While the American media have spent the last however many months chasing down the biggest personalities in American politics, ITV have uncovered quite a scoop – and it’s a quite a lot closer to home.

You see, based in a little suburb in Berkshire, a very fervent supporter of a certain Barack Obama resides, her name is Kazir Obama, and she’s the stepmother of (so the polls, and other key figures would have us believe) America’s favourite presidential candidate.

You can watch the full interview here, but to summarise, Barack’s proud relative feels pretty confident of his chances. “They’ll vote, all of them – black people, white people for a man who loves people and likes to talk to people.”

He may have done what some people suggest is the impossible, but his stepmother said she knew “it was just a matter of time.” When asked, “will you get an invite to the Whitehouse”, she was equally unequivocal in her positive response… “Of course, why not”

Barack Obama’s former brother-in-law, Ian Manners, blogs from his Berkshire home

I was married to Barack Obama’s elder sister, Auma for 4 years; we had a relationship for 10 years. During this time I got to know Barack reasonably well. I found him to be charming, polite, very intelligent and at ease in anyone’s company. He treated everyone he met with respect and as equals regardless of the position they held in society and regardless of race. I am a competitive sportsman and am the managing director of my own company. As a result I have had to deal with all sorts of situations as they arise and different people from all walks of life. I therefore consider myself to be a reasonably good judge of character.

I had the opportunity on several occasions to play golf with Barack. It is on the sports field you can often judge someone’s character. I found Barack to be a very capable golfer. He played hard and competitively but fairly. He had a quiet steely determination and he remained very calm under pressure.

He has been accused of being too young and inexperienced to be President of the USA. I for one do not believe that to be the case. No one person can claim to have the experience to be President. They can have a good idea what the job entails but until they actually reach that position no one knows what it is truly like or how they as individuals will react. Every President or every Managing Director or anyone in employment learns on the job.

I believe Barack has the ability and attributes to be a very good President. He is up to speed with the modern world and technology and his campaign bears that out. He is very well educated and has learned how tough life can be by growing up without a father close to him. His mother and maternal grandparents however showed him that you can only get on in life by sheer hard work and determination and they made sacrifices to give him a private education. They taught him to have a very balanced view of life and to treat everyone as equals. They taught him humility and how to empathise with people of all ages and races.

He has experience of how tough life is by working on the south side of Chicago in the community projects for three years. He has experience of being a State Senator and then on to be a full Senator for Illinois and now Washington and Government functions. He also has a good understanding and appreciation of different cultures.

I have watched his progress with great pride. I have watched his success in the campaign so far in the Presidential campaign. I have watched the reaction people have to him not only in the USA but the reaction around the world. He has a rare quality and the ability to break down barriers. The rally in Berlin was a shining example. I was on holiday in Scotland at the time and ‘working out’ in a gym with 20 others. All the TV’s were tuned into the News Channels and when he came on to speak everyone in the gym stopped for 5-10 minutes to listen to him. It was a remarkable moment. There were men and women of all ages in the gym.

I have spent the last two weeks in Kenya visiting my daughter Akinyi who is at school here and was on half term. I have followed the campaign on the TV and in the papers. The response to him has been phenomenal. The interest goes beyond his Kenyan heritage. I have spoken to Kenyans and Europeans here and the majority agree he is a truly remarkable man who has the ability to help bring about world peace and help in the battle to reduce poverty the world over.

I believe he will be an inspirational President at a particular difficult time with the world economy. I think he will surround himself with very capable people to assist him in overcoming all the problems thrown at him. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly or prima donnas and he is a man who is prepared to listen to advice. I believe he will be an exceptional President. He is an exceptionally gifted man.

Best wishes

Ian

Political Correspondent Sally Biddulph blogs from Parliament

Vote Blue, Go Green went the slogan and David Cameron hopped on his bike, encouraging us all to ditch the diesel and switch to pedal power. In these times of rising fuel prices, we could all do with getting on our bikes. But what do you do when your wheels are stolen? Well a few weeks ago, the Conservative Leader’s bike was snatched from outside a supermarket near his London home. He’d hopped off the saddle for only a few minutes to pick up a few bits for tea. When he came back his bike was gone.

Well a Sunday newspaper soon got on the case and about 48 hours later the bike was returned to a delighted Mr Cameron. Journalists from the paper had helped to track it down and return it to its rightful owner. Top detective work. But unbeknown to Mr Cameron, while it was stolen the bike’s front wheel had been removed and then re-attached. “I was pleased to have my bike back,” he told me, “but I had no idea that the brakes hadn’t been re-connected after the wheel was put back on. When I tried to stop at traffic lights, there was nothing there and I raced on through. Luckily there were no cars coming the other way.” Lucky too perhaps that no photographers were following his bike’s maiden voyage or else he’d have been papped jumping a red light and that would have made headlines in the following week’s Sunday papers.

In a move that has shocked many local residents, current Director of Children’s Services Steve Beynon has been offered the position of Chief Executive of the Isle of Wight Council. A rumour concerning this was posted by the writers of VentnorBlog previously, but it was confirmed shortly after in an official press release that Beynon has accepted the role.

Beynon is a controversial figure among parents due to the radical changes he has proposed to the Island Schools, and reaction from many readers of VentnorBlog has not been positive- some are amazed that “the council could have such a low regard for the parents of the Island, many of whom are spitting blood over what they see as the decimation of the Island schools”. Beynon’s proposals would mean the closure of many schools on the Isle of Wight, and the Isle’s parents are up in arms over the council’s apparent disregard for public feeling.

What do you think of Steve Beynon’s appointment? Would you be affected by his radical proposals for the Isle’s schools? See the islanders view of it all over on VentnorBlog or let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Political Correspondent Sally Biddulph blogs from Parliament

It’s that time of year again when Political Correspondents are busily filling out forms to make sure they can get into the three party conferences in the autumn. We’re having passport photos taken, countersigning forms, putting our details into online charts and battling with bureaucracy to get ourselves accredited. It also seems you may be able to tell a lot about a party from the application process, I’ll let you decide.

For the Lib Dems, we’re filling out one side of A4 paper and attaching a photo countersigned by a colleague and sending it to the party HQ for approval. That’s it, very simple. The Lib Dems conference in Bournemouth is the first one of the season and is always the least attended, so getting accredited has been made very easy.

Next up is Labour, this year in Manchester. Their form is more complicated and what’s more it’s all online, very high-tech. Photos have to be of a specific size and show no facial expression, a number of forms of ID are also required including a drivers licence even if you’re not bringing a car. I can’t work that one out given they have my passport details and my parliamentary pass number as well. The most surprising feature is that you’re asked to pay an optional carbon off-setting fee so that your application and attendance is carbon neutral. I opted out, not because I don’t believe in recycling and being green, I do, but I can’t see how a small fee paid to the Labour party will make their conference more eco-friendly.

For the Tories in Birmingham, security seems to be the major issue. Their application is also online and the most efficient to date as my “application has been approved”. But this approval wasn’t straightforward. The photo I sent to them was rejected by West Midlands police for not “complying with the photo guidelines”. I must admit I was baffled as I used the same photo for my new passport and it was used without question.

So I now have to wait with bated breath for the Labour Party and the Lib Dems to “approve me” as I sent them the very same photo. Watch this space…