OSCE/ODIHR

Election observation amongst OSCE member states has developed since the 1990s. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) itself is more than twenty years younger than me.

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Mission to Moldova

I spent yesterday travelling to Chisinau on Turkish Airlines with a stop-over in Istanbul. I am here as part of an Election Observation Mission (EOM).

Ding-Dong

“I’d like a big box of soluble Solpadeine Plus, please” is a tongue twister over which I stumble. By the way, I’m not OD-ing just stock-piling in case of post-Brexit shortages.

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Moldova and Ukraine

Two dates are pencilled in my diary next year. On 24th February Moldova is holding parliamentary elections and on 31st March there is a presidential election in Ukraine.

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Mad as a Wet Hen

Plucky TM PM has been more resilient than I expected. What do you think of the deal that she says is now non-negotiable?

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Dead Man’s Penny

The first I’d heard of a Dead Man’s Penny was by chance yesterday. If you know all about them you may want to skip to a digression at the end of the post.

Lunch at Stoke Park

Sunday lunch at the magnificent Stoke Park was under the auspices of the local Conservative Association. After lunch their MP, Dominic Grieve, spoke and I was fortunate to get in a question which I’d like to expand into a statement.

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Coming Home to Roost

When BMW announce they will close their Oxford plant, the one that makes Minis, for the whole of April 2019 in case there is an interruption to the supply of parts from Europe you really do have to sit up and think.

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Brexit Line

Contingency plans for a disruptive Brexit next year have been widely written about in the press but some measures are top secret. However, a highly placed government source leaked this.

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The Taxman Cometh

It may not seem like it but Income Tax rates in the UK are the lowest since I became a tax payer.

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