I've been tagged by Nich to do Iain Dale's eight wishes for 2008 meme. So without further ado, here I go:

1. To get a permanent job.
2. For the Conservatives to consistently poll above 45%.
3. For Lib Dems to stop lying with their bar charts.
4. To pass my driving test.
5. For the EU Constitution "Reform Treaty" to be voted down in at least one country.
6. For Labour to lose a "safe seat" in a by-election.
7. For the ID card scheme to be dumped.
8. For England to get its own Parliament.

I tag: Matt Wardman, Mike Rouse, DuSanne, Paul Linford, and Steve Green. Sorry and Merry Christmas!

I have been tagged by Norfolk Blogger to do this latest meme on political influences. It must be in retaliation for me tagging him with the first political memory meme I started! [I'm going to follow the meme round and post a summary of the replies soon - if you haven't done it and are reading this, consider yourself tagged!]

This is a hard one to do. Political influences are wide and varied, and many have an impact, but only in certain areas. A lot of my political ideology is developed from lots of bits and pieces, mixed together and developed in my own unique way. So, in no particular order:

John Stuart Mill - democratic, liberal thinker.

Benjamin Disraeli - former Prime Minister, creator of the modern Conservative Party

Enoch Powell - I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on him

Ann Widdecombe - feisty, common-sense politician

Edmund Burke - a philosophical founder of conservatism

Whilst writing a post [to be published later] I wondered what my first political memory was. Thinking back, I can remember something about Margaret Thatcher - but considering I was 5 when she was deposed, I think it's more likely that that is a memory I have inserted rather than actually remember.

The first thing I can clearly remember is when John Major resigned in 1995 and stood in the subsequent leadership election [annoyingly I can't find a video of this]. This was when I first became interested in politics, though my interest soon died away after the end of the leadership contest as I soon found something else more interesting, being just ten years old at the time. The next solid political memory I have is of the 1997 general election and Tony Blair walking to 10 Downing Street with that annoying song "Things Can Only Get Better" blaring out in the background.

Since this is could actually be interesting to read what other blogger's first political memory is, I think I'll make it into a meme. So I'm going to tag Graachi, Matt Wardman, Garbo, Shane Greer, Arleen Ouzounian, Norfolk Blogger, Ordovicius, DuSanne, and anyone else who wants to, to blog about their first political memory.

Benedict White has tagged me in the latest political meme to make the rounds, the "It's Got To Be Gordon" meme started by Matt Wardman. So here goes:

2 things Gordon Brown should be proud of:
- Giving the Bank of England independence
- Managing as Chancellor for ten years without seriously screwing over the economy

2 things he should apologise for:
- Raking money in from pension funds
- Creating lots of new and unnecessary taxes, complete with excessive amounts of red tape

2 things he should do immediately when he becomes PM:
- Scrap inheritance tax
- Announce that Britain won't be joining the Euro for the foreseeable future

2 things he should do while he is PM:
- Devolve more power to local councils
- Find a better way to fund universities than Student Loans

I now have to tag eight people, and they are: Not Saussure, Tom Paine, Theo Spark, Imagined Community, Shades of Grey, Harry Hook of The Final Redoubt, Reactionary Snob, and Tony Sharp. [Sorry!]