Tony Hatfield's Retired Ramblings

Why no EU flag?

I'm the first to admit, I'm no expert in diplomatic protocol. This morning US Secretary of State Clinton flew to the UK for a whistle-stop visit. She met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary, David Milliband. This is from... Read more →

Tory Education Policy is really Uncooked

Michael Gove The centrepiece of Michael Gove's speech at yesterday's Tory conference was the idea of private institutions establishing schools. The Tories had clearly spent much time in Sweden looking at Kunskapsskolen- roughly translated "knowledge schools". Gove had announced this... Read more →

Clifford Longley's Cherry Picking

I don't normally manage to catch "Thought for the Day" but this morning I was awake listening to "Today" at ten to eight. Clifford Longley, sounds gentle and soft spoken. You can read the transcript here Clifford Longley He used... Read more →

Cameron's Dismal Performance with Andrew Marr!

I'm sure one person watching David Cameron's dismal performance with Andrew Marr this morning was Peter Mandelson. New Labour's election play book will have been largely written. Lord Snooty, got himself into real trouble on two important policy issues. First... Read more →

What Sir John Scarlett didn't deny!

The media has decided that Sir John Scarlett's interview with BBC correspondent Gordon Corera represents a flat denial. The Independent shouts that there was "No collusion in torture, says M16 chief"; the Guardian "MI6 chief denies torture complicity". Even the... Read more →

Our Afghanistan difficulties have their roots in Iraq. Don't let Brown and Milliband fool you!

One thing that irritates me when our politicians-both Labour and Tory- are asked about the deepening difficulties in Afghanistan, is their unwillingness to link those problems with our devastating policy failure in Iraq. We are being constantly told, not only... Read more →

Support Nadine Dorries' Freedom to Blog!

Nadine Dorries The first time I heard of Nadine Dorries M.P. for Mid Bedfordshire was when she was involved in promoting very odd pre term survival rates before the Science and Technology Select Committee enquiry. She than accused Ben Goldacre... Read more →

Happiness in Numbers Syndrome- one for Gordon

Most lawyers will identify the "happiness in numbers syndrome" (HINS). A punter starts by showing a charge sheet alleging some joint enterprise. Several defendants standing in the dock together benefit from the advantage of being with others. There's some sense... Read more →

Prescott's "Today" Rant

Very few people have sympathy with former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin. He brought RBS to the brink of disaster yet managed to walk off with a substantial pension, though all of the £ 693,000 annual payment was not derived... Read more →

Meet the McNultys- New Labour cronyism at work

Mr and Mrs McNulty Anybody searching for a reason to ensure that Labour are devastated in the next general election-perhaps just 365 days away-need look no further than to make sure this clown,Tony McNulty no longer appears on our tv... Read more →