Choppy waters

It's been a quiet couple of days.  The Labour leadership contests (both of them) proceed at a glacial pace, and in appears that in Scotland no-one really wants the gig, possibly not even Ms Dugdale, who will apparently decide over the next couple of days.  At this rate Jim Murphy will be doing a Farage and will find his resignation not accepted, which will probably be a relief to McTernan and McDougall, who will otherwise be down at the Jobcentre.  That will be a bit of a shock to the system, especially when Mr Osborne gets going with the planned cuts to the welfare budget.

Meanwhile there is a bit of a stooshie around Trident since a naval rating named William McNeilly posted an 18-page document on the internet exposing weaknesses in the UK's nuclear deterrent, specifically around security.  He has been arrested after going AWOL, since he will have broken the law by revealing information protected under the Official Secrets Act.

Essentially it appears that information that is supposed to be secret is easily available to people who should not have access to it, and that security as Faslane is rather lax.  Mr McNeilly, by revealing this, is essentially in the same position as someone who discovers a security glitch on a website.  Such people are quite frequently reported to the authorities by the companies who own the website, which has always seemed to me to be the wrong approach.  Surely the companies in question should be grateful to have such things drawn the their attention?  Similarly surely the MoD should be grateful for the information?  They won't be though.  Embarrassment requires revenge.

Finally there have been some larks down at Westminster over the matter of seating arrangements, with the SNP working in shifts to ensure prime seats in the debating chamber.  Labour in particular were aghast.  Those dreadful SNP types, riding roughshod over the hallowed traditions!  Get used to it.  The SNP will be making themselves heard, and blowing away the cobwebs.