Friday, May 07, 2010

I for one welcome our web-literate overlords

42% to Evan Harris (Lib.Dem.), 42.3% to Nicola Blackwood (Con.). Oxford West & Abingdon goes to the Conservatives. That's democracy.

Let no one accuse this woman of being behind the times. Her up to the minute new-fangled web technology intertube thingy still says:

Am I unreasonable to expect a passable degree of web literacy among our elected representatives? Especially from those children born in 1979 who pretty well grew up with it? Or is this just sour grapes? Time will tell.

I'll be fair. I gather she was a gracious opponent at the recent hustings. Meanwhile, please will the media stop banging on about the utterly dispensable Lembit Opik losing his seat, just because he's the one with a silly name and lamentable personal life.

5 comments:

  1. Nineteen-Delta1:20 pm

    The victory of Nicola over Evan is a wafer-thin one, <200 votes. Making Ox.West and Abingdon a key conservative marginal. Hopefully next time around some of the political heavyweights will be seen in and around town, and start litening to what the residents really want in this area. some of my friends voted for her "'Coz she's a babe." I had to roll my eyes in disbelief. It ISN'T a saturday night Andrew-Lloyd-Webber beauty pageant, people! This is about the future of the country! I need a drink. Thank goodness it's Friday.

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  2. To Nineteen-Delta,

    What were you saying about a Lloyd webber talent contest?
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8667143.stm

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  3. John Gaunt9:31 am

    Your sexist friend aside, people voted for Ms Blackwood because the is a well spoken, intelligent human rights campaigner (Who has ACTED on her beliefs unlike Dr Harris who loves to preach but does little) who campaigned on a program of fiscal conservativism and social liberalism. people voted for her because she soundly trounced Dr harris in every hustings and in BBC radio debates, and because in the end Dr harris was a good ideologue, but a weak MP who did little to nothing for his constituency, and spent the last week of the election in Campus pubs trying to 'buy' student votes with promises of free tuition, which even his own party leader said was financially impossible. You should slap your friend, and then slap yourself for assuming she won because she is young and female: way to set women's rights back a decade. She won because she is the better candidate.

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  4. And you should read (a) the blog and (b) the posts above more carefully. Attention to (b) will show you that no one here is being sexist, or indeed disagreeing with any of Ms Blackwood's strengths. The line "I had to roll my eyes in disbelief" might help. Attention to (a) will indicate why I want Harris in Parliament. (Here would be a good place to start.) Heck, I'm not even fussed which constituency he works in - Parliament just needs him.

    But welcome aboard: healthy debate is the essence of democracy ...

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  5. Blinky5:51 am

    If the winning candidate does more for you, your constituency, your family _and_ the country than the previous one, then they are the better man (or woman) for the job. Ms Blackwood was 186 votes better. Thats all we can deduce at this stage.

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