Lest We Forget

The Law Commission has just published a report recommending the repeal of "at least" 1500 of Labour's laws.  They also recommend that no further crimes should go on to the statute book without Parliamentary scrutiny.

Most of the new offences were slipped into law on the say-so of quangocrats without being debated in Parliament, it found...
...Since Tony Blair came to power in 1997, the commission said, more than 3,000 such crimes had been created.
New crimes brought in since 1989 fill three volumes of the criminal law record, Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales, taking up 3,746 pages.
All the crimes established in the 637 years between 1351 and 1988 fill only one volume.

It's too early for celebrations - there's no word yet from the government about what it intends to do about this. The report confirms what many of us have been complaining about, that quangocrats and lobbyists make the rules and our waste-of-space MPs don't do their proper job of representing us.   Shame on anyone who voted for a sitting MP without properly vetting their expenses and voting record first.

Source

You can have this for good measure too. It's a reminder about who have been the muppets here - clue: it wasn't Mandelson and it wasn't the Labour govt if their near-30% support is anything to go by:



Cross-posted

Lest We Forget

Raising The Dead

The near-bankrupt Labour Party is turning to a Hollywood director in an effort to brainwash  staunch the flow of voters to the LibDems and the Others.  Stephen Hopkins, director of Kiefer Sutherland's 24, is behind Wednesday evening's election broadcast.

"It [the ad] is a piece of drama, slightly sinister, fairytale-ish ... [it] peers into an imaginary future, assessing the impact of Tory policy pledges. It features actors playing three families and envisions the impact of Tory plans around child trust funds and child tax credits."

Sounds like gripping viewing.  I wonder what Hopkins would make of an election broadcast based on present-day truths rather than the fevered imaginings of a desperate, dying Party: our tanked economy; our sham parliamentary democracy; the pillage of the public purse by 300+ MPs; the warmongering and subsequent betrayal of our Armed Forces vis-a-vis procurement policies; the diktat by Think Tanks and quangos; 24-hr surveillance; the criminalising of the law-abiding majority; the politicisation of the Police Force;  the posturing on the world stage; the chaos in the classrooms; the failing infrastructure; the 3,600 new offences created since 1997; the censorship of free speech;  bans, bans and more bans  ...  On and on and on.  I know which scenario has me clutching a cushion and hiding behind the sofa.
Calling England

Raising The Dead

Union Cash And The Labour Party

Labour has made a big deal about the effect that Lord Ashcroft's cash has had on the Conservatives.  What they won't acknowledge in public is that they have numerous non-dom sources of cash themselves.  The Conservatives today published a paper about another source of cash funding their Labour campaign, that of cash from the Unite Union. The Conservatives are taking the fight to the Unions and to Charlie Whelan in particular.

The Paper does a good job in spelling out the financial and political influence the Union has over the Labour Party and even spells out where the two organisations have effective merged into one operation.  The underlying effect is that the Unite Union has a hand in running the country, and none of us voted for that!  They have taken advantage of the poor finances of the Labour Party and engineered themselves into positions of influence on public policy.  It is common knowledge that soon after Gordon Brown took over the Labour Party its finances (which he had managed) were in a dire state.  What is a little less known is that Unite saved the Labour Party from bankruptcy, and that Unite has spent £11m of its members money since Gordon Brown took over installing it's preferred candidates and buying influence with the Governing Party. 

If Gordon Brown is prepared to hand over (or hand back..) control of the Labour Party after he crippled them financially can we really trust his with our futures after he has crippled the country financially?

If you are interested, go read the report, it is a nice easy read yet is actually rather comprehensive given the depth of individual facts, quotes and donations listed. 


Total donations to Labour CLPs. Since Q3 2005, Unite has donated £460,561.81 to 148 Labour CLPs.
MP seats bankrolled by Unite (90 CLPs):

Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside)
Sandra Osborne (Ayr Carrick and Cumnock)
Margaret Hodge MBE (Barking)
Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central)
John Mann (Bassetlaw)
Patrick Hall (Bedford)
Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston)
Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield)
Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton)
David Crausby (Bolton North East)
Terry Rooney (Bradford East)
Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South)
Madeleine Moon (Bridgend)
Dawn Primarolo (Bristol South)
Nick Palmer (Broxtowe)
Ivan Lewis (Bury South)
Wayne David (Caerphilly)
Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley)
Phil Hope (Corby)
Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East)
Jim Cunningham (Coventry South)
Jon Cruddas (Dagenham and Rainham)
Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish)
Margaret Beckett (Derby South)
Ed Miliband (Doncaster North)
Jim Knight (Dorset South)
Gwyn Prosser (Dover)
Ian Austin (Dudley North)
Andy Love (Edmonton)
Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Clive Efford (Eltham)
Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood)
Vernon Coaker (Gedling)
Paul Clark (Gillingham and Rainham)
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North)
William Bain (Glasgow North East)
John Robertson (Glasgow North West)
Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West)
Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester)
Anthony Wright (Great Yarmouth)
Linda Riordan (Halifax)
Bill Rammell (Harlow)
Tony McNulty (Harrow East)
Gareth Thomas (Harrow West)
Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton)
Alan Johnson (Hull West and Hessle)
David Cairns (Inverclyde)
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury)
Dr Roger Berry (Kingswood)
Gordon Brown (Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath)
George Howarth (Knowsley)
Jimmy Hood (Lanark and Hamilton East)
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central)
George Mudie (Leeds East)
Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East)
Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and Falkirk East)
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central)
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South)
Ed Balls (Morley and Outwood)
Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Paul Farrelly (Newcastle under Lyme)
Yvette Cooper (Normanton Pontefract and Castleford)
Sally Keeble (Northampton North)
Charles Clarke (Norwich South)
John Heppell (Nottingham East)
Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Linda Gilroy (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Chris Bryant (Rhondda)
Kevin Barron (Rother Valley)
Phil Wilson (Sedgefield)
Dan Norris (Somerset North East)
Angela Smith (South Basildon and East Thurrock)
John Denham (Southampton Itchen)
Alan Whitehead (Southampton Test)
Dave Watts (St Helens North)
Shaun Woodward (St Helens South and Whiston)
Anne McGuire (Stirling)
Robert Flello (Stoke on Trent South)
Siân C. James (Swansea East)
Anne Snelgrove (Swindon South)
David Wright (Telford)
Angela Eagle (Wallasey)
John Spellar (Warley)
John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne)
Tom Watson (West Bromwich East)
Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West)
Tony Cunningham (Workington)
Ian Lucas (Wrexham)
Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Albert Owen (Ynys Mon)

PPC seats bankrolled by Unite (58 CLPs):

Ronald Hughes (Aberconwy)
New candidate tba (Ashfield)**
Alan Strickland (Berwick upon Tweed)
Ian Saunders (Beverley and Holderness)
Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington)
New candidate tba (Birmingham Selly Oak)**
New candidate tba (Blackpool North and Cleveleys)**
Nancy Platts (Brighton Pavillion)
Julie Cooper (Burnley)
Maryam Khan (Bury North)
Stephenie Booth (Calder Valley)
Jude Robinson (Camborne and Redruth)
Jenny Rathbone (Cardiff Central)
Ivan Henderson (Clacton)
Debbie Abrahams (Colne Valley)
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch
West)
Chris Williamson (Derby North)
Michael Edwards (Derbyshire South)
New candidate tba (Dunbartonshire West)**
Pat Glass (Durham North West)
Grahame Morris (Easington)
Leo Barraghclough (Eastleigh)
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East)
New candidate tba (Edinburgh South)**
Ian Boulton (Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Alison Moore (Finchley and Golders Green)
Ian Mearns (Gateshead)
Daniel Marten (Haltemprice and Howden)
Phillippa Roberts (Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Karen Jennings (Hornsey and Wood Green)
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South)
Mike Robb (Inverness Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey)
Mark Chiverton (Isle of Wight)
Clive Grunshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Rachel Reeves (Leeds West)
Liz Kendall (Leicester West)
Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield)
New candidate tba (Middlesbrough South and Cleveland
East)**
Andrew Pakes (Milton Keynes North)
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
John Cook (Norwich North)
Jayne Innes (Nuneaton)
Anneliese Dodds (Reading East)
Naz Sarkar (Reading West)
Simon Danczuk (Rochdale)
New candidate tba (Rutherglen and Hamilton West)**
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central)
Valerie Shawcross AM CBE (Southwark North and
Bermondsey)
New candidate tba (Stalybridge and Hyde)**
Chuka Umunna (Streatham)
Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central)
Geraint Davies (Swansea West)
Victor Agarwal (Swindon North)
Carl Morris (Thurrock)
Stella Creasy (Walthamstow)
New candidate tba (Weaver Vale)**
Lisa Nandy (Wigan)
Andrew Judge (Wimbledon)

**Denotes where a new candidate has not yet been
announced.

Note:
In this [the source] document, Labour MP CLPs are defined as those
where the current Labour MP is standing for re-election
this year.
PPC CLPs are referred to as those where the current
Labour MP is not standing for re-election or where there
is no Labour incumbent.



Cross-posted.

Union Cash And The Labour Party

Labour's In Trouble...

...if this is the best they can do:

Dear XXX

The Times today carries an extensive analysis of a poll in the key marginal seats by Populus which puts Labour and the Tories neck and neck at 38 per cent. It is confirmation of a spate of recent articles that shows underlying the headlines the Tories have not sealed the deal with the electorate. It also excludes the 50 most marginal seats which are assumed to go Tory. But we know that the Unite membership in those 50 seats far exceeds the majority being defended. If it is game on in the 100 quoted, it must be battle joined in the 50 they have excluded.

This is all the more reason why we need to build on the momentum from last week's record number of calls made to Unite members in the key seats. There's another "Talk Thursday" this week and regional phone banks have been organised across the UK for this Saturday. Please get involved and make those "Two calls a day to keep the Tories away".

If you are unsure as to where your regional phone bank is this Saturday or are having problems gaining access to the virtual phone bank, please contact me or my colleague Andrew Brady at andrew.brady@unitetheunion.org

All the best,

Charlie Whelan
Political Director

You've got to laugh.  It goes without saying, of course, that Charlie Whelan doesn't work for the Labour Party and Gordon Brown has never heard of him or a Union called Unite.

Goodnight Vienna

Labour's In Trouble...

New Labour

Jaw Smacking, Holiday Scrounging, Election Bribing, Access Selling, Passport Flogging, Tax Avoiding, Twitter Abusing, Enron Loving, Bad News Burying, Granny Bashing, Rent Boy Hiring, Doctor Killing, Jew Hating, Fire Starting, Badger Watching, 

 Dodgy Financing, Naked Picture Taking, Company Destroying,  Monarchy Hating, Embarrassing, Hairdressing, Hospital Closing, Frequently Resigning, Lobby Bribing, Visa Scamming, Secretary Throwing,  Paternity Testing, Expenses Shredding,

 Iffy Trading, Completely Bungling, Over Eating, Peerage Selling, Mortgage Faking, Air Miles Scamming, Consequence Dodging, Slime Dripping  Allowance Fiddling, War Mongering, Charity Charging  Legislation Selling, Double Dipping, Triple Dipping 

Window Licking, Emotionally Blackmailing, Truth Hiding, Bile Inducing, Coup Messing, Principle Abandoning, Eugenics Considering, Ghurkha Oppressing, Secretly Thieving, History Making, Porn Claiming, Economy Destroying, Procrastinating, Terrorist Appeasing, Tax Hiking, Slush Fund Building, Disappointing, 

Voucher Totting, Law Dodging,  Social Engineering, Criminalising, Gnome Humping, Border Seeping Future Stealing, Election Dodging, Lip Trembling  Gerrymandering, Back Handed  Ball Juggling, Book Cooking, Pension Raiding, Frequently Offending, Carpet bagging, Vote Rigging, Addicted To Smearing, Non-Declaring, Dictating, Wall Papering, Luvvie Exempting, Spouse Cheating  Defrauding, Troop Failing, Camera Chasing, Sexually Harrassing, Unreined Spending, Back Stabbing, Capitulating Secretary Shagging, Dossier Enhancing...

CP'D

New Labour

Commitment?

This squalid government, made up of lying, thieving, cockwaffling Fabian scum, continues to sink lower.  Not one word they utter is true.  They smile while lying; it's their own form of Taqqiyah. With the help of a weak Opposition and the LibDems they have destroyed this country's institutions and called it 'progress'.   The country has been changed  beyond recognition in the name of 'modernisation'.  Yes, they have a 'commitment', but it isn't to this country or our country's Armed Forces.  Suddenly, being voted out of office (or as they like to call it, power) at the GE, is too good for them - it's too fair, too 'British'.

Major NATO training exercises cancelled.

In what must rank as one of the most fatuous responses ever, Bill Rammell, AF Minister, said:  “Given our current commitments we must ensure that  activity is focused on preparing our Forces for the challenges they will  face. Any suggestion that Service personnel are not ready to respond to the  unexpected is nonsense, as was seen in the fast and effective response to  the flooding in the North of England last month.” 

It's tough when people are concerned with hanging on to jobs and homes (more businesses have gone to the wall in this recession than did in the 90s) but more of us need to spare a moment to see the bigger picture and the destination.  EuroGendFor is looming.  Does anyone remember the saying:  You can't see the wood for the trees?
Cross-posted

Commitment?

Another Fine Mess Gordon

The Attorney General Baroness Scotland has today been fined £5,000 for her employment of an illegal immigrant who overstayed on a student visa by five years.

The fine was for failing to keep copies of documents that The Baroness claims she checked to validate that the worker was legally entitled to work in the UK. No further action from the UK Border Agency or from The Prime Minister will follow.

The law that has been broken was advised upon by the Attorney General during its conception, as the AG acts as lawyer to the Government. In it, specific provisions were worded to ensure that employers keep copies of documents as failure to produce any documentation would not be a defence against the specific law. It is a long held standing in English Law that Ignorance of the law is not a defence against it, and all judges are held to apply this principle. There is no specific need to word such a provision really unless specific onus is required – so entrenched is the notion to law.

As such, to have an Attorney General now who advised and helped frame a law which included a provision that the onus of proof falls to the accused and that only the production of evidence showing pro-forma checks were made (in this case, photocopies of documents) to then fall foul of that law is breathtakingly incompetent for somebody of the Attorney Generals position. It is the Attorney General equivalent of wile e coyote strapping himself to an Acme missile in the pursuit of a blue feathered dinner only to go and blow himself up – Perhaps even more incompetent than that.

The whole situation has all of the hallmarks of a whitewash about it.

I say Whitewash because a £5,000 fine does not begin to resolve this little problem and yet again I think Gordon Brown has staggeringly underestimated the knock on effect this is going to have; yet seems to be a player in getting into the rush to investigation, fine, slap on the wrist, move along now, la la la we don’t care, we’re not listening chain of events that has come to pass in under a week.

I am upset, and I think you are too.

Firstly, The Attorney Generals position is just the latest of high offices in our Kingdom that has been besmirched by the appointment to that office of somebody capable of causing exceptional embarrassment to that post. It is just however the latest in a long line of appointments under this Labour Government; the frequency of scandals seems to have increased two-fold since Gordon Browns coronation. By simply flying off to the US to play World Statesman and by failing to sack Baroness Scotland, Brown has again, for the umpteenth time shown himself to be indecisive and completely unable to provide a Government of any talents, let alone of “all talents”. With crystal clarity the public gaze upon a man who yet again put his own and his party’s perceptions ahead of doing the right thing and acting in the best interests of this country. The moment the fine was issued the Prime Minister should have implemented the change, to which he would have already had lined up – that is what a leader would have done.

Secondly, the hiring of illegal immigrants is a known and frequently used tactic of employers to avoid paying minimum wage to employees. The minimum wage is the crown jewel in 12 years of Labour government, perhaps the only initative left that retains broad popularity and reminds all of us of the promise that we all felt of what was to come. There has been no word however if the Baroness was avoiding paying her worker minimum wage, which would be another offence, both under the law and in terms of holding a grand position within a government, no matter how discredited, to whom not only brought in the legislation for that minimum wage, but have and will rely upon its fair introduction as a campaigning point. Could Labour even mention minimum wage if their own AG was found to have ignored it?

It adds to the feeling over cover up that we are not informed one way or the other; could the Baroness still find herself in an embarrassing position on this?

Thirdly, when will it all end? I seem to repeat myself on this point over and over here on my blog (and VOTR) but for every single scandal, even today, Labour follows the same instincts, the same alienating formula of self preservation. Try to change the story, deny, attack others… get found out, try to hold on to high paying, high powered position… blame the Tories, stuff the voters, stuff doing “the right thing”, quick, get Rosa, Kevin and Polly to write about how nice we are and how the Tories will starve your babies to feed their butlers…. Anyone remember what the story was, no? Great, pass the expense forms.

This brings us onto the next point. Brown is trying to draw a line under this, but the Sunday Times has already revealed that Wile e coyote, er sorry, Baroness Scotland, has claimed £170,000 for an allowance paid to Lords who love outside of London, whilst living in Chiswick, which is in, er, London. I am guessing the Baroness did not photocopy those claim forms either before submitting them. Again, ignorance cannot be a defence against fraudulent claims. The Government should either swiftly investigate and publish the relevant paperwork or call the Serious Fraud Squad – which conveniently Baroness Scotland should have the phone number for given that in her role as Attorney General she has supervisory power over it. And of course, nobody bats an eyelid that someone with supervisory powers over the Serious Fraud Squad could be involved in a massive fraud themselves... that is just modern Britain.

Perhaps Gordon Brown could clear up whether he thinks this series of events have come about because the Attorney General is a crook, or because she is grossly incompetent, or is ita bit of both? If he could elaborate on that, whilst explaining why she still has a job I think a lot of people would be much clearer.

With Brown in charge there is no one to push these lunatics over, because he’s one of them. They will cling on, and he will until next year as clearly too many of Labour Parliamentary presence have too much to lose if Brown goes. They are fighting to save each other and their own jobs now. They’re alright, but what about the rest of us who live here?

When Labour polls in the mid twenty percent range I find it hard to believe there are still people in this country that can abide by such loose and questionable behaviour in our governing officials.

If Brown had of sacked the Baroness he would have legitimately got a bump in the polls for doing the right thing, and more than that for being seen to act decisively. This would have sent a warning to rebels ahead of the Conference, and may have wiped away some of the questions about a change of leadership. With a conference platform and feeling bold, Gordon Brown could have used the conference to spell out difference in Labour and Conservative policy and cuts – he could have regained at least some of the agenda and perhaps even put dents in Conservative plans for their conference. He would have acted positive and perhaps got a positive result.

Instead… well, you know the rest.

Cross-Posted

Another Fine Mess Gordon

An Analysis of Labour Government Policy

REST OF THE WORLD VERSION:

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.

The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

THE END

------------------------------------------------------------------------

LABOUR GOVERNMENT THE UK VERSION

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.

A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.

The BBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.

The British press inform people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so, while others have plenty.

The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of GB demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting a cultural festival special from Notting Hill with breaking news, broadcasts a multi-cultural choir singing 'We shall overcome'.

Ken Livingstone rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his 'fair share' and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London .

In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work. The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrel's food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper.

Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of Britain 's apparent love of dogs.

The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempted bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to return them to their own country were abandoned, because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from people's credit cards.

A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshoppers' drug 'illness'.

The cats seek recompense in the British courts for their treatment since arrival in UK .

The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him.. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.

A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost £10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up. Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for
grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The government praises the asylum-seeking cats for enriching Britain 's multicultural diversity, and dogs are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.

The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a government minister.

The cats are paid a million pounds each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the United Kingdom .

The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses. Their taxes are increased to pay for law and order, and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.

THE END

Cross posted from The Last of the Few Blog

An Analysis of Labour Government Policy

Afghanistan: roll call of British deaths since 2001

Further to GOT's Troops tribute post, here is a roll call of the British service personnel who have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001.



2002

APRIL

:: Private Darren George. The Royal Anglian Regiment.

AUGUST

:: Sergeant Robert Busuttil, 30. The Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Corporal John Gregory, 30. The Royal Logistic Corps.


2004

JANUARY

:: Private Jonathan Kitulagoda, 23, from Plymouth, Devon. The Rifle Volunteers.


2005

OCTOBER

:: Lance Corporal Steven Sherwood, 23, from Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry.


2006

MARCH

:: Corporal Mark Cridge, 25. 7 Signal Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Peter Craddock. 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

JUNE

:: Captain Jim Philippson, 29, from St Albans, Hertfordshire. 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.

:: Captain David Patten, 38. The Parachute Regiment.

:: Sergeant Paul Bartlett, 35. The Royal Marines.

JULY

:: Corporal Peter Thorpe, 27, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The Royal Signals.

:: Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, 24, from Birmingham. The Intelligence Corps.

:: Private Damien Jackson, 19, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear. 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

AUGUST

:: Captain Alex Eida, 29, from Hooley, Surrey. 7 Parachute Regiment The Royal Horse Artillery .

:: 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, 24, from Windsor. The Household Cavalry Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, 27, from Edinburgh. The Blues and Royals.

:: Private Andrew Cutts, 19, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Private Leigh Reeves, 25, from Leicester. The Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Lance Corporal Sean Tansey, 26, from Newcastle. The Life Guards.

:: Corporal Bryan Budd, 29, from Ripon, North Yorkshire. 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Jonathan Hetherington, 22, from Salisbury, Wiltshire. 14 Signal Regiment.

SEPTEMBER

:: Ranger Anare Draiva, 27, from Fiji. 1 Royal Irish Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Paul Muirhead, 29, from Bearley, Warwickshire. 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment.

:: Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson, 38, from Collingham, Notts. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Lieutenant Leigh Mitchelmore, 28, from Bournemouth, Hants. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Lieutenant Gareth Nicholas, 40, from Redruth, Cornwall. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Lieutenant Allan Squires, 39, from Clatterbridge, Merseyside. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Lieutenant Steven Swarbrick, 28, from Liverpool. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Sergeant Gary Andrews, 48, from Tankerton, Kent. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie, 42, from Dundee. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Sergeant Gerard Bell, 48, from Ely, Cambs. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Flight Sergeant Adrian Davies, 49, from Amersham, Bucks. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Sergeant Benjamin Knight, 25, from Bridgwater, Somerset. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Sergeant John Langton, 29, from Liverpool. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Sergeant Gary Quilliam, 42, from Manchester. 120 Squadron RAF.

:: Lance Corporal Oliver Dicketts, 27, from Wadhurst, East Sussex. 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Joseph Windall, 22, from Hazlemere, Bucks. Royal Marines.

:: Private Craig O'Donnell, 24, from Clydebank, Dunbartonshire. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

:: Corporal Mark Wright, 27, from Edinburgh. 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Luke McCulloch, 21. 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment.

OCTOBER

:: Marine Gary Wright, 22, from Glasgow. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

DECEMBER

:: Marine Jonathan Wigley, 21, from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine Richard Watson, 23, from Caterham, Surrey. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Lance Bombardier James Dwyer, 22, from South Africa. 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.


2007

JANUARY

:: Marine Thomas Curry, 21, from east London. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Lance Corporal Mathew Ford, 30, from Immingham, Lincolnshire. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

FEBRUARY

:: Marine Jonathan Holland, 23, from Chorley, Lancashire. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine Scott Summers, 23, from Crawley, West Sussex. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

MARCH

:: Lance Bombardier Ross Clark, 25, from South Africa. 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: Lance Bombardier Liam McLaughlin, 21, from Lancashire. 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: Marine Benjamin Reddy, 22, from Ascot, Berkshire. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Warrant Officer Class 2 Michael Smith, 39, from Liverpool. 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.

APRIL

:: Private Chris Gray, 19, from Leicester. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

MAY

:: Guardsman Simon Davison, 22, from Newcastle upon Tyne. 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

:: Lance Corporal George Davey, 23, from Beccles, Suffolk. 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Guardsman Daniel Probyn, 22, from Tipton, West Midlands. 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

:: Corporal Darren Bonner, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Corporal Mike Gilyeat, 28. Royal Military Police.

JUNE

:: Lance Corporal Paul Sandford, 23, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters.

:: Guardsman Neil Downes, 20, from Manchester. 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards.

:: Drummer Thomas Wright, 26, from Ripley, Derbyshire. 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters.

:: Captain Sean Dolan, 40, from the West Midlands. 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters.

JULY

:: Sergeant Dave Wilkinson, 33, from Ashford, Kent. 19 Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: Guardsman Daryl Hickey, 27, from Birmingham. 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

:: Lance Corporal Alex Hawkins, 22, from East Dereham, Norfolk. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Guardsman David Atherton, 25, from Manchester. 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

:: Sergeant Barry Keen, 34, from Gateshead. 14 Signals Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Michael Jones, 26 from Newbald, East Yorkshire. Royal Marines.

AUGUST

:: Private Tony Rawson, 27, from Dagenham, Essex. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian.

:: Captain David Hicks, 26, from Wokingham, Berkshire. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment

:: Private Aaron McClure, 19, from Ipswich, Suffolk. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Private Robert Foster, 19, from Harlow, Essex. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Private John Thrumble, 21, from Chelmsford, Essex. 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

:: Senior Aircraftman Christopher Bridge, 20, from Sheffield. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment.

SEPTEMBER

:: Private Damian Wright, 23, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Private Ben Ford, 18, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 25, from Nottingham. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Private Johan Botha, 25, from Pretoria in South Africa. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Ivano Violino, 29, from Salford. 36 Engineer Regiment.

:: Colour Sergeant Phillip Newman, 36, from Coventry. 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment

:: Private Brian Tunnicliffe, 33, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

OCTOBER

:: Major Alexis Roberts, 32, from Kent. 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

NOVEMBER

:: Lance Corporal Jake Alderton, 22, from Bexley, Kent. 36 Engineer Regiment.

:: Captain John McDermid, 43, from Glasgow. Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

DECEMBER

:: Trooper Jack Sadler, 21, from Exeter, Devon. The Honourable Artillery Company.

:: Sergeant Lee Johnson, 33, from Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland. 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

2008

JANUARY

:: Corporal Darryl Gardiner, 25, from Salisbury, Wiltshire. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

FEBRUARY

:: Corporal Damian Lawrence, 25, from Whitby, North Yorkshire. 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

:: Corporal Damian Mulvihill, 32, from Plymouth. 40 Commando Royal Marines.

MARCH

:: Lieutenant John Thornton, 22, from Ferndown, Dorset. 40 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine David Marsh, 23, from Sheffield. 40 Commando Royal Marines.

APRIL

:: Senior Aircraftman Graham Livingstone, 23, from Glasgow. The Royal Air Force Regiment.

:: Senior Aircraftman Gary Thompson, 51, from Nottingham. Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment.

:: Trooper Robert Pearson, 22, from Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The Queen's Royal Lancers.

MAY

:: Trooper Ratu Babakobau, 29, from Fiji. The Household Cavalry Regiment.

:: Soldier James Thompson, 27, from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.

:: Marine Dale Gostick, 22, from Oxford. 3 Troop Armoured Support Company Royal Marines.

JUNE

:: Private Nathan Cuthbertson, 19, from Sunderland. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Daniel Gamble, 22, from Uckfield, East Sussex. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Charles David Murray, 19, from Carlisle. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal James Bateman, 29, from Colchester, Essex. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Jeff Doherty, 20, from Southam, Warwickshire. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Corporal Sarah Bryant, 26, from Cumbria. The Intelligence Corps.

:: Corporal Sean Robert Reeve, 28. The Royal Signals.

:: Lance Corporal Richard Larkin, 39.

:: Paul Stout, 31.

:: Sergeant Major Michael Williams, 40, from Cardiff. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Joe Whittaker, 20, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Warrant Officer Dan Shirley, 32, from Leicester. 13 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Lance Corporal James Johnson, 31, from Chatham, Kent. 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

JULY

:: Corporal Jason Barnes, 25, from Exeter, Devon. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

:: Lance Corporal Kenneth Michael Rowe, 24, from Newcastle. Royal Army Veterinary Corps.

:: Sergeant Jonathan Mathews, 35, from Edinburgh. The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

:: Private Peter Cowton, 25, from Basingstoke, Hants. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

AUGUST

:: Signaller Wayne Bland, 21, from Leeds. 16 Signal Regiment.

:: Corporal Barry Dempsey, 29, from Ayrshire. The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.

SEPTEMBER

:: Ranger Justin James Cupples, 29, from County Cavan, Ireland. 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment.

:: Warrant Officer Class 2 Gary O'Donnell, 40, from Edinburgh. The Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Private Jason Lee Rawstron, 23, from Clayton-Le-Moors, Lancashire. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Nicky Mason, 26, from Aveley, Essex. 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

OCTOBER

:: Trooper James Munday, 21, from Birmingham. D Squadron, The Household Cavalry.

NOVEMBER

:: Yubraj Rai, 28, from Khotang district, eastern Nepal. 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

:: Marine Robert McKibben, 32, from Westport in Co Mayo. The UK Landing Force Command Support Group.

:: Marine Neil Dunstan, 32, from Bournemouth. The UK Landing Force Command Support Group.

:: Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura, 36, from Lamjung district, western Nepal. 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles.

:: Marine Alexander Lucas, 24, from Edinburgh. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine Tony Evans, 20, from Sunderland. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine Georgie Sparks, 19, from Epping, Essex. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

DECEMBER

:: Lance Corporal Steven 'Jamie' Fellows, 26, from High Wycombe. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Sergeant John Manuel, 38, from Gateshead. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Corporal Marc Birch, 26, from Kingsthorpe, Northamptonshire. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Marine Damian Davies, 27, from Telford. Landing Force Support Party, Commando Logistic Regiment.

:: Lieutenant Aaron Lewis, 26, from Rochford, Essex. 29 Commando Royal Artillery.

:: Rifleman Stuart Nash, 21, from Sydney, Australia. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Corporal Robert Christopher Deering, 33, from Solihull, West Midlands. Commando Logistic Regiment Royal Marines.

:: Lance Corporal Ben Whatley, 20, from Tittleshall, Norfolk. 42 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Corporal Liam Elms, 26, from Wigan. 45 Commando Royal Marines.


2009

JANUARY

:: Serjeant Christopher John Reed, 25, from Plymouth. 6th Battalion The Rifles.

:: Royal Marine Travis Mackin, 22, from Plymouth. UK Landing Force Command Support Group, operating as part of 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Captain Tom Sawyer, 26, from Hertfordshire. 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: Corporal Danny Winter, 28, from Stockport. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Acting Corporal Richard Robinson, 21, from Saltash, Cornwall. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Corporal Daniel Nield, 31, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

FEBRUARY

:: Marine Darren Smith, 28, from Fleetwood, Lancashire. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

:: Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott, 22, from Plymouth. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Acting Lance Corporal Paul Upton, 31, from Looe, Cornwall. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Corporal Tom Gaden, 24, from Taunton, Somerset. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman Jamie Gunn, 21, from Monmouth. 1st Battalion The Rifles.

:: Marine Michael Laski, 21, from Liverpool. 45 Commando Royal Marines.

MARCH

:: Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, 22, from Pontardawe in Swansea. 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Regiment.

:: Corporal Graeme Stiff, 24, from Grimsby. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.

:: Corporal Dean John, 25, from Port Talbot. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.

APRIL

:: Lance Sergeant Tobie Fasfous, 29, from Bridgend, South Wales. 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

MAY

:: Corporal Sean Binnie, 22, born in Dublin. The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

:: Rifleman Adrian Sheldon, 25, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Sergeant Ben Ross, 34, from Bangor, Wales. 173 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment, Royal Military Police.

:: Corporal Kumar Pun, 31, from the Parbat district of Western Nepal. 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

:: Lieutenant Mark Evison, 26, from Dulwich, south-east London. 1st Battalion The Welsh Guards.

:: Marine Jason Mackie, 21, from Oxfordshire. Royal Marine Armoured Support Group.

:: Fusilier Petero ''Pat'' Suesue, 28, from Fiji. 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

:: Sapper Jordan Rossi, 22 from West Yorkshire. 25 Field Squadron, 38 Engineer Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Martin Richards, 24, from Betws-y-Coed, North Wales. Armoured Support Group Royal Marines.

:: Lance Corporal Kieron Hill, 20, of Nottingham. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters).

:: Lance Corporal Nigel Moffett, 28, from Belfast. The Light Dragoons.

:: Corporal Stephen Bolger. The Parachute Regiment.

JUNE

:: Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher, 19, from Reading. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Private Robert McLaren, 20, from the Isle of Mull. The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

:: Lieutenant Paul Mervis, 27, from London. 2nd Battalion the Rifles.

:: Major Sean Birchall, 33, from Guildford, Surrey. 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.


JULY

:: Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, 39, from Kirtlington, near Oxford. 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

:: Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, from Plymouth. 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal David Dennis, 29, from Llanelli, South Wales. The Light Dragoons.

:: Private Robert Laws, 18, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Dane Elson, 22, from Zimbabwe. 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

:: Captain Ben Babington-Browne, 27, from Maidstone, Kent. 22 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers.

:: Trooper Christopher Whiteside, 20, from Blackpool. The Light Dragoons.

:: Rifleman Daniel Hume, 22, from Maidenhead, Berkshire. 4th Battalion The Rifles.

:: Private John Brackpool, 27, from Crawley, West Sussex. Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment attached to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

:: Corporal Lee Scott, 26, from King's Lynn, Norfolk. The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.

:: Corporal Jonathan Horne, 28, from Walsall, West Midlands. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman William Aldridge, 18, from Bromyard, Herefordshire. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman James Backhouse, 18, from Castleford, Yorkshire. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman Joseph Murphy, 18, from Castle Bromwich, West Midlands. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman Daniel Simpson, 20, from Croydon, south London. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman Aminiasi Toge, 26, from Suva, Fiji. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Corporal Joseph Etchells, 22, from Mossley, Greater Manchester. 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

:: Captain Daniel Shepherd, 28, from Lincoln. The Royal Logistic Corps.

:: Guardsman Christopher King, 20, from West Buckland, Devon. 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards.

:: Bombardier Craig Hopson, 24, from Castleford, West Yorkshire. 40th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Lowland Gunners).

:: Warrant Officer Class 2 Sean Upton, 35, from Nottinghamshire. 5th Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: Trooper Phillip Lawrence, 22, from Birkenhead. The Light Dragoons.


AUGUST

:: Craftsman Anthony Lombardi, 21, from Scunthorpe. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

:: Corporal Kevin Mulligan, 26. The Parachute Regiment.

:: Lance Corporal Dale Hopkins, 23. The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Kyle Adams, 21. The Parachute Regiment.

:: Private Jason Williams, 23, from Worcester. 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

:: Captain Mark Hale. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Rifleman Daniel Wild, 19, from Hartlepool. 2nd Battalion The Rifles.

:: Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, 23, from Haxby, North Yorkshire. 40th Regiment Royal Artillery.

:: An unnamed British soldier from The 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh Regiment.

:: An unnamed British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

:: An unnamed British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

:: An unnamed British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

:: An unnamed British soldier from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.



Tragic

Afghanistan: roll call of British deaths since 2001

L Is For Labour

Alway worth a regular airing...

L Is For Labour

Roll Up! Roll Up!

Please form a neat and orderly queue here on the left, Ladies and Gentlemen. No pushing at the back there, Madam. Ithankyewverymuch.

Now then, look at this Ladies & Gents, look at this craftsmanship. Think of the hours of loving care and attention to detail that's gone into this little beauty. Oy, you Sir, yes, you in the bomber jacket - how much do you reckon I'm going to charge you for this piece of plastic perfection? Three hundred quid? No! Two hundred quid then? Wrong again, have another go. A hundred smackers? No, not even close Ladies & Gents.

Tell you what, as a special deal, if you buy one today, just give me seventy-five quid, your biometric iris & finger prints and all the civil liberties that have ever accrued to you since the Anglo-Saxon Witan of the 7th Century, through 1066, 1215, and 1258. I can't say fairer than that now can I?

It sounds too good to be true doesn't it but there's not only that, there's more. I know, you can't believe it can you Ladies & Gents? Well, I kid you not - Honest Johnson's my name, ask any of the blokes that ran the stall before me.

Buy one of these and we'll take the worry of looking after your identity off your shoulders - 'cos we know you've got a lot on your mind at the moment what with working out when to put the wheelie bins out so's you don't get fined.

All the information on this card will go into a database belonging to the government and in return for this we're not even asking fifty quid - oh dear me, no! We've thought of everything and to help you with the problem of carrying round all those bulky driving licences that spoil the line of your suit we'll let you have one of these slimline-weigh-nothing handy little fellas for only thirty smackeroonies plus every democratic parliamentary advantage this country has fought and died for in over a thousand years. What d'you say? It's a no-brainer, really it is. Deal?

Oy! Who at the back said 1689? Show us your papers! Officer, arrest that man!



Honest Johnson, the man with the Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear Stall, is coming to a market-place near you.
ID card unveiled
Cross-posted from Calling England

Roll Up! Roll Up!