The first filibuster
A bill for an in-out referendum on the EU seems doomed to be killed off by a ‘filibuster’ — a campaign by opponents to keep on talking until it runs
out of time.
— The filibuster is often assumed to be an invention of Westminster, yet its first recorded use was in the Roman senate in 60 BC, by Cato the Younger against an attempt by private contractors to renegotiate deals for government work.
— The publicani were businessmen who bid for the right to collect taxes in the provinces on behalf of Rome. Many, however, got their sums wrong and were losing money. Cato was having none of it, and kept on killing off debates on the subject for months until they backed down.
Little platoons
Lord Young championed the role of small businesses in creating jobs. Is it small or large businesses who have created the most jobs over the past decade?
TOTAL EMPLOYMENT BY SIZE OF BUSINESS
| In 1998 (One employee ) | In 2010 (One employee ) |
| 582,000 | 1.87m |
| In 1998 (2-4 employees ) | In 2010 (2-4 employees ) |
| 1.34m | 2.23m |
| In 1998 (5-9 employees ) | In 2010 (5-9 employees ) |
| 1.25m | 1.53m |
| In 1998 (10–24 employees) |
In 2010 (10–24 employees) |
| 1.76m | 1.86m |
| In 1998 (25–49 employees) |
In 2010 (25–49 employees) |
| 1.16m | 1.25m |
| In 1998 (50–249 employees) |
In 2010 (50–249 employees) |
| 2.7m | 2.47m |
| In 1998 (250+ employees) |
In 2010 (250+ employees) |
| 8.5m | 7.4m |
Source: ONS
Part-timers
Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were released from prison after serving eight weeks of their eight-month sentences for perverting the course of justice. How much of their sentences do prisoners generally serve?
% served by length of sentence
| % served by men (Less than 6 months) | % served by women (Less than 6 months) |
| 56% |
50% |
| % served by men (6-12 months) | % served by women (6-12 months) |
| 47% |
40% |
| % served by men (12 months – 4 years) |
% served by women (12 months – 4 years) |
| 48% |
43% |
| % served by men (more than 4 years) | % served by women (more than 4 years) |
| 55% |
50% |
Source: Ministry of Justice
Too unlimited?
Germany’s Social Democrats hurriedly retracted a proposal to introduce a 75mph motorway speed limit; at present, half the network is without a ‘hard’ speed limit. On UK motorways, by contrast, there is a speed limit of 70mph. England versus Germany in motorway safety:
| UK – Deaths per billion vehicle-km | Germany – Deaths per billion vehicle-km |
| 1.5 |
2 |
| UK – Drink-driving limit | Germany – Drink-driving limit |
| 0.8g/l |
0.5g/l |
| UK – % drivers in seatbelts | Germany – % drivers in seatbelts |
| 96% |
98% |
Source: OECD
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