{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Sgwrs Tei Bow","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy","author_name":"Clarke Roberts","author_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/author\/clarke-roberts\/","title":"Milliband strikes! Or maybe not... | Bow Tie Talks","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"daNqrcN5UA\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2011\/01\/16\/milliband-strikes-or-maybe-not\/\">Milliband strikes! Or maybe not&#8230;<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2011\/01\/16\/milliband-strikes-or-maybe-not\/embed\/#?secret=daNqrcN5UA\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Milliband strikes! Or maybe not&#8230;&#8221; &#8212; Bow Tie Talks\" data-secret=\"daNqrcN5UA\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","description":"Good afternoon fellow readers, how are you doing? I actually put off writing this blog until today as I thought the contents of the Trinity ramble may have fried your brains, if you&#8217;d read it. Even if not, I just thought I&#8217;d give a quick analysis (wrong word perhaps?) of this week&#8217;s Labour victory in the Oldham by-election. I actually feel quite guilty. Being a member of the Lib Dems I get invited to all sorts of meetings and really cool things of the political type, one such thing included an invitation to campaign in Oldham; an invitation I did not accept. Firstly because I was unsure of exactly where Oldham was and secondly, being a student I hardly have to the time to go galavanting off around the country to help my political party win a by-election. Needless to say the Labour victory was helped by my absence&#8230;clearly. One thing that had me thinking however, was the apparent over-reaction by the British media to this, seemingly insignificant by-election result. Labour already had the seat and the only reason there was a re-election was because the MP who won it originally had been deemed to have ran an illegal campaign; so Labour win again &#8211; not exactly a huge shock now is it? Secondly, I remember reading or hearing somewhere people saying how this was going to be a sign of things to come &#8211; the coalition was loosing the faith of the population and it further demonstrated the weakness of the government. Let&#8217;s just put something into perspective. It&#8217;s one by-election. It&#8217;s not going to determine the outcome of the next general election. A lot can happen in five years time and in the words of my dad, if the Tories manage to pull us out of the shit financially then we&#8217;ll all be singing their praises and we&#8217;ll probably vote them in again. We&#8217;re going through difficult times at the moment, times which, under a Labour government would&#8217;ve been postponed until later this year; people forget this. In a recession cuts are inevitable and so the government can&#8217;t really be blamed. Yes they&#8217;re harsh but they&#8217;re necessary. As for the Lib Dems well, what can I say? I think the current leadership has a lot to answer for. I&#8217;m not suggesting I&#8217;m opposed to the decisions they&#8217;ve made (actually on the contrary), but it does appear to be a Conservative majority government &#8211; there&#8217;s hardly any evidence of a coalition. Any way, I&#8217;ve strayed off topic. In other news, there&#8217;s now a subscription feature on the site so you can now keep up to date with any posts via email. Of course I still tweet them and post them on Facebook, it&#8217;s just a nice feature to have. Anyway, I need to go plan\/start writing another essay &#8211; this time on the New Age Movement, how exciting? Peace y&#8217;all.","thumbnail_url":"http:\/\/images.newstatesman.com\/articles\/2011\/\/20110114_20101208_104532988(3)_w_w.jpg"}