Quiet morning in Westminster today. This blog likes to keep up with key national developments and I was pleased to see that Batemans, a "proud, independent British brewery" has decide to introduce a new 'Veto Ale' in celebration of David Cameron's "no" to Nicolas Sarkozy and other EU leaders. The Veto ale is exclusive to Wetherspoons and their chairman Tim Martin is delighted:"Veto Ale is a traditional English bitter and a perfect example of a great beer style that you can drink and feel proud to be British. I believe that David Cameron has taken the right decision on the euro and that customers in our pubs will salute this with a pint of this excellent beer."
Veto Ale is, we learn, "brewed using solely British ingredients". But, of course.
In Northumberland we support anything British brewed, which makes people go to local pubs, albeit I accept that Wetherspoons is a chain. I suspect the beer may sell well.
Sifting through the New Years Honours I was pleased to see a knighthood for the Liberal MP for Colchester, Sir Bob Russell MP, who who was first elected when Nick Clegg was only four years old! In this media age the several pensioners in parliament still have a great deal of insight, experience and wisdom to offer. Sir Bob is easily identifiable on the front row of the Liberal benches, albeit he does not hold office. He tends to look like he has been dragged through a hedge backwards and then dressed down by Shirley Williams. However, he is a nice man, and as reported in Lib Dem Voice, he has accepted the honour in a similar way to that other famous class warrior, John Prescott, with a nice one liner:
"I have spent my entire adult life fighting the establishment but clearly, I have failed.”
As a footnote, on the same website, only the Liberals could be running a poll for "your favourite Liberal of the year" with the choice including Hugh Grant, Occupy London, Ken Clarke and Hilary Clinton = and not one actual Liberal! You could not make it up.
Full details on both stories at: http://www.libdemvoice.org/sir-bob-russell-mp-i-have-spent-my-entire-adult-life-fighting-the-establishment-but-clearly-i-have-failed-26450.html
