A little light reading...

Apologies for not blogging for a despicably long time.  I've been rather busy with things.  One of those things has been deciding what to put on my Christmas list, and part of this process has been choosing a few books.  I know this isn't a 'proper' post but I thought I'd share my reading list with you all the same.

1. 'Summer of Blood' by Dan Jones - a great looking history book by one of Britain's new historians that I'm definitely looking forward to reading.
2. '22 Days in May' by David Laws and '5 Days to Power' by Rob Wilson - this seems to be a matter of one for the price of two, but nonetheless it/they should provide a fascinating insight to how the Coalition was formed.
3. 'Boris v Ken: How Boris Johnson won London' - that whole election was gripping, so I thought it would be nice gain a greater understanding of it.
4. 'Cameron: The Rise of the New Conservative' - I've heard great things about this book, which I think will be a great way of learning more about our new(ish) Prime Minister.
5. 'The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain' - likewise for this one, which is full of practical solutions for Britain's problem from a couple of cracking authors.
6. 'Making of Modern Britain' and 'A History of Modern Britain' by Andrew Marr - I loved the audiobooks, so I decided to go the whole hog and get the tangible versions.

So there we have it.  With Christmas only 42 days away, I hope this list gives you a little inspiration.

Will there ever be a British Tea Party?

At this very moment, polls are closing and votes are being counted in the most exciting US midterm elections in years.  The big story, of course, is the Tea Party, a ragtag bunch of conservatives and libertarians (and loonies).


As usual with an American political development, numerous commentators have been conjecturing about whether there will ever be a British Tea Party.


Well, in my humble opinion at least, the answer is simple: no.  For a start we already have political parties that recognise that government spending needs to be reduced, and a government that is doing this.  So immediately that takes away the need for a grassroots movement like the Tea Party, which by definition is formed because people do not feel their views are being heard by politicians.


But the reasons are more practical than that.  British parliamentary candidates are not regularly chosen by primary, as the US Republican nominations have been.  It was these primaries that the Tea Party were able to hijack.  Without them there is no air for an equivalent movement to breathe.


And the other reason is of course quite obvious - we're not Americans.  For whatever reason, we're not constantly looking for a halcyon past, like some Americans seem to be.  Our political outlook is different; we tend to be more willing to wait for change to happen over time, rather than rushing it now with pressure groups and grassroots movements like the Tea Party.


Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we will soon see a British Tea Party.  But, for the moment at least, I doubt it.