Daily View 2×2: 18 June 2009

Welcome to Daily View. Happy birthday to Delia Smith CBE. Today is also Autistic Pride Day.

2 Big Stories

And it’s good news for Burnley Liberal Democrats as sub-editors across the spectrum studiously avoid the headline “The Fall of the House of Ussher“

Miss Ussher said that she was leaving the Government “with the greatest regret” but would remain as MP for Burnley until the coming election, when she will stand down from Parliament “for family reasons”.

Burnley PPC Gordon Birtwhistle, who has steered the party through taking outright control of the borough council last year, and gaining five of the six county council seats in the constituency just two weeks ago, has called on Kitty Ussher to resign her seat immediately. As if Norwich isn’t enough.

And secondly Iran, where unrest continues following the disputed election result. The word is fleeting out through tweets and social media, with some striking photos gracing the newspaper front pages. If you’re wondering why people are turning their twitter profile photos green, this story is the reason.

Reformists fear the regime is trying to weaken protests by silencing their leading voices and Mr Atrianfar’s arrest signals that people with powerful connections are not immune. The intelligence ministry said 26 alleged “masterminds” of the post-election unrest had been detained yesterday alone.

2 must read blog posts

Jam-maker Jonathan Wallace is joining the exodus and leaving Cowley Street with the aim of becoming self-sufficient in Gateshead. Seriously folks, what’s with all the leaving at the moment? Pack, Wallace, Crozier… Comrades, we’re so close – one last push and we’ll be in power, so why leave now?

And my second link goes to Costigan Quist, who’s masterly take-down of the Digital Britain report focussed on exactly the bits of it that annoyed me when I heard about them on the radio, and thus saved me from having to write anything of the sort.