The country came to a standstill and, for the first time in a decade, Labour lost its poll lead. Until, that is, we thought momentarily of the prospect of William Hague standing on the steps of Downing Street as the next prime minister. From which vista the nation recoiled in horror. Labour panicked but also listened. And it immediately spent vast sums buying off the pensioners, the fuel protesters and, most recently, the nurses.
Nothing is worse for governments that crises that are wholly of their own making.
But nothing is better for backbench morale than when they solve those very crises and restore their party's fortunes. The biological disadvantages and those related to how males are treated in society and the family do not stop at childhood. In effect, we not only have to ban all imports from Europe, in my opinion, we also have to watch trans-shipment, meaning animals that are transported via another country. Our task just got immensely more difficult. The stats for the year show another warm one.