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Overly simplistic, smug, and pat comparison.

I have, as is do often boringly the case, had politics on my mind of late. In my defence, the westminster scene is currently an absolutely delicious melange of bitterness, backbiting, carping and generalised chaos. It's fascinating stuff. You've got ministers, actual MINISTERS briefing against the government line (hello, Govey, what up, Hammond), you've got the Lib Dem division with their partners deepening by the second, you've got Simon Hughes sounding increasingly pissed off with every interview, you've got Vince Cable growing a pair on immigration (too little, too late, Vince, but nice try). You've got the office for national statistics threatening to send their inspectors into the DWP because Duncan Smith has basically been lying. Not even massaging the statistics, just plain lying (for those unaware, he claimed 8000 people had gained employment due to a legislative change WHICH HADN'T ACTUALLY HAPPENED YET) and, of course there's tonight's hilarious music-hall number wherein a bunch of rabid right-wingers table a motion saying the Queen was talking out of her arse. Don't know how they'll manage to salute their flags with a straight face in the morning. You have Ed Miliband quickly respoding to the government's inertia by going home and having a nice sit down. You've got Farage.

Ah, Nige, you're the mainspring of this whole thing, the overly simplistic comparison referred to above. And here it is. Remember the US election? Remember how the republicans lurched massively to the right due to a noisy, extreme minority? Didn't work out so well, did it? Remember how well UKIP did a couple of weeks back? Noted how the Tory party is a frothing, panicking, borderline racist mess? Of course you have, it's stating the bleeding obvious. And I reckon the labour strategists will too, and if somebody isn't having a very sharp word with Ed very soon, then they're not doing their job

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