The school standards minister has launched a pre-emptive strike at the predictive claims of dumbing down that will accompany Thursday’s (almost certain to be) “best ever” A-level results. One quote caught my satirical eye:

“As a nation we like knocking success and it’s bad for us and we should stop it,” he said.

Translation:

“As a nation we like knocking New Labour and it’s bad for us and we should stop it,” he said.

Venezuelan president Hugo Ch&aacutevez has survived a recall referendum.

It has been called in protest against his tracksuits, slicked down hair, gold jewelry and propensity for nicking hub caps.

I’m just out canvassing in Hartlepool and blogging via my mobile phone. The reception has been great – everyone here is really friendly and most of the residents I spoke to are backing Jody. Grey clouds overhead but smiles on the doorstep! No wonder Labour are so worried.

The Tories aren’t keen on wind farms.

It’s not surprising. Wind farms are more likely than not to be built in the countryside, which gets the Conservatives’ backs up because they are the self-proclaimed defenders of rural England. (Which it’s not hard to be when you are irrelevant in the inner citiies.)

The Tories are promising to stand up for local people who don’t want wind farms nearby. And who would? (Actually, I think they look quite elegant…) This is nimbyism, but the Tories are happy to pander to it in the name of populism. People might not want wind farms built nearby, but they’d probably object rather more to a new power station, be it nuclear or fossil fuel burning. Wind farms have to go somewhere. Some can go off shore, some can go in cities, but some will have to go in the countryside.

But perhaps this isn’t just populism. Michael Howard is getting on a bit. His average party member is pretty ancient. What do the Tories have to fear from global warming? I’m reminded of William Hague’s infamous “you’ll all be dead” speech from the 1970s.

In the unlikely event of the Tories getting re-elected, some of us will have to live in their polluted future world, stripped bare of its natural resources. Michael Howard will have died of old age (he’ll probably have died of old age before the Tories get re-elected), but it would be nice if the rest of us could look forward to clean air and a sensible climate.

We need to invest in all manner of renewable energy sources, but we also need to start building them yesterday.