LibDem Blogs - Archived!

After voting on vitamins I thought I would pop in on the Nappy Alliance reception. I had met with representatives from the alliance before and was unprepared for the zeal with which some of the attendees approached their subject. I had to feel sorry for Jane form the alliance though as she described to me the problems she had in describing her day job to those who were unaware of the nappy

How will the Liberal Democrats be attacked in the forthcoming general election? In the 1983 election, when it looked at one stage as if the Liberal-SDP Alliance might overtake Labour (and in one opinion poll, it actually did), the Tories spent £1 million with Saatchi & Saatchi preparing an anti-Alliance advertising campaign. In the event, this ammunition was never used. This time, with the

The policies the Tories are putting forward on immigration prove two things. The first is that they do not expect to win the forthcoming general election. The second is that Conservatism, as a coherent political philosophy, is just about dead in Britain. Let me explain. In order to put into place the annual limit on people granted asylum he proposes, Howard - by his own admission - would have to withdraw from the 1951 United Nations Convention on refugees. Equally, the BBC reports, a spokesman for European Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini has said that the plans ...

Am back from a few days away and will now try to pick up on comments (when I have found all the proper ones amongst the evil spam messages advertising gambling sites, grrrrrr...) We are looking forward to a day of high drama tomorrow as the House of Commons decides whether ...

There is an inquiry into the Parliamentary Boundaries going on in The Council House today. I have put forward our case that Yardley, Sheldon and Acocks Green should stay together (as has been the case for about 1300 years). Whereas as far as Labour were concerned Bordesley Ward had a natural affinity with Washwood Heath in 2004 now Labour are calling for the following seats: Washwood

Interesting meeting this morning. Vince Cable and David Laws had been going over the James Report with a fine toothcomb. They were outlining some of the areas where there seemed to be an element of double accounting or even claiming that the savings made were larger than the running costs of the actual department/organisation being cut. David Laws pointed out that of all the money that was

Michael Howard's anti-immigration stunt, launched on Sunday, seems to have left his opponents in a state of shock. Only today is a serious counter-attack emerging but, instead of countering Tory policy, it risks validating it. For example, there is an extensive feature in today's Guardian that debunks the myths on which Tory policy is based by setting out copious facts and figures. All good

In more ways than one because my previous attempt to publish this post met with spectacular failure. Switched on laptop this morning to find a host of messages asking me to "support Kate Hoey" and vote in favour of keeping looser restrictions on vitamins in today's debate. Fairness dictates that I should point out that the motion is actually part of Conservative opposition day and is headed by

I have to admit that I was so taken by the eloquence of the wording of this amendment to a Government motion on NHS waiting times and their second offer scheme that I felt I had to share it. The original motion asks the Assembly to "Notes the progress made in reducing waiting times since the commencement of the second offer scheme in April 2004". Given the recent controversy about the Welsh Health Service and the problems it faces and given the recent National Audit Office report slating the Welsh Assembly Government's management of waiting times it would have ...

It's Robert Burns's birthday today so we were discussing haggis at work (including the pros and cons of Marks & Spencers microwaveable haggis). I'd never had haggis and had every intention of postponing that experience for some time to come, particularly once we had discussed the basic recipe. Off I trotted for lunch only to discover that the topical catering service had surved up "haggis,

Childcare is one of the issues that does not get as much political attention as it deserves. The first few months and years of a child's life has an outsized effect on the rest of their life- from anti-social behaviour, to emotional problems. It is with these facts in mind that I welcome the unveiling of the Lib Dem take on maternity pay. A guaranteed £170 p/w will see more mothers be able to