The Sunday Review

Welcome one and all to a new instalment of my never-as-regular-as-I’d-hoped Sunday Review, where I take a tea and chocolate hobnob look back at the week just gone, and from my distant viewpoint speculate on who’s done well, done badly, and just been done over in the week just gone.

In brief:

Events overseas almost dominated again this week, with allied planes bombing Libyan military assets nightly, and the rebels beginning their fightback against Colonel Gaddafi. The best of luck to them. Less good news from Syria and Yemen however, where entrenched dictatorships fired live rounds on protesters.

And while pro-democracy fighters in Damascus ran into machine guns, public sector workers walked into central London to protest for ‘an Alternative’ to government cuts. When they’ve got one, I’m sure they’ll let me know…

Up, up and away…

George Osborne. Despite delivering a budget that took as much as it gave, old Gideon managed to come out of what could have been a sticky situation pretty well.

Down and out…

David Cairns. The Labour MP for  Inverclyde has been admitted to hospital suffering with acute pancreatitis. Get well soon David.

Back in the day…

A pretty momentous week this one, historically speaking. There was the first flight of the Eurofighter in 1994 (just seeing its first combat mission over Libya now), there was the launch of the SDP in 1981, as well as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. But perhaps most important, women were allowed onto the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time in 1973. Those natty stripy blazers weren’t just for the boys any more…

What the…?

Did he or didn’t he? The question over whether Ken Clarke fell asleep during the Budget has exercised the most eagle of eyes over the last week. He claims he didn’t, but Ladbrokes is prepared to admit he did. It must be considered, having been the last Chancellor to have a tipple of something stronger than water during his Budgets, maybe he just finds today’s presentations rather dull.