"All we want is for Gordon Brown to fulfil his promise. He said British jobs for British workers."

So said a protester called George on Friday from Wilton, on Teesside. Sorry George but Gordon Brown made a promise he couldn't deliver on (yes just like "ending boom and bust"). Whilst we are in the EU we cannot stop anyone resident in another EU country from coming and working here. Either Gordon Brown knew that but thought he might get away with a Brownie or he didn't know, in which case he's even less well informed than I thought.

The wild cat strikes breaking out over Britain might be the start of something bigger, could British workers be about to turn French and take on the Labour government? If they do, could this be the excuse Gordon Brown needs to use the Civil Contingencies Act to quash dissent and rule by decree?

Reduced working weeks, strikes breaking out all over the Country; welcome back to the 1970s. This time maybe the Government won't resign:

"It was us poor bastards took the chop
When the tubes gone up and the buses stopped
The top people still come out on top
The government never resigned
The Carib Club got petrol bombed
The National Front was getting awful strong
They done in Dave and Dagenham Ron
In the winter of '79
When all the gay geezers got put inside
And coloured kids was getting crucified
A few fought back and a few folks died
In the winter of '79"