PIRATES could soon be in power in the UK! But they’re not the swashbuckling Johnny Depp-type –– or even our uzi-wielding chums from the Somali coast. I’m talking about the Pirate Party –– the Swedish outfit who campaign for free file-sharing online. They’re fed up of big fees being charged for music downloads, copyright being slapped on YouTube videos and internet usage being tracked. They won a couple of seats in Brussels and are now planning on standing in the UK general election next year. These buccaneers shouldn’t be underestimated. They’ve got a big supporter base of mostly young people. I can see problems with making everything free as composers and writers would lose out. But the pirates have a point. Until we take a more reasonable approach to tracking internet usage and copyright questions there may well be a case to say: “Yo-ho, me hearties!”

The Telegraph has a good interview with its the Pirate Party’s leader, Andrew Robinson, both covering him and his views at more than soundbite length but also throwing in some scepticism. It also has this rather curious comment:

When pushed for his views of the major political parties, Mr Robinson is at pains to remind me that the Pirate Party UK is apolitical.

An apolitical political party? Hmm.