Wednesday, November 30, 2005

The news before it happens!

Kazakhstan is set for a peaceful election - or so the world thinks. Our experience of elections in the 'stans says different. One of our contributors has visited several places ending in 'stan and one ending in 'baijan, and on every occasion, riots have broken out surrounding his visit. Guess where he is now?

Watch this space for more news on rioting former Soviet states. And let's hope, for Kazakhstan's sake, that the pattern isn't followed this time.

Late blow to the Cameron campaign

David Cameron suffered a setback in his bid to become the next leader of the Conservative party yesterday. As Iain Duncan Smith announced his support for the Shadow Education Secretary.

Michael Howard famously described the Spectator as "political Viagra". The support of IDS and the other Maastricht rebels labelled "bastards" by the normally passive John Major could potentially be described as "political Herpes" - it's embarrassing and unsightly but at least you're not going to get fucked anytime soon.

More covert support was expressed for Cokey Cammers last night at the United and Cecil Club dinner in Knightsbridge.

John Major made several references to the future direction of the party resting in younger hands; and that inexperience is no barrier to potential; and also expressed his reservations about setting out taxation policy for the next election at this early stage.

Michael Ancram announced that he had informed both candidates of his intention to withdraw from frontbench duties following the leadership election. He used this announcement as a subtle opportunity to endorse Cameron by saying that the party's strengths lay with MPs much younger than himself.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Toy soldiers

With the recent accusations of 'bullying' in the press, Free Market Fairy Tales brings us this from the Army Rumour Service:

Blair to play guitar for Best tribute


Rock and roll PM: Tony keeps it real

Tony Blair is to feature on the forthcoming re-mix of a George Best tribute song. Written in 1970 by country and western singer Don Fardon, "Belfast Boy" was used as the theme tune for a 1970's BBC documentary about the footballing legend.


Blair: Career move?

Downing Street officials have played down the possibility that the record is a strong indication of the Prime Minister's future career direction:

"This is simply the PM's way of honouring the memory of the greatest British footballer of our time"

Blair, who famously played the guitar in a punk band called Ugly Rumours whilst at Oxford, is rumoured to be in discussion with his friend Bono about the possibility of making a charity record after he leaves Number Ten. The move wouldn't be unprecedented: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi recently released a recording of his performances of his own works.


Berlusconi: down with the kids

Proceeds from the Best record, the original of which reached no. 32 in the charts in 1970, will go towards a permanent memorial for Best. Tony Blair's permanent memorial is currently the Iraq war, so that might be why he's considering releasing a record.

Where's Chris?

Here somewhere

Where there's trouble, no doubt.

Canadian government collapses

Canada's government has lost a vote of no confidence, plunging the country into a Christmas election. President Bush was heard to say "Canada? That's the one with the sombreros and tacos, right?"

Monday, November 28, 2005

Archer bid to rejoin human race

Jeffery Archer this weekend announced that he has applied to rejoin the human race at his local association in Vauxhall, London.

In a statement released on Saturday, Archer maintained that he was fit to return to normal society and that he was deeply repentant for his previous purgatory ways. The scheduled press conference was delayed slightly due to "a minor, unrelated, underwear combustion incident".

A spokesman at Vauxhall Human Association said: "there is absolutely no truth in this whatsoever. Jeffery Archer will never be a member of the human race in Vauxhall."


Archer: crook

Friday, November 25, 2005

Best hangs on for the weekend papers

Death by media is a slow and painful process. The glowing tributes to 'the greatest footballer of all time [etc]' in today's newspapers appear to be only the beginning of the end.

It now seems as if the drunk old sod won't die until the second wave of adulation hits the news stands tomorrow, proving that even in death a celebrity's ability to fluff out column inches knows no bounds.

Experts are predicting a 'Diana effect': with massive outpourings of grief for someone in the media who nobody really knew, liked or had anything in common with at all.

It is more than likely that there will be a tearful statement from Tony Blair, about Best being "the peoples footballer", or perhaps "the winger of our hearts".

Newspapers that vilified the chap for being a drink-soaked wife-beating low life will suddenly find it in their hearts to praise his "unique talents", his "showmanship" and tell tales of how there's "a bit of Georgie in all of us"…

Pass the vomit bag.

Update

He's dead now. So sad.

24 hour licensing: Stalin's fifth column

by our Daily Mail Staff Writer, Major Moral-Rage (Rtd)

Last night the serene and peaceful little island of Britain was literally torn to pieces with scenes of Goyic purgatory as alcohol-ridden youths terrorised the streets in the early hours of the morning because of the new suicidally dangerous 24-hour bingeing laws.

Now that it is legal to drink beyond the traditional hours that have served this country so well over the last ninety years, our green and pleasant land will become vomit-stained as it hastens it's decent into hell.

Last night's series of riots and pitched battles with Police are just the beginning of the end. Our once great nation has cast itself on the path to Armageddon because of the calculated destructive actions of our government.

This is a government that wishes to destroy everything that Britain stands for. Order, respect, decency and freedom all must be enforced by strict discipline . It's what we fought Hitler and the Reds to protect. Britain is in danger again, but this time the enemy is within.

We must be honest and face the fact that the majority of people in this magnificent and delightful land of freedom and justice are complete scumbags who would destroy our fair country and themselves if they were given half the chance. They know no better and they are incapable of leaning because they are stupid. Look at Wayne Rooney.

That's why it is up to decent people like you and I, who know how to protect the liberties and freedoms of this great nation to preserve the natural order and quell the unpleasant masses. It's our duty to protect them from themselves. They must remain restrained otherwise our very society is at risk from a Marxist revolution of drunken idiots who idolise David Beckham and black American rappers.

Our Government knows this. They secretly want to destroy our sweet and delectable country from within, taking down all that we hold dear - the Home Counties, fox hunting, our daughter's virginity. This is because they hate Britain. They hate Britain because they're Communists.

We must protect ourselves from Communism by restricting the liberties of the proletariat classes. With the relaxation of drinking laws, I fear that our chances of defending our masses against the evil influences of American commercialism - and the dangerous revolutionary ideals they portray - are severely weakened.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

BBC honest caption slip up


from the Private Eye website

Burn the civil servants

Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell announced today that there will no longer be regular fire drills in government buildings. The move comes as new research shows that smokers are 99% more likely to light up if they are forced outside of a building by a fire drill. O'Donnell said:

"this is not about being nanny state-ish, it's about recognising that smokers are victims of addiction to a substance that is killing them… [fire drills] can be extremely stressful and making an unscheduled trip outside a building can be seen as an ideal opportunity to light up"

When pressed on the obvious safety issues concerning the edit, a spokesman for the Cabinet Office said:

"Many many more civil servants die from smoking related illnesses than in fires at Government buildings. It's not about the nanny state, it's about common sense."

Exclusive: Plot against Tony uncovered

PolicyBlender has just learned of a sinister plot against Tony Blair that means that he's now just as important as his friend Dubya.

Whilst the details are still sketchy, it appears that one of the kingpins behind the plot against our glorious leader is known by the shadowy pseudonym "Mr Brown".


"Mr Brown"

The plot is said to have involved generally looking grumpy and a bit pissed off and then grinning every time Tony gets himself in the shit. It is our understanding that this is a long term strategy to seize control of the once electable New Labour political machine.

Has anyone ever plotted against Tony?

I don't remember hearing anything, but I don't really read the news that much.

More on Bush's would-be assassin - "He...says he falsely confessed only after being whipped and beaten by the Saudi security force known as the Mubahith.", according to this, this and this, but as the people who were tortured alongside him were not permitted to testify, I don't suppose that matters. Isn't the world a depressing place?

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Bush to go down as one of the great Presidents!

Someone tried to kill him! That's the criteria for being one of the top Presidents isn't it? I mean, to be really great they have to actually succeed, but the attempt and the fact he took America to war is probably enough for people to talk about George W Bush for hundreds of years to come - your grandchildren will ask you "What was GWB really like? Did you meet him? Was the world a wonderful place when he was alive?"

All we need now is for him to have a fling with a film star, or an enormous moustacheless beard.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Backs to the wall: shot in the Gary Glitter

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are liaising with the authorities in Vietnam as Gary Glitter is facing death by firing squad having been arrested in Vung Tau amid claims that he had sex with a minor.

This is not the first time the FCO has intervened in order to attempt to get a British star shot. Documents obtained under the Freedom Of information Act 2000 show that the Government has detailed plans to deport many British stars to countries where they can be killed easily.

When questioned about the alleged scheme an FCO spokesman defended the government's policy saying that it is only normally used for boy bands and R&B stars.

Further investigations reveal that the singer Jamelia is going to be boiled alive by cannibals in , Mary J Blige is to be publicly whipped in Saudi Arabia and the real reason East 17 split up is because they were all rendered unable to dance after being kneecapped during the FCO sponsored Rock the Falls Road gig in Ulster.

LibDems to drop commitment to high taxes

Charles Kennedy has announced that the Liberal Democrats no longer wish to be 'those crazy guys who don't think we pay enough tax'.

In a statement to the Guardian, he said "err Iraq, taxes, Iraq, George Bush, err, Iraq". This move comes after the LibDems publicly dropped their crazy local income tax idea at the party conference earlier this autumn.

Kennedy's announcement is contrary to the very core of his party's unelectablity. However, it does show that the party is moving with the times. A recent survey for www.morrisdancing.org revealed that the price of sandals has rocketed in recent months.


Sandals: a bit pricey nowadays

If duty on sandals can be reduced, in tandem with a reduction in taxes allowing people more disposal income, then simple economics says that sandals sales will go up. The more sandal wearers there are, the more LibDem voters there are. This must be the most transparently logical LibDem policy ever.

Blair to dump Labour?

Tony Blair is today considering the actions of Ariel Sharon. Sharon has sensationally left the Likud party that he helped create and which, as a result of his departure and politically controversial disengagement plan, he may have helped to destroy.

As in war, the pursuit of peace often encounters collateral damage. In this case, the Likud party appears to find itself in the line of fire. Sharon's brave decision, first to push forward with the disengagement plan in the face of fierce criticism from his political opponents and his own party and then to ditch the party he has devoted his political life to in order to maintain the path to peace, will have attracted the attention of Tony Blair for one particular side effect: it looks like (following the forthcoming elections) Sharon will have had his grip on power enhanced by dumping his own party.

Q: What is Tony Blair's biggest problem at the moment?

A: The Labour Party

Will Tony ditch the New Labour he helped to create? The speculation started here first.

Friday, November 18, 2005

POTUS accuses American opposition party of seeking political gain by opposing POTUS

A leading democrat suggested yesterday that pulling out of Iraq as soon as possible might be a good idea. From the political climate over here, I can see that being a vote winner, but from what I saw over there, it strikes me as a definite vote loser.

The President retaliated by suggesting that this was undermining the morale of the troops out there. To my mind, the thousands of 'Support our troops' magnetic ribbons I've seen in the States are in support of the troops, not the war. Many Americans support the war too, probably a majority, but most are aware of the difference between one and the other, and have been for some time following incidents in the past where the confusion has led to reduced morale.

Dubya also said the Democrats were trying to make political gains by this. To my understanding, the role of an opposition party is to make political gains by pointing out the mistakes of the ruling party, preferably before the ruling party have made them. The role of a ruling party is to make political gain by not making the mistakes in the first place. I wish I was accused of trying to do my job more often. Perhaps if I didn't post here so much, I would be.

So, in the spirit of the Commander in Chief himself - I accuse George W Bush of trying not to make mistakes!

Thursday, November 17, 2005

MI5 Supremo: ID cards 'absolutely useless'

Yet another blow for a Blairite pet project came yesterday as Dame Stella Rimmington, the former head of MI5 savaged the government's case for ID cards. The former spy-master added:

"ID cards may be helpful in all kinds of things but I don't think they are necessarily going to make us any safer."

Is there anybody anywhere that still thinks that these things are worthwhile?

Mandy gets the claws out

It takes a child's mind to see that the emperor has no clothes.

"If the French social model is so great, why is the country in flames?"

- EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson (BBC2 Newsnight, 15 Nov '05)

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

A further update from the French Tourism Board

Sponsored by Jacques and Jean's French for idiot foreigners
- now out in paper back for easier combustion!


Jacques et Jean: apprenez le français la manière révolutionnaire

Bonjour again, Englishmans!

We 'ere in the France are really nice and we 'ope you come to visit. To 'elp you on your trip, 'ere is some 'elpful French phrases for you to use:


* Je viens de londres. - I am from London
* Merci de me depanner - Thanks for your help
* Ou est la gare? - Where is the station?
* Qu'est-ce qui se passe? - What is happening?
* Ou sont les pompiers? - Where are the firemen?
* Avez-vous un extincteur? - Do you have a fire extinguisher?
* A quelle heure est le couvre-feu? - What time is the curfew?
* Pourquoi brulez vous ma voiture? - Why are you burning my car?
* Avez-vous du feu pour allumer mon cocktail molotov? - Do you have a light for my petrol bomb?
* Les gentils Parisiens ne meritent pas ca. - The nice people of Paris don't deserve all this.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Scoucers invade countryside


A group of at least eight scoucers rampaged through the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire countryside at the weekend.

An source that asked not to be named said:

"my sheep were particularly worried about the one they called 'Neal'

"And I certainly wouldn't let my daughters out if the one they referred to as 'Col' is nearby."

For more details on this shocking story see our photo report.

Funny picture


we've not had a funny picture in a while

More PR for PR

This from today's Independent:

At May's general election, according to the campaigners' report, it took only 26,858 votes to elect a Labour MP, 44,241 to elect a Tory and 98,484 to vote in a Liberal Democrat. Nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of the population did not vote for the present Government and on the results for just England, 60,000 more people voted for the Conservative Party than the Labour Party yet Labour won 92 more seats and was chosen to represent the people.

It's something we've been banging on about for a while.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Arnie proposes cooperation with the huge scary robots of California!

After the defeat this week of every part of Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal, Arnie is now putting forward a new proposal - co-operation.

Co-operation between the state and their Governor? You mean your proposal is that people co-operate by voting for stuff you put forward?

This is a real quote. "If I were to do another Terminator movie, I would have the Terminator travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have a special election."

Ha ha!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Blair blames MPs for parliament defeat

In a bid to excuse his lofty and uncompromising approach to the abolition of civil liberties Tony Blair has blamed MPs for his commons defeat, claiming that they are 'out of touch'. Pot, kettle, black?

Within the context of today's newspaper headlines Blair's behaviour seems frankly embarrassing. With the media's propensity to overplay just about anything most people would have taken the "beginning of the end" stuff with a pinch of salt.

However, with the Fuhrer now turning on his generals and seemingly losing his already tenuous grip on rationality; are the papers closer to the truth than they realise? One thing is for sure: there's blood in the water, but are there any sharks about?

Bush baits Barroso

Hat tip: BBC Web-site

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso was briefly gob-smacked on a visit to Washington this week.

Doing the social chit-chat bit before a press conference Barroso complemented Bush on his suit. "Thanks," said the POTUS, "God told me to wear it", waiting a suitably long time before adding "that's a joke."

Cameron dirty tricks revealed

The during the week of voting from Tory MPs that eliminated Ken Clarke and Dr Liam Fox from the race the Evening Standard led on with what was described as a 'gay slur' on the good Doctor.


Fox: against fags

Briefers from the Fox 'camp' were quick to blame David Davis' team, as were the press, but current rumours doing the rounds at Westminster hint at a more sinister explanation.

The rumour has it that the 'gay slur' is actually the work of New Labour, which has 'Black Folders' ready on each of the leadership candidates. When it became obvious that Dr Fox wasn't going to topple either Davis or Cameron, the dark arts practitioners passed the file to Cameron's team, who promptly passed it to the Standard.

The reasoning behind this is unclear, but one school of thought has it that there was a possibility of inflicting residual damage on the Cameron campaign if it could be later proved that they were involved in the smear - a so-called 'masochism strategy'. So far Cameron's spinners seem to have the story covered, but if he wins the leadership election - especially if he does so making ground from Davis' blundering attempts at dirty tricks - expect this one to come back to haunt him.

An update from the French Tourism Board

Sponsored by the French Wine Growers Cartel

'Ello again English monkies!

We're so keen to get our 'ands on your lovely English money/wives/daughters that we're offering a special tour of France to anyone who doesn't look a bit Muslim.

That's right, a tour of the lovely France, with the wines, cheeses, incompre-'ensible bureaucracy, political violence and more of the lovely wine.

You and your family can enjoy the benefits of wine and protectionism without the added burden of actual protection or drink driving laws as you tour the countryside in the safety of a French car with the luxury of a real open fire and power steering.

France - it's double the fun if you see double!


Climate information for France tomorrow



Brief

France will be a chilly at first for the English visitor, although it will warm as the Euros start to flow from the north.

There are chances of isolated storms with high pressure areas building just about everywhere due to the meeting of fronts from Europe and North Africa.

The evening will be mild, with intermittent spells of Frenchmen claiming they are the world's greatest lovers that my result in a disappointing dry spells with the odd patch of dampness early on.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Davis dirty tricks exposed

The seasonally relevant and politically connected Guido Fawkes has uncovered a fiendish plot from the David Davis camp.

On last week's Question Time, which was unanimously interpreted as a victory for Davis, one of the more memorable soundbites was provided by an audience member who told Mr Cameron that he "couldn't run a bath".

By a strange quirk of fate, the young man who delivered the jibe is the son of former Tory MP Jonathan Aitken.


William Aitken: coincidence

By further strange coincidence it appears that young William Aitken is also a member of the Davis campaign team, seen clearly in the screenshots below:


David Davis and William Aitken: another coincidence

The screenshots are taken from the new David Davis promotional video released yesterday proving that in a shooting contest the ex-SAS Davis could hit his foot every time.

This Davis PR flop has a similar ring to the t-shirt stunt that backfired on DD at the conference.

Schwarzenegger defeated by giant scary robots of California

Having defeated the terminator robot he used to side with, and having defeated the pretend spy who was sleeping with his wife, and having defeated Killian, and whoever it was Conan the Barbarian defeated, and probably someone Russian in 'Red Heat' and Danny De Vito in the hilarious hit comedy Twins, and a bunch of schoolchildren in Kindergarten Cop, and the imaginary friends fo a small boy in Last Action Hero and most of Mars in Total Recall, Arnie was finally defeated by the voters of California. Holding some sort of referendum the nature of which I haven't bothered to find out, every bid for reform under the Governor was defeated.


I'm Arnie! F*ck you, assh*le!

"He never apologized once for trashing every one of us," said Mike Jimenez, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. "And I can tell you, tomorrow we're not going to apologize for the way this election turned out. Tomorrow starts Round 2."

Mr Schwarzenneger declined to give an interview to Policyblender. Largely because we weren't stupid enough to ask.

Davis lead forces Cameron substance

A Populus poll in today's Times puts David Davis in the lead over his leadership rival David Cameron with a 50% to 37% advantage.

This should come as no surprise given the recent Question Time performances of both candidates. Indeed, the Cameroonians have clearly recognised the damage that their man's substance-lite approach has inflicted on his chances of being elected Conservative leader by the Tory membership.

Cameron's speech yesterday to the think-tank The Centre for Policy Studies at last put Conservative meat on the bones of his campaign that were beginning to look decidedly 'third way'. He spoke of 'economic empowerment' and opportunity for all at home and of the importance of irradiating malaria and establishing property rights as a means for economic empowerment in the third world. All in all, it was a good Conservative speech, with a solid blend of ideology, practicality and substance.

Cameron is creeping closer to that dream ticket of uniting the Conservative pillars of One Nationism and Economic Liberalism. If he is to complete this feat, though, he must first lose the millstone of his reluctance to explicitly commit to a low tax economy. Doing so would not only join the dots in his philosophical platform, but also be an act of political bravery and integrity that would rid him of the heir to Blair tag and move away from the oft ridiculed 'third way'.

Monday, November 07, 2005

At least we agree on one thing...

...1300 cars were destroyed across France on Saturday night. It's nice to hear the BBC, Channel 4 and the newspaper (the Daily Mail, I think ) all agree on one figure for a change.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Davis kicks some ass



Newspapers are reporting last night's contest between the two Davids as a score draw. Not so. David Davis belied the predictions that PR specialist would wipe the floor with him by producing an assured display.

Davis succeeded in bringing out the worries that follow Cameron around: that he's vacuous and that he hasn't thought any of his policies through apart from education (which is his parliamentary brief anyway).

Cameron, for his part, performed badly. This leadership race is clearly his to lose, but then we said that about David Davis going into the conference, and Cameron doesn't have as much to fall back on. 'Dave', as he prefers to be known, didn't step up the gear required. He landed some effective technical point scorers by stating that policies shouldn’t be set out in detail for tomorrow's newspapers five years before an election. But to no avail.

What Conservatives want is a commitment to the principle of economic growth stimulated by low tax. Davis made that commitment, and stressed that this was for the benefit of the very poorest of society. Cameron did neither.

Cameron should be in good Conservative territory on tax, he has shadow Chancellor George Osborne on his team who has made distinct noises about flat-tax in recent months. Instead, he spoke of issues that Conservatives are typically suspicious of: drugs liberalisation and climate change. He also cemented the heir to Blair claims with a heartfelt plea for Africa: a worthy cause, but far to close to Tony's patch to be advisable.

All the while Davis played a with a firm, straight bat - looking solid and professional and pressing the right Tory buttons along the way: low tax, economy, crime and family. Someone has to remind Cameron that the first election he has to win is one where only Conservatives can vote, so this is his chance to show that he really is committed to Conservative causes. If he doesn't, he's outta there.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Paris: the most romantic city in the world

an advertisement on behalf of the Parisian tourist board

Bonjour Rosbifs!

For years you 'ave thought of us frenchy-types the arrogant eater of the legs of the frogs. And we in turn dislike you and the language you share with those uncultured philistins across the Atlantique.

But even though we 'ate your stupid words, your bland cuisine and your bald arm-pitted women we want you to come to Paris to spend some of the money you make from that disgusting anglo-saxon capitalism system you 'ave.

C'est simple really: you may think we get enough out of you already, what with your lean and productive low tax culture propping up our plump and over-subsidised protectionist racquet through the EU, but non - non non non - mon new amie, we need more.

In return, in addition to the traditional Paris welcome of merde weather, rude locals, amphetamine addicted taxi drivers and over-priced toasted cheese sandwiches you will be welcomed by a nocturnal street barbeque!

Come to Paris, it's a riot!




Grußeroberer!

Wieviele Jahre wünschen Sie diese mal bleiben?

Ist der netter Herr Hitler mit Ihnen?

Und wo wünschen Sie uns die Juden zu laden?

Blunkett Resigns (Again)


Blunkett: cabinet hokey-cokey

David Blunkett today made an obvious play for a top EU job by resigning as a Cabinet Minister for the second time.

It is not clear which high-level European post he will be offered, although "sources close to David Blunkett" - a media euphemism for David Blunkett - are already being quoted as saying that the former Home Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary would make a good "Emperor of Europe".

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Key Performance Indicators

In a political culture of targets, missions, Priority areas for delivery, Public Service Agreements(PSAs), Prime Minister's Delivery Units ( PMDU), Prime Minister's Strategy Units ( PMSU), efficiency, effectiveness, Government Gateways, and accessibility networks, you'd think the quality of government you're getting for your money would be pretty high.

Think again. Beneath the headline grabbing initiatives, the quality of government we are subjected to in exchange for our tax money is less than piss-poor. Take today, for instance. Today is the start of the hunting season. You may be surprised at this, because according to the government those super rich toffs from the Banwen Miners Hunt aren't allowed to hunt their foxes anymore.

However, this is a government that couldn't successfully legislate its way out of a wet paper bag. Don't get me wrong, this government could spin its way out of anything, wars included. But when it comes to the merchandise rather than the branding the quality level is decidedly jerry-built.

Hunters across England and Wales will have enjoyed a cracking day today - bright sunshine and a stiff, bracing breeze. During the course of a ride - be it to merely exercise the hounds, or line-hunt a scent - it is not doubted that some of the hounds will have picked up the scent of a fox, followed it and ripped the blighter to pieces. The police cannot prosecute hounds, nor under the legislation drafted by those who spent 700 hours of parliamentary time debating the fox hunting ban and seven hours of parliamentary time debating whether to attack Iraq, can the police stop hunters riding out with their hounds.

Value for money?