Following in the footsteps of our own poll in May, the Australian General Election has resulted in another knife-edge result that will doubtless keep pundits talking for many days to come.
One of the most interesting local results comes from the Queensland seat of Longman, where 20-year-old Liberal candidate Wyatt Roy seems to have defeated the sitting Australian Labor MP. Whenever a young candidate gets elected, so follows an inevitable debate about whether they are old enough and experienced enough for the job.
My view on this is simple. One of the great things about democracy is that the voters get to decide on these matters, not any one individual or any commentator. Local residents in Wyatt Roy’s Longman electorate had the opportunity to vote for a different candidate if they did not feel he had the experience, and they will be able to vote him out again in three years’ time if he does not do a good job.
If you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to stand – and then the electorate get to decide whether a candidate is up to the job. Arbitary age-limits (and term-limits, for that matter) are only a restriction on democracy.
I don’t suppose that this website has many readers in Coventry, but on the off-chance that there are, my friend’s grandfather has gone missing and I’d be very grateful if you could keep and eye out and please inform the police if you have any information as to his whereabouts.
Update: he was found safe and well by the Police Helicopter which must be a huge relief for everyone involved.
So, they’ve stumbled through after being under pressure for their poor performance, and they’ve been accused of letting the nation down. They still seem have no coherent ideas going forward and that troublesome left flank is remains a problem…
…but enough of the Labour leadership race, did anyone else watch the football?
A very happy Commonwealth Day to friends and partners across the world!
Click here to view the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message.
While I was in London on Monday, I caught sight of a Shred-It van turning into King Charles Street, which is off Whitehall between the Treasury and Foreign Office buildings and the next street parallel to Downing Street.
I’m sure it was perfectly routine, but one can’t help but wonder…
One of the joys of being a Parliamentary Candidate is the inordinate amount of unsolicited mail from lobbyists and companies writing the same e-mails to every single candidate from every single party. Nevertheless they sometimes provide an amusing break from the monotony. Today’s spam e-mail begins…
Dear Iain Lindley,
We at [company name] would like to offer our congratulations to you on your campaign in Woking so far.
…next!
It was a great privilege to attend the Operation Florian charity dinner in Manchester on Saturday night. Operation Florian is the Fire & Rescue Service Humanitarian Charity and they do a fabulous job helping to save lives in parts of the world where the local fire services would otherwise not be meeting the needs of the local people there.
I don’t know how much the dinner raised but I’m sure it was a huge and beneficial amount. You can read more about Operation Florian on their website.
On Thursday 4th June, local residents in Salford and across the country will go to the polls to elect their representatives to the European Parliament.
If you’d like to take part in that election and are not yet on the electoral register, you need to do so by the 19th May. Click here to find out how to register to vote.
If you would like to apply for a postal vote the deadline is also May 19 – click here to find out how to apply for a postal vote.
I was shocked and saddened to learn this morning of the death of Ivan Cameron. My heartfelt sympathy and condolences go out to David and Samantha Cameron and their family and friends. I can’t even begin to imagine how it must feel to lose a child and my thoughts are with them today.
Greetings from a snow-covered Walkden! We seem to have had the optimum amount of snow today – that is, enough to create a nice picturesque wintry atmosphere but not enough to grind the entire world to a halt.
Anyway I’m off out to see in the New Year with friends shortly, so I thought I’d make a quick post here to wish everyone all the best for New Year, and here’s to a successful and happy 2009!
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