(More: The Economist has proposals for a Labour government, the ITV franchise round bids are in, Edith's appointed prime minister. Curve go straight, there's MOR overload with a link between Jeffrey Archer and Chris de Burgh, and songs by Beverley Craven and Deacon Blue.)

Crystal Waters's Gypsy woman (la da dee) is up a place to number 2 in the CIN chart, though tops the MRIB survey as used on the Network Chart. Officially, this is Cher's fourth week at the top with The shoop shoop song.

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Election season continues, with two more chunks of psephology passing our radar.

First, the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich, following the death of Mrs. Dunwoody. Though there will be boundary changes between to-day's by-election and the next general election, they amount to about 1500 people, and slightly favour Labour.

Crewe and Nantwich was narrowly held by Mrs. Dunwoody in 1983 and 1987, becoming a little more secure following the last boundary revisions in 1997. It's the sort of seat where the Conservatives need to be there or thereabouts if they're to form an overall majority. It's not unfair to argue that, as goes Crewe and Nantwich, so goes the rest of the semi-rural north. If the Conservatives can win here, they can win a swathe of seats in semi-rural Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, into north Wales... On the other hand, if Labour hold the seat, they're stronger in those marginal seats than might be the impression.

Over in St. Francisville, they seem to take great delight in proposing one system, and then using something similar, but different. Yes, it's another bite at the proposed rules for Livejournal's internal election. We pointed out last month that the rules, as published, would have led to the appointment of Jon Cruddas as the Labour party's deputy leader.

Again, the fact is that we contacted Livejournal on 25 April asking them to comment on this matter. At the time of writing, no response - substantive or holding - has been received. One candidate in the election, I. M. C., has been reviewing the relevant code, and finds that the counting algorithm will work in a slightly more sensible manner.

(More: A matrix for to-night's possible results, and further commentary on the implementation proposed.)

There is a fundamental question regarding the election process still unanswered: is it governed by the code used to count the votes, or the description published to voters? There is, quite clearly, a discrepancy between the two rulesets. Followed to the letter, one of them would elect Harriet Harman, one of them would elect Jon Cruddas. For there to be any confidence in the process, the rules actually used in counting must be the same as the rules given to the electorate. Yet the algorithms give different results. They cannot both be right.

We have no particular preference for which set of rules should be used. We do have a position on votes that publish one set of rules and operate by a different set of rules. Words such as Kafkaesque, surreal, and phantasmagorical spring to mind, as do words such as Florida and Ohio. We find votes under such conditions to be fundamentally and terminally flawed, a violation of the standards of democracy and fair representation we hold dear. This confused method is not fit for anything other than meaningless, nugatory sinecures.

That'll be why such a vote is used for this position.

This post gained an addendum on 23 May

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One of our learned friends used this phrase, and cites a source imputing it was invented by William Thompson, a mayor of Chicagou in the early 20th century. This claim does not stand up to scrutiny.

The first incidence of the phrase Vote early and vote often in The Times Digital Archive is quoting a leading article in the Public Ledger, Philadelphia, 28 February 1850. (This is not a misprint; 1850, as in a dozen years into Victoria's reign.) The relevant section is:

The purity of the ballot must be preserved at all hazards. Our experience has shown us that in the excitement of great popular elections, deciding the policy of the country, and its vast patronage, frauds will be committed, if a chance is given for them. If these frauds are allowed, the result is not only that the popular will may be infested and the result falsified, but that the worst side will prevail. The side which has the greater number of dishonest men will poll the most votes. The war cry, 'Vote early and vote often!' and the gamiliar problem, 'how to cast the greater number of votes with the smallest number of voters' indicate the direction in which the dangers lie.

(27 Aug 1859: 9B; letter from Radstock The Ballot in the United States)

There are no fewer than nine other citations from the 19th century, including a description of the ballot process in New York province (19 May 1866: 8A; The Elections). At this early date, the ballot was a slip of paper with the candidate's name on, which an elector would put in a glass globe, locked in an iron frame, with a hole in the top, stopped by a cork. After asserting himself to the clerk, the voter quite literally casts his ballot in the globe. It was, of course, possible for a cunning voter to secrete a second or third ballot in favour of his candidate and slip it into the globe.

The phrase vote early and vote often was much used in the early 1870s, when Parliament was debating the use of the secret ballot for elections in the UK. It then fell into disuse, appearing just twice in the pages of The Times over the next century. By 1977, the maxim was attributed to Ireland (17 Jun 1977: 2A; Voting trend in Eire expected to favour the ruling coalition), and was assumed to be Irish via Chicagou in this and more recent citations.

Clearly, this is not an original quote from twentieth century figures such as Capone, Daley, or Thompson. Our search-fu has failed to find an acceptable scholarly source giving a first citation, but it was clearly in common use as early as 1850.

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International King of Sports came to Modern Tat this week, with an exhibition of Flux Sports. The events included slow-speed bicycle races, football played on stilts, and balloon shot put.

Peter Burden says The News of the World hasn't done anything worthwhile since the mid-90s.

Here's an interesting Pop Fact! In Sweden's top 20, there are two songs to do with the forthcoming Euro '08 tournament, and just one Eurovision hopeful, their own song. Over in Denmark, Pop Idle winner Martin has his second number one single, Show the world, when his last one's still in the top three. Rihanna's number one in Ireland, and Dustin's only 8. The Sunday Independent explores what went wrong

A quick look out of the window shows that it's raining, which can only mean that Rihanna has another number one single. Memorandum to the Grate British Public: please spot the link. Buying Rihanna singles makes it rain. Ting Tings slip to 2, Madge holds at 3, William at 4, and Sam Sparro reverses to 5, swapping with Wiley. We've had a 2-1-3-4-6 top five on seven previous occasions, and acts featured in these previous runs have included Black Lace, Dana, Sandie Shaw, and Max Bygraves.

A new peak for Duffy, Warwick avenue slots in at 7, still on downloads alone. Neyo reverses his decline, and becomes the fastest climber at 12. Nelly has a flop on his hands as Party people only makes 14 on physical release. Sara Bareilles, Gabriella Cilmi, and Taio Cruz all reach new peaks in the top 20. Alphabeat hold down positions 22 and 23, the latter with their new entry Ten thousand nights. It's already been a top five hit in their native Denmark, and some of us have been grooving along since late last year; by the standards of this week's chart, it's a newcomer.

New entries for the Fratellis Mistress Mabel and the Zutons Always right behind you are in the top 30, and Royworld's Dust climbs there. New at 33 is Great DJ, the Ting Tings song that was quite deliberately made ineligable for the chart when it first came out in March, just so that they would go top three (at least) when the second single came out. Year-to-date sales suggest that it would have spent a couple of weeks in the top ten, and it now appears in the weekly listings because it's not possible to exclude individual tracks from an album.

Two re-releases anchor the top 40: Disco's revenge made number 9 for Gusto in March 1996, it was in and out in five weeks and was completely forgotten until someone remembered it. Not sure why. An advert is responsible for the renewed success of Snap!'s Rhythm is a dancer, number 1 for six weeks in summer 1992, keeping the re-issued Barcelona and The best things in life are free off the top spot. This track was the missing link between the heavy rap of the previous Turbo B years, and the wonderful trance of the Welcome to tomorrow album (1994). Take away the rap (which is always a good move) and listen to what's left... Anyway, it was re-released five years ago for no particular reason, and made 17.

Below the top 40 lie Vampire Weekend (a new career best at 44), another Ting Tings album track, and the new wastes of space from Sandi Thom, Flo Rida and Mariargh Cantsing. But she hasn't got the biggest range in the chart this week: that honour goes to Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, with their version of Defying gravity, taken from the Wicked original cast recording of 2003. The show's been selling out in London for a few years now, and it seems that the song was performed on last week's I'd Do Anything (review: Coloured Lights); the track was top 30 on Monday's sales, but lands at 60 overall. Not to brag or anything, but some of us have been admiring the leap of nearly a full octave since February 2004.

Kids In Glass Houses have their debut, the Futureheads appear on downloads, and the last new entry, in at number 67 with a bullet, is Andy Abraham. His second single, Even if, was played on last night's edition of Terry Wogan Rants, where it came a creditable 23rd.

As we've suggested earlier, the Ting Tings have the number 1 album, We Started Nothing. Beth Rowley comes in at 6 with Little Dreamer (who? Peruvian-born UK jazz crossover star, co-written largely by Roy Castle's son, apparently), there's a Neil Diamond best-of in the top 10, and in at 9 is Chant - Music For Paradise, credited to Cistercian Monks. There was a brief fashion for Gregorian plainsong in 1995; is Classic FM eating itself already? Will we find Gorecki back in the top ten? A very short album is in at 11, The Very Best of the Osmonds, and Vampire Weekend soar to 15. Mick Hucknall's Tribute to Bobby is in at 18, the Foxboro Hot Tubs make the top 40, Sparks put Exotic Creatures of the Deep in at 54, and failure of the week is Scarlett Johansson; Anywhere I Lay My Head limps in at 64. Next stop: the Naomis.

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This week, we've been watching and hearing...

• More or Less (Open University for Radio 4) Doctors' strikes save lives if and only if elective surgery is postponed for the duration. There's a chat with a bloke who believes life is totally random, and with Dr Gatherer, the godfather of all good maps of Eurovision voting patterns. Showpage
• Dispatches: In god's name (Channel 4) Behind the scenes with the godbotherers, people who take religious scriptures and - literally - use them as a stick with which to beat other people. Three scenes stuck out: first, the way the activists are so interested in hearing the other side of debates that they viciously beat dissenters, throw them out of the room, and their hired security goons don't see anything. Then there's the way that the media-savvy leader clucks around like a mother hen, pecking any chick that dares to squark in a way that might attract the wrong sort of attention. And the killer moment, when Stephen Green was on the receiving end of a deposit from seagull guano. Ministry of Truth
• My New Best Friend (The Fourth Programme) Four youngsters go to Cheltenham Ladies' College; three are boarders, one is a day girl. The nominal excuse for this show was to explore the creation of friendships at secondary school; the greater question was how the aspirations of the parents were reflected in their choice of education, and the documentary reflected the latter better than the former. Though Daisy, Nanae, Annabelle and Lydia were engaging (particularly Nanae), the show lacked a central theme, and tended to fall flat. Programme page
• Have I Got News For You (Hat Trick for BBC-1) Lee Mack was an entirely satisfactory host; Sharmi Chakrabati and John O'Farrell didn't add a tremendous amount to the mix. HIGNFY by numbers, but no worse for it. Showpage
• Feedback (City Broadcasting for Radio 4) Listen Against was working against us, so we didn't get to hear this episode. The website had a broadside of complaints against serialising Mrs. Blair's autohagiography on Radio 4, another on the habit of replacing the Friday play with a documentary, why Radio 4 and BBC 7 were broadcasting different versions of The Mayor of Casterbridge within days, and a promo for a new Paul Temple show. Showpage

Is anyone watching Gossip Girl? asks Clare Birchall. Yes, is the cry from here, not least because it is so completely, utterly, superbly impossible. Even the lead character has a comedy name, the unorthodox combination of a former British prime minister with a salad. It's true that Gossip Girl can't compete with the wit of Skins, but it's not supposed to. Skins is to real life as Gossip Girl is to sheer fantasy.

Anushka Asthana argues that The Apprentice is the most moral show on television. What rot! What complete tosh! The programme, and its frontsman Alan Sugar, continue to use unethical supply chains, continues to support Rupert Murdoch, and continues to suggest that the important thing is making a profit, not doing good for your fellow human. The whole show is capitalist propaganda, yet the BBC resolutely refuses to make a counterbalancing programme extolling the benefits of communism, Maoism, or anarchy.

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The House of Commons rejected amendments to reduce the upper limit for abortions; MPs preferred the scientific evidence that there was no improvement in viability before 24 weeks to the mythology peddled by some self-important people who have constructed their own deity. Nadine Dorries stepped into the lion's den, giving an interview to Het Graun. I'm expecting a win, said the lying trout, as she lost.

The governments of Israel and Syria confirmed that they were talking to each other, via Turkish intermediaries. The talks, mostly about the Golan Heights, are the first between the countries since 2000.

A deal has been reached to share power in Lebanon: Hizbollah will have a veto over appointments to the government. It ends an impasse lasting more than a year, and that culminated in violence last month.

The Conservative party gained the seat of Crewe and Nantwich in a by-election; it's the party's first gain of a seat that was Labour at the general election since 1982. On this swing, the Conservatives would be looking at a majority of about 135, and such high-ups as Mr. Chancellor, Mrs. Marginal, and Mr. Straw would be unseated. Speculation instantly began about who would wield the knife against the party's unpopular and unelected leader Mr. The Soup Dragon.

Three weeks after the country was wrecked by a cyclone, the leaders of Burma finally agreed to let overseas aid workers into their country.

In sport, the European Cup of Rugby was won by Munster, beating Toulouse 16:13. No result could be obtained in the football competition, the Manchester Buccaneers and CSKA Kensington drew 1:1 and will replay over two legs next season. Domestic cups were won by Rangers, Lyon (completing a league and cup double) and Roma. The Eurovision Song Contest was won by RTR's representative Dima Bilan.

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The stiff north-easterly wind continued, ensuring that temperatures remained low for the time of year. However, the weather was mostly sunny until a belt of low pressure spread up on Sunday, depositing 23mm of rain in a 12-hour spell, and there's more rain on the way, so do wrap up.

19 Mo sunny spells       1/14
20 Tu sun to cloud       1/15
21 We bright             4/17
22 Th cloud              8/19
23 Fr cloud to sun      11/18
24 Sa sun, wind         11/17
25 Su rain              10/13,23.0

Rainfall in May: 55.5mm; monthly average: 64mm

Degree heating days: 809½
2006-7: 493/499
2005-6: 684/684
2004-5: 556/556
2003-4: 754/754

Degree cooling days: 21
2007: 10/ 91
2006: 13/360
2005: 2/238
2004: 9/198
2003: 11/328

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