New biometric passports can be cloned

Just remember, in a few months time, when you're reading about the mass recall of biometric passports, where you read it first.

The problem with the North

I've just watched Vox Politics from the new 18 Doughty Street Web TV Station. The episode in question has Ann Widecombe and Bernard Jenkin scrapping about the A-List, a subject that never fails to amuse me.

The real issue here, which is skirted around (and, to be fair to the Tories they are starting to wake up to) is their lack of traction in "the north", which has it's roots in their method of hardly ever selecting local candidates.

Now, as a proud Northerner, I'm happy to offer them some advice here. In Ashfield (Geoff Hoon's seat), where I have the pleasure of living, the idea of having an MP who doesn't have strong links with the area simply doesn't occur to people. Here, politicians come from the community and serve the community. So, what did the Ashfield Conservative Party do at the last general election? They selected Giles Inglis-Jones (now an A-Lister). Giles was a nice guy, former soldier and a stereotypical Tory. A huge amount of cash was spent on his campaign, and they gained absolutely nothing for it.

Why?

Simply, because there are people in the area who will always vote Tory, but those swing voters they need to turn the seat (and it has returned a Tory in the recent past) looked at Giles and saw a guy who would have stood anywhere, and probably couldn't find Ashfield on a map before he saw the seat advertised. It's the same mistake Labour made in 2001 when they selected Reg Race to fight in Chesterfield (one of the safest Labour seats under Tony Benn). People looked into his eyes and saw what he was, a man after a career and no understanding of their town.

The other factor which seems to be forever overlooked is that, no matter what your opinion on Mrs Thatcher's time in power, the North of England and it's industries suffered disproportionately in the 1980s, and are still suffering huge aftershocks now, so the last thing those crucial swing voters want to see is a Tory who reminds them of that.

So, what shall the Tories do? Well, they can start by shutting up about "outstanding" local candidates and instead insist on local candidates, certainly in seats with strong local identities, which is so often the case in the North.

I doubt they'll do it, judging by Mr Jenkin's performance the idea of letting  a local party have real freedom to choose whomever they want as their candidate is not in the plan. This demonstrates Mr Cameron's fundamental misunderstanding of liberty, you must accept and indeed welcome dissent, not decide what "liberal" is and then bully everyone else into agreeing.