Two down, one to go

Jacqui Smith, possibly the least competent Home Secretary since Henry Brooke (although there in Blunkett to consider for that title too, and that is pretty tough competition), has already announced that she will not be going ahead with a massive snoop project (although she wants the same functionality provided privately). The cancellation of the id card project is apparently being actively considered, and anyway the Tories have said that they will cancel them. And the Trident replacement may be on the block, along with a number of other large defense projects. This is all good.

It's just a shame we are still stuck with this:

Yes, the grandiose, ultimately useless (or at least currently without a use) and hideously expensive Olympic building projects sail on regardless. Our shameless pandering to the IOC continues. As Simon Jenkins says, while the ­citizens starve, the precious ones are fed. Still, at least some of these cuts are better than none.