The Post-Blair Era

That's it, then. Blair is officially dead as a political force. All the whipping, all the attempts to get support from the far right of the Tories, even trying to draw the Paisleyites (the last reserve of the desperate in British politics) didn't work. The 90-day detention provisions are dead by 31 votes, and who can say what will happen to the rest of the bill?

More importantly, who would now put money on ID cards passing the Lords? The Tories, I see, are now worried that Rupert Murdoch will be angry with them. I'm sceptical - even though Rebekah "Drunken Antisocial Thug" Wade saw fit to describe the noes as "traitors" in today's Scum, if there's one constant in Murdochism it's power-worship. Once they start winning, he'll come around. In Hunter S. Thompson's words, "the shark ethic prevails - eat the wounded". He was talking about Las Vegas, but it explains Murdoch just as well.

See those fins circling, Tony? See them?

By the way, am I the only one tempted to ring up major London hotels and ask if there is a guest by the name of Ross Kemp, by any chance? And did I mention, incidentally, that Rebekah Wade is a drunken antisocial thug? EDIT:Return to base immediately. There is a traitor in our midst. This traitor is your new target. More information is available from headquarters here and here.