A Few Early Bluebells

Remember all that fuss in the Guardian, Indie and BBC about voters being allegedly deprived of the opportunity to register ?

Couldn't happen here, of course. Since Labour came to power our previously corrupt election system has improved no end. What a pity that apparently 80% of the soldiers in Iraq won't be able to vote.

UPDATE - correspondent Nick tells me the non-appearing leaflets are discussed here and the election here at the Army Rumour Service site. Sir Tim Garden's appearance on Today is here.

The SNP claimed a delay in the distribution of information leaflets was designed to prevent Labour losing votes as a result of the Iraq conflict.

In January, minister for veterans Ivor Caplin told the Commons that 100,000 advisory leaflets would be distributed to bases in order that serving personnel could be included on the electoral rolls in their home constituencies.

The Electoral Commission confirmed the leaflets were dispatched to the MoD on February 4.

But Jeff Duncan, campaign manager of Save the Scottish Regiments, claimed they did not start arriving at British bases until March 1 – 10 days before the deadline.

Given that it can take more than two weeks for post to arrive from bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Duncan claims many troops were given little or no chance to exercise their democratic right.

Mr Duncan said: “It is a travesty.

“What is going on when we are sending men out to defend the Iraqis’ right to vote but we are not defending their own right to vote?

“We have a situation where the MoD have, at least for five weeks, sat on a bunch of forms.

“It raises the suspicion that someone is trying to disenfranchise people who could unseat Labour MPs.

Back in the UK, all right-thinking people know that any attempts to link asylum and terrorism are desperate fictions of the deranged Right.

In the States, Liberal Larry celebrates the work of the late Andrea Dworkin.

And two terrific posts at the Social Affars Unit blog. Although I've lived in the sticks for 20 years, horsey people are still alien life forms to me. I see them at the races, with the stout shoes, binoculars, tweeds and hats, or on horseback coming past the house, but I don't really know them. So this post on the Hunt AGM is a great help.

And this one, on exporting Western democracy to non-Western nations, is good too.