Entente terrible

Sarkozy's price

Behind the sycophancy and tomfoolery of Sarkozy’s visit was a threatening message that our gullible leaders have swallowed.

Carlo de Riva, chief executive of French state-owned nuclear company EDF, said British backing for renewables, would undermine nuclear power.

"If you provide incentives for renewables ... that will displace the incentives built into the carbon market. In effect, carbon gets cheaper. And if carbon gets cheaper, you depress the returns for all the other low-carbon technologies. [Like nuclear power]."

If other words, ditch renewables and embrace French nuclear. Our Minister responsible for nuclear and renewables made a ludicrous fantasy speech proving he is unfit to hold office. John Hutton was a member of same Government that said nuclear was not an attractive option four years ago. Now he has fallen head over heels in love with the nuclear folly of the French connection.

On renewables, Hutton is tepid because he believes the technology has not been proven It has been at La Rance. Nuclear has proved itself to be fantasy fool’s gold for 50 years. The list is endless.

The Thorp plant at Sellafield, which has never worked properly, is to be demolished at a cost of £600m. In the 1950s nuclear electricity was going to be too cheap to meter. How have our ministers been seduced.

The great British untapped energy resources available to us in greater quantities than any other European state is tidal. Hutton is cool on tidal; hysterical on nuclear.

It's a giant error.

The Best London Mayor...

The best mayor London never had

Illtyd Harrington gave his nephew a revealing radio interview on his fascinating life as the best mayor that London never had. He was also the best MP Merthyr never had. He lost the nomination to Ted Rowlands who held the seat for nearly thirty years.

He has had a long rumbustious life of uninhibited living at the heart of political life in London.

He was also part of Harold Wilson's kitchen cabinet and on the original lavender list for a peerage. He was removed. It was the days of accusations of Wilson’s reds under the beds. Illtyd’s father fought in the Spanish Civil War, which dammed him in the eyes of the security services.

He spoke movingly of his life long partner, Chris Downes  (left in picture) who died recently. They lived openly together as a homosexual couple for decades before the law ended the persecution of gay couples.  He expected to be the leader of the London County Council in an election with Andrew (now Lord) Mackintosh and the young Ken Livingstone who he described as having the morals of Nicodemus.

He was grateful for his mother's unspoken understanding of his life with Chris. At a family discussion on why Illtyd did not come home to Merthyr for Christmas, his mother explained that 'Illtyd has Chris, now.'

He was dragged into court on charges of fiddling £100 in council expenses. The case cost £250,000 and was dismissed in minutes, But it greatly damaged and upset him. At the time he was handling contracts for hundreds of £millions for London County Council. There was vast scope for corruption there had he been interested in accumulating money. Jim Callaghan as Prime Minister told him that the prosecution should never have been brought. Illtyd had no answer to his question 'Why didn't your Attorney General stop it?' Illtyd believes the motive for the prosecution ran 'very deep.'

When asked if was interested in becoming a member of the Welsh Assembly, he said  ‘I have no more fantasises, not even erotic ones.’