Wogan threatens to quit – but does he get Eurovision these days?

 

The Russians send one of their internationally renowned top stars; we send a former bin man unknown beyond his own family. The Russian wins. Surely no surprise in that then? No – Terry Wogan says it must be a political plot and is threatening to quit Eurovision. Good riddance! What version of history has Terry Wogan been reading that says all the East European countries, many of them under Soviet (i.e. Russian) domination for 50 years, suddenly want to come and support the Russians wherever possible in some sort of sign of kinship! Most East European countries don’t like Russia and they’re not that keen on Russians. And yet when it comes to music it has away of breaking down these animosities (the very reason the Eurovision was set up in the first place given the acrimony which existed in Western Europe after the Second World War).

 

No, Terry Wogan has never got Eurovision, at least not since it embraced our friends in the east.  But really I don’t care whether he stays or goes, because for the past few years I’ve been watching Eurovision on TV sans Wogan (TVEi Channel 795 on Sky). Bueno!

A local frenzy as Hull City bid to be Yorkshire’s top team

The state of frenzy which has gripped Hull and the East Riding since Hull City beat Watford in the play-off semi finals comes to a head at 3pm today.

 

Evidence of this is the number of balloons, car flags, outdoor flags and general Tigers paraphernalia around the area. As I cycled round to the village shop to get my lunch yesterday the kids in the local school were on their break and I would say that at least half of them were wearing Tigers shirts; a phenomenon unknown a few years ago, so unfashionable locally were the club.

 

We all know now that Hull is the largest city in Europe not to have a football team in the top division, but what is remarkable for me is that should Hull City win today, they will be Yorkshire’s representatives in the Premiership. No Leeds, neither of the Sheffield teams, not even Barnsley. Ten years ago it was only that Doncaster were so awful that Hull City managed to avoid a real scrap to preserve their football league status as they finished third from bottom of the old Division 4. Meanwhile Leeds were starting to ‘live the dream’ by attempting to break into the ‘Big 4′. Wednesday were in the Premiership and Barnsley had just got relegated. And it’s not just football but politics too. Just as unlikely ten years ago would be the Liberal Democrats running Hull City Council.

Shows you that anything is possible in football and politics (or should that be life in gerneral?).  So there is only one thing to say: Keep the faith!

 

Tories in climate change denial

 

For those of us who have campaigned against Conservatives, locally and nationally, for years it is one of those certainties that the Tories sudden enthusiasm for green issues is political opportunism at its worst. We know this because if you sit and listen to what their elected representatives have to say the truth of what they truly believe comes gushing forth. The latest contribution to this came today in a debate in the European Parliament on its interim report on the scientific facts of climate change when leading Tory MEP, Roger Helmer was in full climate change denial mode.

 

This is part of what he had to say:

 

“Sea level is rising no faster than it always has — about six to eight inches a century. Global ice mass is broadly constant. Severe weather events are no more frequent than they ever were. Species extinction is driven not by climate, but by loss of habitat, and especially by the drive for biofuels. Recent studies show that polar bears are doing very well.” (my emphasis)

 

In response the Committee Chairman Guido Sacconi had this put down:

 

“This is not [simply] a current of thought, the consensus [on climate change] verges on 100%”… This is “unprecedented in scientific history” and climate change is here, here to stay. As this report and the climate change package show, it’s not only the earth’s climate that is changing; the political climate has changed, as well.”

 

Helmer’s comments were all the more bizarre given the campaign that WWF is running to adopt a polar bear (wwwf.org.uk/adoptme). You may have seen the stark picture which accompanies the campaign in today’s papers which is of a polar bear sitting incredibly precariously on an all but melted ice flow.

Nick’s reform agenda for the Commons should be applauded, but why would we then need a second chamber?

Today’s Independent carries a very perceptive analysis by Nick Clegg on what’s wrong with our democracy.  His suggestions for improving the character of the House of Commons with a fairer voting system, beefed up parliamentary committees and greater scrutiny of ministers and senior officials should be applauded by all democrats. But it raises the question; if these reforms were implemented, why would we need a House of Lords?

Is James Whale being set up by UKIP as the new Kilroy-Silk?

 

Interesting comment by recently sacked radio broadcaster James Whale in an interview for ‘The Independent’ today. Asked the question, ‘what would you do if you didn’t work in the media?’ he says in answer, ‘I think I would quite liked to have been a politician. Nigel Farage of UKIP asked me if I’d like to be considered as a prospective parliamentary candidate for them. I said I wasn’t interested at the moment but perhaps in the future.’

 

While clearly not being specific about which parliament he is talking about it would come as no surprise to see him pop up on a list somewhere for next year’s European Parliament elections. There is no doubt that UKIP scored a great publicity coup by signing up Robert Kilroy-Silk last time and I guess they would be trawling for ‘celebrities’, however minor, to do a similar job for them next year. Clearly an ex-late night radio broadcaster is not the same as a day time television presenter but, well, it’s a start. I wonder if this might not be a trend as the plethora of grumpy gits gentlemen who write and broadcast such as Jon Gaunt, Richard Littlejohn and Kelvin Mackenzie might have a punt at the elections next year. It would certainly add a bit of interest. As for UKIP, well they clearly need all the help they can get. They must retain the hope that an anti-EU party will do well in EP elections because otherwise, given their general and local election results since 2004, they are set for a caning.

Yorkshire wins Roses match and march onto Twickenham

  

Yorkshire beat Lancashire today to book a place in the final of the Bill Beaumont Cup (effectively the County Championship) where they will play Devon at Twickenham on June 1^st. Well done to them. It is ironic that this should come on the day the Regional BBC Politics did a piece on how Rugby League has been classified by Sport England as a Class B sport along with Table Tennis, whilst Rugby Union remains a Class A sport. It is quite apparent that both rugby codes are alive and kicking (so to speak) in Yorkshire as on might expect from a region with over 5 million people. They must be both considered Class A sports surely. The suits in London need to get up to the North a bit more methinks.