"Vote early and . . . yeah, just vote early."

"I dressed really carefully, in my trenchcoat, with my glasses, and I was careful to wear my posh shoes. I put on a posh accent, sort of southern."

No, not someone plucking up the courage to go to their first Anarchist Federation meeting.

It is in fact the funny story of 14-year-old Alfie McKenzie taking advantage of mistakenly being allocated a polling card and popping along to his local polling station to vote tactically for the Lib Dem candidate in a marginal seat so as to ensure that the Tories are kept out of office (mmm, no, that can't be right.).

With a name like Alfie, surely he didn't need the polling card to pass for a 45 year old?

No happy ending, though. A teacher grassed him up for showing some initiative. (In my day, my lefty teachers would have broken out the Bulgarian wine and excused the fact that I'd only submitted five pieces of homework in my last four years of school.); The Tory candidate romped home in a safe Tory seat; And Clegg might get to keep his Orange Book in a ministerial briefcase some time in the near future.

Just in: SPGB result in Vauxhall

To my shame I haven't really been covering the election on the blog. I can't make excuses about being 4000 miles away. I've been looking in. I just haven't got my political mojo at the moment.

I should, however, mention the SPGB result in Vauxhall. (Click on the pic below to enlarge.)

It's the usual sort of vote for the SPGB that reflects the level of socialist support in any part of the world. Genuinely surprised - and pleased - that they beat Trotskyist candidate. (Yep, I'm that shallow).

I actually thought that Workers Power's shopping list of demands would have garnered more votes than the SPGB at the election. Just goes to show that sectarianism wins out every time. All those Tankies, Swoppies, Millies and Perm Revs in Vauxhall, and they couldn't bring themselves to vote for the vanguardist candidate on their doorstep . . .with the petition and the paper.

The rejects from the Second International 1 The Fifth International 0.

. . .Oh, and the Labour candidate, Kate Hoey, got 21,000 more votes than us both combined. But that's just a minor point.

Different Class

This is probably from the Labour stable - don't the cheeky bastards remember Cocaine Socialism? - but I love it nonetheless:

Whatever happens, May 8th I'll still be singing this, though.

Hat tip to Tricky Mickey over at Urban 75.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

A week may be a long time in politics, but it seems like a bloody lifetime during a General Election campaign.

I know you've all been frothing over Nick Clegg this past week - watch his body language when he speaks; it screams Tony Blair - but I have to step back in time by posting below the excellent spoof election poster that I just this minute stumbled across.

It's rather fine and stands up well, despite the fact that the 8th of April seems like a lifetime ago.

Kudos to Max over at Capitalist Money Madness.

Separated at birth?

Someone over at ITV has a sense of humour.

SPGB Election Forum: 'Can politicians save the planet?'

Eton Trifles

Not a particularly good idea but a rather nice T shirt from the Philosophy Football crowd.

Update Afterthought

Wait up; if I post an image of the T shirt on the blog, does that mean I can also blag a free T-shirt?

Duly done. I'll have a large one, Bob.

PS - That's the General Election officially mentioned on the blog, btw.