Alex Massie

I have little to say on the subject of the, er, colourful scandal that has been entertaining Australians lately. The Speaker, one Peter Slipper, has been pushed to resignation following accusations of sexual harassment and, well, much else besides. However - and no matter what you think of her politics - there's much to admire in the manner in which Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister, sets about Tony Abbott, the leader of the opposition. Anyone who admires the cut and thrust of parliamentary theatre and debate will enjoy these 15 minutes. Mr Abbott does not look best amused. But then he's just been carved to pieces so he wouldn't would he? Watch the video here. (Apologies: technical problems are preventing me from embedding video in the Spectator's site. This will be solved eventually.

From Peggy Noonan's blog which, unusually for a political columnist, is almost always lovely and generous and warmly-acute: “Man needs less to be instructed than reminded,” Dr. Johnson said, but it wasn’t really a reminder I got yesterday, it was a sort of revivifier. I was at the big annual street fair in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Big turnout, beautiful day, many thousands of people clogging Third Avenue from the 60s through the 80s, what looked like more than a hundred booths.

A typical tale of nitwittery from modern Britain. And this, of course, is one of the problems with localism: it means giving more power to local councillors. That's still, on balance, a risk worth taking even though so many of them seem so utterly devoid of common sense. Quackers council chiefs have banned a bow tie-wearing duck from collecting cash for charity - unless it gets a permit. The bird - called Star - wears a dickie bow and waddles alongside his owner Barrie Hayman raising money for sick youngsters. Star and Barrie regularly visit businesses collecting cash from the public - already raising £6,500 for a children’s hospice.But Mr Hayman has now been told by several councils that his sidekick could be deemed 'irritating' and needs a permit. Mr Hayman [...

Bob Wright correctly observes that we should soon be treated to a barrage of Romney Combeack stories chiefly because the press needs a new story to tell and this is one of the few even semi-plausible tales remaining. It may even be necessary to concoct a Romney comeback even without there being any actual evidence for a Mitt Recovery. (Conservative fans of Scoop will recognise this as the Wendell Jakes Gambit*). Be that as it may, you need only read the most optimistic pieces of pro-Romney straw-clutching now appearing in newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic to appreciate how improbable Romney's resurrection is. I mean, can't they do better than this? Take, for instance, Andrew Roberts' piece in the new edition of Standpoint.

Also elsewhere today, I've a piece for the Scotsman arguing that Andrew Adonis was the third-most important person in the Blair-Brown governments and that, by god, Scotland could do with some of his reforming zeal too. Most sensible people in England agree academies have been a success (though there's still a long way to go); unfortunately most people in Scotland seem to think there's precious little need for reform. This complacency is unwarranted. Adonis has written a memoir – Education, Education, Education: Reforming England’s Schools – that should be read by every MP and MSP. It’s probably the most important political book of the year.

How rich is Mitt Romney? Wealthy enough to voluntarily pay $250,000 more tax than he needed to last year. That's the most notable thing about the Romneys' 2011 tax return released yesterday evening. Mitt and Ann reported income of $13.7 million last year, most of it from investments. They gave $4 million to charity (most of it through the Mormon church) but "only" deducted $2.25 million of that sum from their taxable income. The reason for doing so is obvious: this ensured that Romney's "effective" tax rate was around 14% of the couple's income and not, as it might otherwise have been, a politically-embarrassingly low percentage. This is, of course, all very noble. Or, if you prefer, cynical.

There are days when Scottish independence seems a more than decent idea. Budget day at Holyrood is always one of them. I say budget day but it's really faux-budget day because, at least until now, it's always been only half a budget. A parliament that may spend but cannot tax is only half a parliament. So, if not independence then proper fiscal autonomy at least. That would make Holyrood a better, bigger, more responsible place. It might also provide incentives for better public policy. Might being the operative word, obviously. Nevertheless the reaction to the so-called budget John Swinney delivered yesterday has been encouraging. That is, the public sector unions are unhappy. This is often a useful indicator and this reaction is no exception to that telling general rule.