Difficilior est non bloggere

Access remains a bit problematic, but there's really no choice.

When the Labour Party are beaten into fifth place in the Henley by-election - with barely a thousand votes - by one of our less respectable 'Oh no, we're not fascists' parties - when Gordon Brown is too frit to put his attacks on freedom to an electoral test in Haltemprice - then (as Juvenal would say) it is easier to give in and resume blogging.

Those numbers in full:

John Howell: Conservative 19,796

Stephen Kearney: Lib Dems 9,680

Mark Stevenson: Green 1,321

Timothy Rait: BNP 1,243

Richard McKenzie: Labour 1,066

Chris Adams: UKIP 843

Still, at least Gordon beat UKIP ...