Who Remembers Skool Milk?

Jonathan Calder has a new theory to explain the popularity of the Iron Lady.

One of the factors behind Mrs Thatcher's election victory was her act of abolishing free milk in schools.

Some people hated her for it and dubbed her the "milk snatcher". But they didn't have to drink the stuff. The crates were not kept in a refrigerator, so on a hot day it was already halfway to going sour by the time mid-morning break came. The trick then was to avoid drinking the stuff.

Yes, Mrs Thatcher was swept to power by a generation of grateful first-time voters who wanted to thank her for delivering them from the horrors of school milk.

I'm not sure I completely buy this, but it's an interesting idea.

Jonathan has some more sober thoughts on the sorry Charles Kennedy affair, and I think I agree with him that it's just about the worst possible outcome. I think Kennedy's position is now untenable, and he needs to go for the sake of the party.