LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Interesting meeting with local Sikh community. What, in leafy Hampshire? I hear you say. I was surprised to discover a couple of years ago that there is a very active Sikh community centred around a particular part of my patch. Over the years I have got to know them and made a point of attending some of the Sikh events at the House of Commons so that I can learn more about their culture. I think

I thought it would be useful to put the Aston Election petition on the web. I need to tidy up the layout, but I haven't got the time for that at the moment. The words are verbatim. I have been involved in three election petitions. One failed in 2000 and was based around Sparkhill. It failed because I told my lawyers that it needed to be served in 5 days and they got it served in 6. I also have advised the Bordesley Petition. This particular petition was one I drafted. I have been ...

Interesting meeting with this group who deal with the problems of asylum seekers - the interest initiated when they agreed to visit people in prisons and detention centres. They were highlighting the problems that had emerged with the group of people who are not allowed to work and are not allowed access to public funds. Some were taken in by extreme religious groups (there will no doubt be a pay

Visited a local care home this afternoon. I visited all the homes in Romsey in 97/8 when I was Town Mayor and as I have done the rounds in the last couple of years it is apparent that the residents of Care Homes are now much frailer than they were in 97 and there is more evidence of early signs of dementia. Some problems never change though. I was greeted by a cheery nurse who told me that she was

Those clever people at MySociety have come up with natural sequel to FaxYourMP - WriteToThem.com. This time it allows you to find who your councillor, MP, MEP or Assembly member is and then email or fax them a message for free.

Popped into the Appletree Centre to meet a few carers and others who are trying to provide a support service to carers. Quite lively discussion with a lady called Betty who wanted to invite Tony Blair to land his helicopter in the field next to her house so that she could tell him what she thought of him. She also claimed that "Tony always went north and never south" but I have not had a chance to

This is currently on at Romsey library so popped along to have a look and chat. It is almost impossible to get your head around the sheer numbers that were involved and the fact that so many people unthinkingly complied with what was going on. It occured to me that it would be all too easy to go along that road again. The far right is largely ignored at the moment but some of the current rhetoric

There is an article by Jennie Bristow on the Spiked website which takes a similar line to the New Statesman editorial I discussed earlier. She makes another point that is worth quoting: Ken 'Ban It' Livingstone has spent so much of his seasoned life campaigning to censure people whose remarks could be construed as racist and offensive, this seems like a just punishment: he has fallen foul of the intolerant climate that he helped to create. Unfortunately, this is not simply a story about a po-faced politician getting his come-uppance. It reveals the petulant and censorious spirit of our ...

Out with the one of the many good people who provide this invaluable service. First stop was Charlie and Eileen Mead and I am sure that they will not mind me saying this because they were photographed. The service also needs more drivers. Although it is arranged by the Woman's RoyalVoluntary Service the majority of the drivers appeared to be men so don't think that the job is restricted to women.

Last month we had to report that the little Shropshire town of Cleobury Mortimer was "strife torn" and had been "plunged into chaos". The latest news is that it is "crisis hit". I am not sure if that it is an improvement

There is a very good editorial in this week's New Statesman which makes the important points about the story that has been filling the papers this week: Ken Livingstone is a fool and a hypocrite. Leaving a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Chris Smith "coming out" as the first openly gay MP, he asks a London Evening Standard reporter (who happens to be Jewish) if he is "a German war criminal", suggests that he should seek treatment and describes the reporter's employers as "a load of scumbags and reactionary bigots". This is foolish because doorstepping a London party ...

and the answer is...to PPC. As of about 20 hours ago I am now the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the General Election in Bolton North East. Gosh. To anyone reading this blog (both of you) this is quite probably something of a surprise, since I kept it fairly under my hat, but now I am the PPC that would seem to be an unwise strategy...

How to be an intellectual. Remember, the line between intellectual and pretentious bore is measured in picometres...

The Village have decided to cancel all the live entertainment on Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. That means, for the moment, no more Jazz Evenings.

Star Trek fans are fighting to save Enterprise. They haven't realised that saving Enterprise isn't the same as saving Star Trek. Indeed, having watched Enterprise, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was itself Star Trek's slow and painful death. Save Star Trek. Put Enterprise out of my its misery. (Also via Nick.)

Why does Ken Livingston always gets away with being so rude to people? Saying one’s mind or saying it as it is, is one thing but he goes too far and doesn’t seem to care.It's about time he is put in his place.I had my dose of Ken's mouth after last year’s Annual Meet the Mayor debate. He was so annoyed at being challenged on the TV about the state of the London buses that he turned on me quiet unexpectedly later at the reception. Not able to come up with any real answers to the questions, he just attacked ...

BBC news Issue Before the war Now Weapons of Mass Destruction No threat Now a threat Terrorism No threat from Iraq Iraq a "breeding ground" British Soldiers no deaths Many Deaths Iraqi Civilians few recurring deaths Thousands of Deaths The real issue about Iraq is that going to war was not the only option. Sanctions shored up the regime of Saddam Hussain because his regime handed out food. It would have been quite possible for the Ba'th regime to have been removed by ...

Apparently it only rains on 16 days each year in Fuerteventura in the Canaries. So why did four of those days occur during my one precious week in the sun? Heavy rainfall there has much the same impact as heavy snow in London - everything grinds to a halt. The roads have no drains so quickly became shallow rivers, houses leaked and the power supply was cut. Fuerteventura is literally a desert island. The ancient volcanic rocks are overlaid with fine golden sands blown over by a sirocco wind from the Sahara, creating excellent ...

The Liberal Democrats are sending out confusing messages about the proper relationship between religion and the state. First, the good news. Last week (7th February), Liberal Democrat MPs led an attempt to amend the section of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill relating to religious hatred. I posted on this subject last week but now a Hansard transcript of the debate is online. Excellent