In the UK, Bid-Up TV is digital television's answer to E-bay. It may be a shopping channel, but unlike its other competitors, Bid-Up TV sells by auction.

On any given day, its presenters sell products by announcing a base price, and then telling viewers to "watch those prices TUMBLE!" when more and more items are sold.

The current campaigning for the British general election bears a curious resemblance to Bid-Up TV. Hardly a day goes by without a proclamation by one of the parties to "vote for us because we will INCREASE spending" on something or other - naturally by x% more than the party that had previously announced its own spending plans.

Elections in Britain have traditionally been a race between two political parties, the Conservative party (or Tories) and the Labour party. A third contender, the Liberal Democrats, usually finish third and sundry other parties or independent candidates may win a smattering of seats.

In 1997, a journalist named Martin Bell, standing as an independent, famously unseated the Tory MP Neil Hamilton.