Is the Labour Deputy Leadership worth a pitcher of warm piss?

Antonia has declared her support for Jon Cruddas as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. But why is this the contested post?

A good Daily Telegraph editorial on Saturday noticed that the last time a Labour Prime Minister announced he was retiring in government, no less than five candidates had declared to succeed him within a few hours. And these were not lightweights - they included the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Employment Secretary, the Energy Secretary and the Environment Secretary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer soon threw his hat into the ring.

By contrast it is now two months since Tony Blair was forced to concede a timetable and there is only one candidate for the leadership. Meanwhile the Deputy Leadership race is getting crowded. But just what does a Deputy Leader actually do?

I'm reminded of the way that the Vice President of the United States is traditionally one of the most maligned positions in any democracy. Just think for a moment as to how many Vice Presidents you can name. I bet very few of them did not go on to become President.

Who can remember the Vice President who remarked that the post was "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived"? Well he was quite famous but for other things - he was John Adams. Or the one who said "Once there were two brothers. One went away to sea; the other was elected Vice President of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again." He was not so famous at all - Thomas R. Marshall. (He also said "Indiana is the mother of Vice Presidents, home of more second-class men than any other state." He was probably wrong - New York has produced no less than ten - though Indiana, which ties with Massachusetts for second place with four apiece, did go on to produce Dan Quayle.)

And then there's the one who called the job "not worth a bucket of warm piss". Otherwise the only thing John Nance Garner is notable for is living to just 15 days short of his 99th birthday - the record for any President or Vice President.

The office only really gained some significance under Richard Nixon, who had the benefit of both media attention and a President who wished to stand above partisan debate. Even then the post has risen and fallen - George H. W. Bush seemed to spend most of his time going to funerals and other dull diplomatic tasks.

What precise role does the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party serve? Gordon Brown does not hold the position, nor did Tony Blair. Indeed I can think of only two Deputies who became leader - Clement Attlee (and this was only because when George Lansbury insisted on resigning despite unanimous please by MPs for him to stay, most sitting Labour MPs believed Arthur Greenwood was unsuitable and Attlee was about the only viable person about) and Michael Foot (hardly a leadership career to aspire to repeat).

And so we're left with a situation where Gordon Brown looks set to take the real position all but uncontested (maybe a token challenge to force a ballot but that's about it) whilst numerous Labour politicians fall over the Deputy Leadership. Is it worth it?

Come on 2008!

It seems my hopes of seeing a New Yorker as the next US President (and no, a certain carpetbagger isn't one - when I visited New York during her first Senate race it seemed full of "Little Miss Arkansas" dolls) have come a step closer. Rudolph Giuliani has formed an "exploratory committee" - the first formal step for a bid. As you might guess from my past comments I'm very glad to see him enter the race. The US desperately needs to rebuild respect around the world after one President who attacked countries in the name of a crusade and another who attacked countries to cover up the misbehaviour of his penis.

The Governator reigns supreme!

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been re-elected in California, terminating all opposition. Here's to another four years postponing production of the next Terminator movie!

Sadly it seems doubtful that he could run for Vice President as I'd like to see.

Thoughts on the US midterms

I'm currently watching as the results of the US midterms come in. Given some of the exchanges between commentators and bitter concession speeches I feel ever more proud of UK politics.

As I write this the results are looking exciting. It seems likely the Democrats will gain control of the House of Representatives and finally put a brake on the excesses of the Bush Republicans. The Senate is looking tighter and could come down to a handful of precincts that have still to declare.

Amongst the individual results of note:

*Sadly Hilary Clinton has been re-elected in New York. Unlike many of my readers, I don't rate her highly at all and feel another Clinton in the White House would just be a disaster. Why anyone thinks she is an electable Presidential candidate is beyond me - the Democrats tried a New England liberal in 2004 and lost. Hilary Clinton is hardly the politician to make gains in the South (she didn't exactly hang around there to launch her own political career) or the mountains or other Red States. She may go down well on the coasts, but those are reliable Democrat bankers anyway.

*I think Bill Nelson has been re-elected in Florida. My former flatmate is over there and has an invitation to the party for Katherine Harris. It's probably the least wanted party invitation in the country - even the Bush brothers didn't want Harris on the Republican slate.

*Joseph Lieberman has won re-elected in Connecticut as an Independent, despite previously losing the Democratic primary. However I doubt this represents the beginning of a significant third party movement - this is really an opening up of the Democratic primary.

*Hilary Clinton has just started her speech. She thinks "democracy is great" - perhaps she could encourage the US to curb its anti-democratic gerrymanders and other restrictive practices. Otherwise it's a rather rambling "new beginning" style speech, trying to avoid her image as a staunch liberal. If she's not going to run for President I'll eat my socks.

I look forward to 2008 and hope we'll see a New Yorker elected President.

Doctor Who - The Invasion

As is now regular, following my previous postings for Inferno, The Hand of Fear, The Mark of the Rani and The Sontaran Experiment, here is my review from the Doctor Who Ratings Guide of this week's DVD release, The Invasion:

Fast paced and strong

This review almost rivals mine for The Crusade for strangeness because it is based on a combination of the BBC Video release and Michael Palmer's reconstruction of Episodes 1 and 4.

Right from the start this story is fast paced and rarely drags throughout its eight episodes. The Invasion works on several different levels, offering action, intrigue, comedy and conflict. As a test run for the UNIT format it works well since the organisation is presented with a strong level of sophistication rather than as just a bunch of soldiers for the action sequences. There are a few special effects that don't quite make it, such as the model work or a Cyberman falling off the factory roof in the final episode, but by and large these are easy to overlook.

Of all the Doctor Who stories set around familiar sites, The Invasion is the one I feel closest to because I spent four and a years at the City of London School which in its current location is just opposite the St. Paul's Cathedral steps that feature so prominently at the end of Episode 6 (although the steps themselves have since been rebuilt to be more disability friendly). Consequently the locations seen in those sequences are very familiar to me and thus make the threat seem a lot more real than even the shots of the Daleks in Trafalgar Square in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Wisely the story doesn't focus on these moments and indeed the Cybermen themselves are little more than just another race of invading monsters. Although this means nothing new is learnt about them, this does not detract from the story which focuses its attention elsewhere.

Like The Daleks' Master Plan, the main villain of the story is a human, and as with the earlier epic Kevin Stoney gives an exceptionally strong and memorable performance that contrasts well with that of the Doctor. Tobias Vaughn is a ruthless businessman and as such very different from most other foes in the series. In many ways he can be seen as a precursor of the modern incarnation of Superman's long running foe, Lex Luthor. (Although Luthor has been around since about 1940, it was only in the 1980s that he was portrayed as a corporate head with a hidden agenda, prior to this he was a run-of-the-mill mad scientist.) Treading the fine line between genius and madman, Vaughn comes across as a competent schemer whose plans are only disrupted by the unforeseen intervention of the Doctor, thus making the latter central to the plot.

Equally strong is Nicholas Courtney, returning as the now-promoted Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. His presence in the story helps to cut out what would otherwise have been a drawn out process of the Doctor seeking to establish his credentials with UNIT, which would undercut the pilot nature of the story. Many of the rest of the cast also turn in good performances, showing shrewd casting by director Douglas Camfield.

Both the design and direction of the story are very strong, with the script helping to cover up matters such as both of Vaughn's offices using the same set or the absence of the sequence in which UNIT rescue Professor Watkins. UNIT are truly a force to be reckoned with, as are the Cybermen, and so the whole story gels together due to strong and complementary production values.

All in all, The Invasion is one of the highlights of Doctor Who, both in previewing the major format change that was about to occur and also in telling a strong story in its own right. 10/10

Michael Palmer's reconstruction of the missing episodes is now four years old and shows its age through the lack of text captions to explain matters where the audio isn't necessarily clear. However it is very good considering the lack of telesnaps and manages to explain everything well. The one curiosity is a review of the story by Stephen Broome at the start of the tape which is notable for his statement that the incidental music wisely stays in the background - unlike on his review where some music is played so loudly in the background that at times it is difficult to hear what he is saying. The reconstruction itself is good, although likely to be superseded in the near future by one using text as well. 8/10

The BBC video release used simple narration by Nicholas Courtney to fill in the gaps. The links are good, but could contain more information such as why the TARDIS is invisible in Episode 8. With hindsight the absence of an audio tape containing the sound for the missing episodes is noticeable, but at the time it wasn't too much of a problem. The links are redundant now, but served their purpose adequately at the time. 7/10

The Invasion can be purchased from here.

On Saddam's death sentence

I have always found capital punishment to be utterly repugnant. The idea that the state can have a right to take life feels like an abdication of the moral high ground and comes down to legalised killing. It is not done for defence but rather for vengeance, to sate a blood lust.

There can be no exceptions to such a position. Whatever Saddam Hussein has done, sentencing him to death is a state taking action to kill. It is declaring that people are potentially beyond redemption. That there is no hope in the world.

Are Fish & Chips doomed?

I have a confession to make. One of my favourite meals of all is Cod and Chips. And nothing brings home a danger than a threat to the stomach. So the news that we could run out of fish has me especially worried.

Somehow I doubt trying to turn fish into a luxury meal would have any effect. But what is the answer? A world without fish to eat will be a very sad place.

Michael Heseltine on top form

I'm just watching the start of Question Time. Michael Heseltine is on top form, pulling out all the quotes Charles Clarke made about Gordon Brown - '"he can't work with people" and the people of the electorate will have the say if he can work with them'!

Meanwhile Sir Menzies Campbell has once more cocked up his attempt to present himself as a politician of the future, by appearing on a panel with former Cabinet Ministers, including one who joined his party's frontbench in Ted Heath's day! When are the Liberal Democrats going to publicly admit that "a safe pair of hands" is not what they need and bring in a leader who can give the party direction and make it look forwards?

How does one remove a Speaker?

Does anyone disagree that Speaker Michael Martin made a hash of it? But the question that no-one seems to be able to answer is how the Commons can remove an incompetent Speaker if it so desires.

In most meetings there exists the option to no-confidence the Chair, whether on a procedural motion raised from the floor or by formal resolution. But does this option exist anywhere in the rules of the House of Commons? And have any MPs the willingness to use it if needs be?

October on this blog

As ever, a look at the stats for this blog. Once more earlier stats can be found at the pages for February, March, April, May, June, July, August and September.

First off the sites most people come from:

1. Google (-)
   
2. Mars Hill (+1)
   
3. Cllr Iain Lindley's Diary (+2)
   
4. Jo Salmon (-2)
   
5. Blogger.com (+1)
   
6. Ulster Young Unionist Council (+1)
   
7. Mark Clarke: Conservative Future Chairman (NEW)
   
8. Cally's Kitchen (+1)
   
9. Antonia Bance (-1)
   
10. Iain Dale's Diary (-)

Dropping out of the top ten altogether is http://mincelot.iblogs.com/ (at 18, down 14). Not a very exciting month with most sites moving at most two spots. The one notable new arrival is Mark Clarke.

Then we have the top ten search engine requests that brought people here:

1. what does your birthday say about you (-)
   
2. tim roll-pickering (-)
   
3. laura blomeley (-)
   
4. martin cakebread conservatives (NEW)
   
5. when is iain paisley birthday? (NEW; and it's April 6th)
   
6. question time panelists (NEW)
   
7. aston university labour blog fiona (NEW)
   
8. what are the names of the old grumpy muppets (NEW; and they are Statler and Waldorf or Ming and Vince)
   
9. blog sutton surrey (NEW)
   
10. end of charles kennedy (NEW)

As ever a mixture of brand new terms and some ongoing ones. Some of the stranger other terms include:

• andre oboler france summer 2006 - so what did Andre get up to?
  
• shocking policies about the british national party - frankly a tautology
  
• 'john nye' radley - once again not one to remember well
  

Not too many downright absurd terms this time though.

Finally as ever we have a list of all the cities detected that people are in):

BANDUNG, BASILDON, BELFAST, BIRMINGHAM, BOURNEMOUTH, BREWSTER, BRISTOL, BROOKLYN, CAMBRIDGE, CARDIFF, CHATHAM, CHULA VISTA, COLUMBUS, COVENTRY, DEARBORN HEIGHTS, DUDLEY, DULLES, EDINBURGH, EDMONTON, FLORENCE, GRAND RAPIDS, HOUSTON, IRVING, JOHANNESBURG, KERNERSVILLE, LEEDS, LEEUWARDEN, LIVERPOOL, LONDON, LOS ANGELES, MANASSAS, MOUNTAIN VIEW, NEW YORK, NORWICH, NOTTINGHAM, OXFORD, QUEZON CITY, RESTON, SAN ANTONIO, SHEFFIELD, SINGAPORE, SLOUGH, SOUTHAMPTON, TORONTO, TRENTON, VANCOUVER, WELLINGTON, WEST COVINA and "others".

Thank you all for reading!