The 10p tax rebellion will strike this week, then there's the 42 day detention period, and the embryo bill.

All this stuff is of their making. And it's not just backbench MPs who are sharpening their knives – last week a junior minister almost resigned over the 10p tax, and even the chancellor and foreign secretary have made comments about having to be more in tune with the people at large.

To make matters worse, over the last few weeks Gordon Brown has appointed a number of new spin doctors in Downing Street to improve his, and the Governments image.

You'd think that would mean the great government machine would run smoother. Yet these people couldn't even work out that the VERY day the PM was going on a visit to the US, the Pope was arriving in town as well! (thus scuppering any statesmanlike coverage on the media). The US are far more interested in the Pope than they'll ever be in our PM, and consequently the Americans hardly even knew our man was in town! Unbelievable!

I was no fan of Tony Blair, but I can't for a moment imagine him making schoolboy errors like that!

Flying the flag

Good on the council for flying the Flag of St George at the bandstand last week – I assume they'll have it there for St Georges Day on Wednesday. But shame on them for leaving it so long to repair the flagpole at the town hall, so no flag has flown since January.

If it's not done in time for Wednesday it will be the first time in years that Eastbourne hasn't flown the St Georges Flag on 23rd April on our premier civic building. If they get it done in time, I promise a ringing endorsement of the council next week! If not, beware!

Speaking of which, last week I said some nice things about Cllr Tutt. Several people have asked why I did that, given that he was my political opposite number until a year ago.

But why would that be such a bad thing? If political opponents actually recognized the strengths in each other, rather than spending all their time slagging them off, politics wouldn't have such a bad name.

You can disagree with people, but still respect the areas in which you agree. (Obviously I'm not including embarrassing MPs like Lembit Opik and Ed Balls).

Fiddling while Zimabawe burns

The most sickening sight of the week was seeing the clips of Mugabe making a speech slating Britain and our democracy for our past role in that country, without even acknowledging the fact that he is no longer the legitimate President, or that the election results are being suppressed.

A recount is currently underway, under the watchful eyes of the electoral commission (controlled by Mugabe), and being loyally reported on in the authorized press (controlled by Mugabe).

Meanwhile the abuse of the innocents and the corruption of authorities continue.

Happy St Georges Day everyone!