City has become its own capital. London's musical and cultural scene is so vibrant precisely because it houses the world's talent. And this is why all those flags make sense: because to be British is to embrace the world

With the hindsight of history, I'm not sure we want to go far down the road of those comparisons with Rome or pre-war Berlin... but, yes.

Quote of the day

Who said?

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that because if we split, it will be the weakest who will pay the heaviest price."

"So yes, we have to get ready for the break-up of ..."

Quote of the day

Perhaps a surprise for regular readers that I quote Ronald Reagan here (try arguing against the message!):

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

And perhaps a surprise for everyone the sentiments in this quotation from the exact same gentleman:

"We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate.

All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to to speak of and act on their belief.

At the same time that our Constitution prohibits state establishment of religion, it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral."

Amen.

Quote of the day

Frank Zappa:

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.

Quote of the day

Frederic Bastiat:

Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state wants to live at the expense of everyone.

Quote of the day

A twitter from Chris Mason BBC:

"Diane Abbott's tip to win the World Cup: 'Britain'"

Quote of the day

If we believe in the Union and if we believe that this Union's best days lie ahead, we must spare no effort in showing every single member of the Union how our policies and beliefs will make their lives better. If not, then we are no longer the Conservative and Unionist Party which I joined

Peter Blair, commenting on the Conservative Home "post-Unionist" proposal to cut the Scottish Conservatives adrift.

Quote of the day

Jeffrey delivers one of those "Huh??!" moments:

"The case for the Union is a powerful one but it is often unspoken. I advocate the creation of a UK-wide movement that will draw together political and civic unionism in a campaign to promote the maintenance of the Union and to defend the integrity of the United Kingdom."

Quote of the day

Winston Churchill:

"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it."

Quote of the day

Billy Bragg:

"The answer isn't to round these people"(immigrants) "up and send them back. But there on our doorstep inequality has thrown up this situation that can be exploited by the fascists. It's going to be a fight for the soul of the English people."

Update
Gareth Young does a typically thorough demolition job on Billy's plea.

Quote of the day

The Blog certainly can never be accused of being backward in pushing himself forward:

This election will be about Leadership. The Shinners have that in abundance.

Not sure what his problem is with shopping centres though...

Quote of the day

Scotland, like the rest of the UK, will have an extra holiday on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne:

"The people of Scotland have a special affection for The Queen, and I am sure that they will welcome the opportunity to join in the celebrations being planned to mark Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in two years time.

"Being Monarch for 60 years will be a truly remarkable achievement - only Queen Victoria has celebrated a Diamond Jubilee before.

"The special Bank Holiday weekend, and the many celebrations that are being planned around it, will allow us all to celebrate with tremendous pride and great affection Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne."

From her most loyal subject, Alex Salmond. And no, I still can't get my head round the concept of a royalist anti-Union party

Quote of the Day

Bagshot:

As one Tory puts it, in the debate over the public finances, Labour is managing to portray itself as the party of booze, cigarettes and loose women, and the Conservatives as that of fiscal hangover cures, morning-after pills and finger-wagging over carpet burns.

Quote of the day

The reality:

"They have enough votes, Sinn Fein and the DUP to get us through this and this is all just hype, it's just fabrication."

The fact that Republican Congressman Peter King is amongst those expressing "deep disappointment" at the UUP stance also won't cause them too much angst I guess.

Quote of the day

Dan Hannan:

You cannot force people to have liberal opinions, or legislate for good manners. A free country must tolerate obnoxiousness. An open society must allow eccentricity to the point of insanity.