I also remember Blair stating “I’m a pretty straight kind of guy”.

First time ever I remember that the public were given a specific “guarantee” that the Party they elected to govern the country would keep it’s leader for a “Full third term”.

That term may have been any length from the election until June this year but at the point Blair went Brown should have called an election – the promise made should have been kept.

I have no complaints about anything this government has done honestly but I resent being lied to by people I have voted for. If you say you’ll hold a referendum on Lisbon then do it. Or don’t say it.

People reading this blog may believe it is OK to support a man (Brown) who thinks it’s OK to lie but I don’t. What kind of an example does this set?

The Labour activists should be incandescent with rage that Brown lied on Andrew Marr yesterday over investment and cuts but they’re not and that is unacceptable in a society that should value honesty.

Leaving aside the fact Brown is a truly unpleasant character, if he was honest at least a case could be put forward by people for his re-election on the basis he could be trusted but he can’t.

That means Will Straw, Shamik Das and co are attempting to force an unelected dishonest man on the country for another five years and I do not think that is right – the party should be put first Richard.

Honesty should be put first – hell perhaps the electors in Britain, their paymasters, should be put first. Won’t happen with that bullying thug at the top though….

The local Conservative county council are planning to close the fire station in my town, all in the name of making savings. That will definitely put lives and properties at risk. The town council is almost completely Conservative and have voted their displeasure about the planned closure (to their credit), but their views have been ignored. So much for Tory localism.

I wonder if my house will still be here at the end of 2010? Come to think of it, if there is a fire in my hosue and I am forced to fight it myself, will I be here at the end of the year?

I do not understand the constant repetition of the phrase “vote for a man they never elected in the first place”. The fact is that we do not vote for a Prime Minister. Brown was elected, he was elected as an MP. Throughout our history we have had people who became PM mid term. We have even had people who were not even MPs who became PM (OK, one example, The Earl of Home became PM in Oct 1963 and on his appointment he disclaimed his peerage, so he was still PM and yet in neither house. Then two weeks later he won the by-election in the safe seat of Kinross & West Perthshire). We do not have a presidential system (thank goodness) so really people should drop these silly ideas about Brown “not being elected PM”.

As you say, the message on “green taxes” is all wrong. As I said, above, it is wrong to blame me (or indeed you) for the rise in CO2, but that is what green taxes do.

We are told that green taxes are supposed to educate us into doing the right thing, but I think they will be counter productive. Parking fines in London often fail because the rich just treat the fine as the cost of parking. Here’s an idea. Why can’t we have labelling, showing how much CO2 was generated when making the product you are about to consume (including any transportation for imported goods)? If manufactures baulk at more label regulation then why not a government-sponsored web site with the information? Treat consumers as adults and give consumers the choice. rather than forcing people to generate less CO2 allow them to choose to produce less. I think the policy makers will be pleasantly surprised how successful such a scheme could be.