Merry Christmas from TheEye

Referendum Gate, Gibraltar ,2011

Gibraltar isn’t exactly the most festive place when it comes to Christmas. There are no chestnuts roasting on an open fire, no Jack Frost nipping on your nose. There were yuletide carols sung by the choir from the local Convent last week on Irish Steps but even at noon today the weather was mild enough to have lunch outside in shirt-sleeves.

Regular readers will know that TheEye hasn't had an easy second half to the year. My sincere thanks go to those who have emailed, contacted, offered support and help and done all of those things which make the world go around when things are a bit not so good. Especial thanks to fellow Eye contributors and friends St Crispin, Max and David Vance without whom the last few months would have been much more difficult. And others too - unmentioned here to spare blushes but you know who you are and I appreciate it.

The New Year will see new domestic arrangements for TheEye which will feature amongst other things teh interwebs at home for the first time in 4 months. Plus not living out of suitcases. So blogging will pick up again. Snatching wifi from coffee shops just isn't the same...

TheEye and all of our contributors here wish you all a fantastic Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

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Clegg: "This Is Simply Unacceptable"

Was it about this news story? Or perhaps he was talking about this photograph? We haven't forgotten it you yellow hypocrite.

What a disgusting two-faced duplicitous lying bastard politician. Telling the Press that you've whinged at the Frogs on the telephone changes nothing. We still despise you.

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Chewbacca Sings "Silent Night"

There's no BBC Question Time tonight - it is back on the 12th January - so let's have a more festive post than usual for a Thursday evening...

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Santa Venn Diagram

Still busy, will be back...

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Question Time LiveBlog 8th December 2011

Question Time tonight comes from Stoke-On-Trent.

On the panel Conservative PPS to the Defence Secretary Claire Perry, Labour MP Tristram Hunt, black part-time judge Constance Briscoe, Chief Executive of Next Lord Simon Wolfson (who takes the Conservative whip) and nutty race-baiter Mehdi Hasan.

It's been a long time since the panel has been so spectacularly unspectacular. Honestly, you wouldn't recognise a single one of them if they stood next to you on the Tube.

Today is General Election day in Gibraltar so TheEye has been hobbling around on crutches wearing a rosette all day. I will try to join the chat Moderation panel from the count via the BatPhone but no promises as I'm moderating a similar chat on the Gib results at the same time. Busy busy busy. And not in a good way.

David Vance and David Mosque are Duty Moderating Heroes for yet another evening...

It's a 10:30pm kick off. You know where to be. And how much alcohol to bring.

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Can We Have Our EU Referendum Now?

The Terms and Conditions of course being that you don't get one.

(from here)

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Question Time LiveBlog 1st December 2011

Question Time tonight comes from Dagenham.

On the panel Ken Clarke, Chuka Umunna, someone from Dragon's Den called Deborah Meaden, Canadian-American journalist David Frum and union boss Mary Bousted.

So David Frum is the token right-winger. Nobody would ever accuse Ken Clarke of filling that chair, could they?

It's a 10:30pm kick off. You know where to be. And how much alcohol to bring.

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Stick It Where The Sun Doesn't Shine

TheEye is busy with the General Election here in Gibraltar and much depends on the result here on the 8th December. TheEye's job, for a start.

On the campaign trail trying to keep things on an even keel...we shall see...but an interesting (for us locally) statement from the idiot europhile "Conservative" Minister that the Liberals allowed to represent us sell us out in the Foreign Office in the UK (bold stuff added for emphasis):

However one thing matters above all other issues. The UK government have betrayed us before with direct and underhand negotiations with Spain on the subject of soveriegnty. So it is with some relief but deep suspicion that we welcome...

Nine days after the Popular Party swept into power in Spain, the British Government has underscored its long-standing assurance that it will not talk about Gibraltar’s sovereignty against the wishes of its people.

The PP said in its electoral manifesto that it would seek a return to bilateral talks with the UK over Gibraltar, but the message from Britain this week was clear.

David Lidington, Minister of State for Europe and NATO at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, set out Britain’s position in a response to a question in the House of Commons.

Tory MP Andrew Rosindell had asked if Britain had recently discussed the sharing of Gibraltar’s sovereignty with Spain.

Mr Lidington said Britain’s Foreign Minister, William Hague, had not discussed Gibraltar’s sovereignty with Spain.

“Any communication that we have with the Spanish Government about Gibraltar reflects our clear position on sovereignty, which is that the UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes and, furthermore, the UK will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content,” he added.

Shove it. Sideways. We don't trust any of you now.

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