With the French referendum vote too close to call, if you’re a pro-EU pessimist like me this is getting a tad too nerve-wracking. Given that Britain will almost certainly opt for a “No” vote in any referendum, the whole exercise of constitutional ratification also seems rather futile.

To turn Britain’s vote around would have taken a long, sustained period of campaigning which simply hasn’t yet materialised. Now there is too little time – especially as the campaign won’t kick off until at least after Blair’s managed to consolidate and work out his post-election position, and thanks to the European Parliament voting to overturn the UK’s opt-out from the working time directive, looking like yet more Brussels meddling, if a referendum happens, Britain will vote no.
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I’ve been up for nearly 26 hours now, and have liveblogged the election throughout the night, from 10pm to 8am. Below the fold is my drink and insomnia-addled post-match analysis, plus the whole sorry caboodle, running in reverse-chronological order, as all good blogs should. Some insights, some swearing, and the occasional appearance from my mate Steve.
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I’m pissed off at how few people who vote today will actually see their vote achieve anything. I’m pissed off at how alienated the population has become with the political process. I’m pissed off at the fact that so many people rightly believe that their vote won’t change anything.
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A couple of months back, over at The Yorkshire Ranter, there was a piece about how Americans seem to think the British bloggosphere is effectively nonexistent. It was a prescient post, it seems…
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A constant argument of the anti-EU side is that the European Commission is not democratic.

But in the US, the people do not directly elect their president. Sure, they VOTE for the president, but it is the Electoral College which actually makes the final decision. Hence Al Gore getting the majority of the popular vote in 2000, yet not winning the presidency (and that wasn’t a one-off – see also Samuel Tilden getting more than Rutherford Hayes in 1876, Grover Cleveland getting more than Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and even – if you buy the tales of vote fraud – Richard Nixon getting more than John F Kennedy in 1960). Read More

But what point?

Largely that the blogosphere (for want of a better word) contains some genuinely top-notch writers – and we’re collecting them all in one place.

Most bloggers also try to make a point of some kind in each post they make, and here we hope to have a selection of some of the most eloquent, insightful and amusing bloggers going. It’s a kind of showcase, if you will.

Initially this is going to be made up of UK-based bloggers, but largely just because it’s worked out like that – contributors may well expand to include continental and American bloggers at a later stage, as well as people from further afield. Subject-matter wise, the plan is for it to be politics in the broadest sense – any geographical area, anything which is topical and interesting.

But it won’t just be politics. Good writing on pretty much any interesting subject is also going to appear – culture, philosophy, humour, history, whatever – although usually loosely related to topical events.

The emphasis is on being a showcase for what bloggers are capable of. We hope to feature people with a broad range of political opinions and writing styles and, through them, act as a conduit for blogging thought and debate, highlighting good new blogs as well as old favourites. Good writing is all that matters.

We have a few more ideas up our sleeves, and the site will doubtless evolve as more people get involved, so any suggestions or questions are welcome. Feel free to get in touch – we’ll look forward to hearing from you.