LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Had a very quick meeting of the Council's scrutiny panel on its procedure rules. While arcane to many people, these are the rules that are used to govern the way the Council makes its decisions in meetings and committees, so can shape the way elected representatives make things happen. Scrutiny panels are small all-party bodies that try to operate without party politics that have the time to look in depth at specific issues. In the case of procedure we are trying to ensure the rules make sure all councillors can be heard but that debate and decision ...

There is a pleasant short tribute on the website of the Orcadian newspaper.

Peter Black AM has joined the outcry: If any issue required a clear Liberal steer then this is it. This is an opportunity once more for the Liberal Democrats to stand at the head of those concerned about our drift into totalitarianism and to speak out on behalf of people's liberties. It is also our duty to point out the ineffectiveness of these measures as a weapon against terrorism. It is time for Mark Oaten and Charles Kennedy to assume that position publicly and loudly.

The media's obsessions with league tables continued today with a Western Mail study of the workload of Welsh MPs. In the run-up to the General Election this is of particular interest of course, but how useful is it really? Having regularly been in the top five of a similar activity list for AMs I know that these tables do not show the full picture. They often concentrate on measurable tasks such as the number of speeches or questions one has asked without being able to assess the efficacy of our representation. They never look at surgeries for example, at ...

It's very rare that I agree with Frederick Forsyth, but his opinions on the current path to a police state are spot on. Reassuringly, most of the comments seem to be in agreement as well. It's nice to see some sense published occasionally!

The article in today's Western Mail about the Assembly's failure to deliver the promised goods on transport underlines two problems. The first of these is the difficulty that the Welsh Assembly Government has in delivering its promises, the second is the impact that limited powers have on that delivery. Four years ago the Welsh Assembly Government proudly announced more than a dozen projects over the next five years. But four years on, just two of the schemes and no new stations have been delivered on time. Some are delayed and others may never come to fruition. The ...

Labour slammed the administration today for the fact that we had not resolved a budgetary problem in Leisure that has existed for at least 3 years during Labour's Administration. We were, however, able to explain what it was and how it will be resolved. In the mean time if they would like new carpet at a price below £252 per square yard or even £169 per square metre (on average) they could

Jarvis has been rescued from financial disaster by refinancing all 14 of the PFIs it is involved in. Jarvis was about to go bankrupt, but now, thanks to the genius of it's directors, it can go on to create more havoc, such as the Potters Bar rail crash or the late completion of a local halls of residence, in the United Kingdom. I was nearly worried for a second there...

Bill Gates arouses strong emotions amongst many in the technical community. Some comment relates to the view that his company, Microsoft, acts as a monopolist to maximise profits whilst stifling innovation in the rest of the sector. Some of it is a personal reaction to his wealth and ...

Today's Observer tells you all you need to know...... But the Indy is even better