Just Thinking makes an interesting point. Few to none have been charged with riot: as I’ve been saying, this might well mean that there wasn’t in fact a riot and thus the rozzers not having to pay for the damage caused in those not riots. What slightly worries me is that Frank Dobson thinks this

Many Liberal Democrats I’ve spoken to have mixed feelings about the proposed benefit cap and some of the housing benefit changes. On the one hand, they have very little sympathy with the complaints of people such as Frank Dobson that rule changes means he wouldn’t be able to afford to stay in his council flat.

Grant Shapps, rising energetic housing minister but friend-of-the-earther, proposes that people earning over £100,000 a year in council accommodation should have to move out, to make it available for the poor. We know high earning Bob Crow on £254,000 a year pays £150 a week for his 3-bed home in Woodford Green. And Socialist dinosaur Frank Dobson, an ex-Cabinet minister earning ...

Quite why people are surprised that Andrew Lansley has stuck to his plans to introduce GP Commissioning is a mystery.  I’m struggling to recall one of his speeches or policy documents in recent years where it wasn’t mentioned. Anyway, let’s be clear, widespread control of commissioning budgets by GPs was where the NHS was headed until Frank Dobson took over in 1997 and unrav...

It is time. A month of perspective allows a Comment Central competition to begin - who, in the 13 years of Labour Government was the worst minister. Ron Davis? John Prescott? Frank Dobson? Gavin Strang? Gordon Brown himself must be...

Pictures from the tenants lobby of the Crown Estate buildings on 23rd March. Regent's Park ward Action team was there - with Heather, Nash and Frank Dobson speaking. The demo was written up in the Camden New Journal, here. Residents from four boroughs making some noise! Labour's Action team in full song.

A branch Post office was re-opened for this week serving residents of the Crown and Regent's Park Estates. This is a great victory for local people, and thanks go to Frank Dobson and Tulip Siddiq (pictured) for their lobbying: the role lcoal councillors played I've written about here. To put extra pressure to get a solution to the problem, I pragmatically developed the "Save Peter Mandel...

Stay tuned for live coverage from 14:30. Here we go. 14:40: Rather a self-deprecating and witty loyal address by self-confessed "dinosaur still living", Frank Dobson. He gives a wonderful potted political history of his constituency, Holborn and St. Pancras, with particular reference to John Bellingham, who assassinated Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, whose descendant is a Tory MP. Dobs...

Stay tuned for live coverage from 14:30. Here we go. 14:40: Rather a self-deprecating and witty loyal address by self-confessed "dinosaur still living", Frank Dobson. He gives a wonderful potted political history of his constituency, Holborn and St. Pancras, with particular reference to John Bellingham, who assassinated Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. Dobson ends by celebrating the Hous...

Labour is threatening to impose a £40,000 ‘fine’ on former Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt in revenge for defecting to the Conservatives. Former Cabinet Minister Frank Dobson yesterday called on the Government to stop paying Sir Richard who, in line with Army custom, continues to be paid for three months after retiring in the summer. Have