The morning after the day before

[mraltariel]

I think that in what is one of the most interesting and complex elections for a generation,  the BBC have severely let themselves (and therefore us) down with their coverage. Frivolous, inaccurate, overblown, inconsistent and uncoordinated (website and TV calling some seats in different directions!) Andrew Neil wasted on a D-list celebrity barge.

Comments

[toft_froggy]

Ah, I was hoping you'd have written something, it is always good to hear your analyses, what with how you have nolij.

On the political front, I'd shout out to Margaret Hodge. Well done to her for taking on and thoroughly defeating the odious Griffin, and addressing this in her speech.

Yes! I was very happy about that.

Looking forward, I reckon a reformed second chamber, elected on some form of PR, a reduction of the number of MPs and a consequent package of boundary change are the likely consequence of the current situation - maybe even a PR option, with a referendum ultimately wrapping up the whole reform package.

I hope you're right! That sounds okay.

[toft_froggy]

PS - one of the nice things about following from Canada was I did it entirely via the Guardian liveblog, which I have decided is great, and almost entirely avoided fucking Jeremy Paxman.

[mraltariel]

That was definitely the way to go!

I apologize for the next part of this post in advance, but I couldn't keep it in.

NoPaxman = GoodPaxman (1)

If you divide equation (1) through by Paxman, you'll see that

No = Good (2)

Since

No =/= Good, we can't divide by Paxman, so I guess that means that

Paxman = 0 (3)

This is a bad maths joke.

[toft_froggy]

Lol.

[hafren]

almost entirely avoided fucking Jeremy Paxman.

I trust the only verb in that sentence is "avoided"!

Hope your optimism is justified but personally I'm terrified.

[toft_froggy]

Haha - yes, this was yet another year that I avoided both having sex with Jeremy Paxman and watching him on TV, or watching him have sex on TV. Win!

[mraltariel]

I think it quite likely. We've got a unique *political* opportunity to put together a package of constitutional reform.

In recent political history, it rarely happens when one side or the other has a thumping majority (c.f. 1997 and the botched Lords reform, and abandonment of the Jenkins committee once Blair got his landslide); this is the cliched-but-true Turkeys voting for Christmas effect.

As things are right now, the situation has a built-in demand for collaboration.

I am still concerned about a hung parliament collapsing into chaos and infighting, rather than realignment and renewal, but I think the chances are there, and that Clegg and Cameron (and hopefully, perhaps necessarily, whoever follows Brown) should be able to get this comprehensively right.