London innit!

Misspeaked, misspaken, misspooketh...

Clearly, he has spent a lot of time studying Chaucer.

Long tongue. I just noticed.

It looks slightly scruffy, compared with the final badge. Could it be a prototype design, or even a student project?

Does it print, or is some of the detail too deeply cut?

Interesting.

It's reversed - so what was its purpose? Printing? Wax seal?

It's not quite the same as the brass cap badge of the time

Bill Anderson - Walk Out Backwards (Audio) YouTube video by BILLANDERSONVEVO

Walk out backwards and I'll think you're walking in.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=twMo...

Roy Jenkins - Wikipedia

'However, these extra-marital relationships were conditional on his lovers having a good relationship with his wife: he later stated that he "could not imagine loving anyone who was not very fond of Jennifer"'

The old romantic!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Jen...

Oh phew! I've been in a panic trying to unearth evidence of Jenkins' wickedness. Did he, for example, regularly pen opinion pieces for the Sun, in which he would conflate immigration and crime? Was he a hopelessly incompetent administrator? Did he fiddle his expenses? Did he cheat on his wife?

I have been studying Blunkett's awfulness for three decades, so I consider myself something of an expert. Jenkins I know less about, but surely he can't have been as warped and evil as our David. I'm prepared to be proved wrong, but NO!

David Blunkett will always be the gold standard, against which the ghastliness of all Home Secretaries should be measured.

I was about to suggest, flippantly, that you must be ancient, but I see in your bio that you are a historian.

Not wanting to get all intersectional, but..

I agree. And her tradesperson status is a bigger shift to a representative HoC than her status as a woman or as a Green. Sure, we need better representation of women and minorities, but mostly we need a fairer representation of humanity.

Remember, in the good old days, when the wife of the Daily Mail proprietor was embarrassed by her husband, and was sensitive about the sideways glances she would get at society events.

Now she has a new Party and new parties with a warmer welcome.

My dear! A Hugo Boss fascinator, if you please!

With regard to the first part,

doesn't the HoC - perhaps via the Speaker - have a role in upholding standards?

Hmm, that may be a hopelessly naive question.

Yes. Because UK politics is all 'narrative'. Workable policies are difficult to sell via social media.

A photo of the actual Rupert Lowe, before the lectern, hand on hip.

For reference, a photograph of the actual Rupert Lowe:

Yes, that was my experience.

Think you have 9 months to submit your return? If your income has dropped, you'd better submit by July, or you'll be paying tax on money you haven't got.

In general HMRC are quite reasonable to deal with. In this respect they are crooks.

Scores tried to attend
but could not find
their way out of
the LTNs.

Pigs sweat.
Men perspire.
Women glow.
Andrew leaks.

No need to guess. We know about Ruby Rubacuori.

Yet, our generation has grown to be more afraid of eight year olds than of either nuclear war or climate disaster.

I feel mean saying this, but it looks like a Blue Peter creation. Amazing what can be done with a toilet roll, cereal packets and a glue gun!

They're not brave enough to walk down a London street, but they'll go to the moon.

Many years ago I went to a meeting of the Puttnam Commission re public engagement in politics. I may have been the only civilian.

One of the panel warned that while great ideas were plentiful, the political will was lacking. He was right. Not much changed.

www.agora-parl.org/resources/li...

Yes. It's worth reminding ourselves that it's no good just being against things.

In this case, nothing is my preferred option.

How MPs are accountable to their constituents is another thing. I have discussed it with my MP. We agree on a lot, but his words are rather at odds with his actions.

Would it be fair to say that Johnson has the worst traits of Churchill (racism, over-indulgence, arrogance) and none of the best (courage, leadership skills, intelligence)?

In any case, it's not as though the manifesto is sacrosanct.

I do understand both sides of this discussion, and can see why this petition is so popular. But I feel that Party management already has too much influence on politics, and would be sorry to lose the last thread of accountability.

One doesn't need data to spot a wrong 'un.

Most voters are aware that they are putting party above character, and that the chosen candidate isn't someone they respect, like or trust.

The UK would be a better place if Parliament was full of MPs people chosen for their character.

That's why Parliament is filled with such unsavoury characters.

The electorate needs to take responsibility for the shifty bastards it chooses. Rather than complaining about an MP changing parties, voters should examine their own consciences.

The Hindujas - found guilty in Switzerland of exploitation and illegal employment practices, after paying their staff only £7 for an 18 hour day.

Peter's friends.

Does that work if the ambassador is as compromised as Trump?

The resulting omertà may suit both individuals but there's no benefit for the people of either country.