The twinge of uneasiness and embarrassment felt by most people of sensibility when the English draw attention to their nation

The twinge of uneasiness and embarrassment felt by most people of sensibility when the English draw attention to their nation, whether at football matches or at the last night of the Proms, is rather healthy when compared to its alternative, a strutting, overt patriotism.Perhaps Ken Livingstone instinctively understood this when he refused to grant public money for St George’s Day celebrations, having agreed to generous grants so that the Irish of London could mark St Patrick’s Day with parties, noise and bright lights.The English approach is different. We look ill at ease, clear our throats and change the subject. It may not be quite as much fun but it has its virtues.terblacker aol
More from Terence Blacker. Listening to Home Office questions and catching a bit of Patricia Hewitt’s party piece on Enterprise and Emetics, it occurred to me why people vote for Jean-Marie Le Pen. It’s the language these ignorant, arrogant, clapped-out, over-promoted, jargon-jabbering, morally incompetent, intellectually fetid, Paul-paying, Peter-robbing hucksters use as they administer the biggest budget in the British economy. It’s an eggy-peggy sign system that – at its most rudimentary – allows David Blunkett to speak without beginning, without end, without saying anything at all Mr Blunkett is John Prescott without the grammar His gobbets float away on the dark tide of his personality. He was a person once, rumour has it; he’s gone now, oh well gone.Poor John Denham is another casualty He was a person too, just a couple of years ago.

Now listen to him: “This is part of the process of spreading excellence across the country so that best practice will be available to all.” How dare he? What about: “Anti-social behaviour orders work best when there is clear understanding in every part of the criminal justice system”? Does he know who he’s talking to? Beverley Hughes is just starting She was discussing “dangerousness” She referred to people “who are personality disordered”. Who do they think we are?Would Oliver Letwin let that happen to himself? Is it the air conditioning in the Home Office that turns home secretaries into creatures of the night? Mr Letwin is a pleasure to listen to, as everyone (almost everyone) agrees. There’s some sort of police Bill going through the House, which allows David Blunkett to seize control of police forces that fail to meet targets set by David Blunkett. It’s the same principle used by Alan Milburn, who’ll be diving in to pick up the bedpans when his health trusts fail.

Mr Letwin observed the Government was spending half its time denying it was centralising power and half its time justifying it Deft, urbane, unexpected It’d be a disaster if he became home secretary. I mean that in the nicest possible way.Fiona MacTaggart told the House that she was a big, bossy, self-important ex-head of Cheltenham Ladies’ College and that she hadn’t pulled an interesting idea out of her sawdust since 1957. I can’t remember her exact words but that was the gist of it. She found widespread agreement.John Horam from Orpington said police numbers had fallen in his area in the past year and that they’d had a 150 per cent crime rise. Why oh why, he asked, should Orpington pay more in tax for fewer police officers while crime got worse. He was told to mind his own business, as far as I could tell.Piara Khabra asked the most hopeless question of the day.