Labour’s next leader?
The villain of the piece
I predict…
- A Tory overall majority ✅
- A fall in the number of Labour seats ✅
- A fall in the number of LibDem seats ✅
- No seats for the Brexit party ✅
- In 2020 the Tories will rip themselves to pieces over Brexit 𐄂
- All 3 leaders will resign in 2020 or earlier ✅✅𐄂
The reluctant voter
I had zero enthusiasm for voting for any of the parties in the local elections, but it was a nice evening and I cast my three votes for the least-worst party (Lib Dems). If there had been Green candidates my votes would have gone to them.
A Very English Scandal – John Preston
“A Very English Scandal – Sex, Lies, and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment” is the true story of the Jeremy Thorpe murder-plot. Jeremy Thorpe was a British MP and leader of the Liberal Party. This amazing book is the story of his downfall.
Throughout this gob-smacking, and sometimes hilariously funny story, one is often left aghast at the shenanigans and behaviour of the amazing cast of characters.
I read the 300+ pages in just two days. It’s a fantastic book and is highly recommended.
Interestingly the book is described on the back as a non-fiction novel. I had to look this up. Wikipedia says a non-fiction novel ‘depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and using the storytelling techniques of fiction’. Wikipedia also describes Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood as one of the first examples of this technique. Coincidentally I read this last month – and raved over it! (Which I did when I first read it over forty years ago).
She can’t stay, she can’t leave
Winchester
Winchester is an historic city – ruins, walls, old buildings and a cathedral. But these aren’t my scene, and on a gloriously sunny day I was looking for images, for colour. In the event, I’m not happy with the few usable shots I took, so I’ve thrown in a Clapham Junction shot as well. Despite this, I found Winchester to be a pleasant place to visit, helped by a sunny day. It has a decent high-street and plenty of interesting side streets to explore. And I did manage to buy a book from an independent bookshop.
Whilst wandering around the city I received a text message – “Have you heard the news?” Not having a smartphone, I hadn’t, and fearing a nuclear strike on the Korean Peninsula (!), I rang L then J, only to discover that a general election has been called. This is not a big enough deal to justify calling off my visit!
Regarding the election, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is we’ve got 7 weeks of electioneering to endure. The good news is we’ve only got another 7 weeks with Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party (remember you first read that prediction, here!).
On the train back I kept falling asleep / waking up and realising my mouth was wide open. That’s old-age for you.
things change 