LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Out and about a lot this weekend and lots of people saying they were surprised to see me as they thought all MPs would be catching up on missed sleep. Informed them that we all got more sleep than the media coverage might have suggested but anyone who can't cope with occasional periods of sleep deprivation probably shouldn't become an MP. That said I will freely admit that there have been

I've recently finished reading Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose (8) by Sandy Balfour. It's a mix of autobiography, travelogue and crossword guide, and I highly recommend it. It's a life-affirming story of the author's global travels and in particular his quest to find a national identity after leaving South Africa. If you're interested in crosswords (and in particular the Guardian crossword), it also provides a simple introduction to the subject, covering both Balfour's belief in the stories contained in crossword puzzles and the basics of solving them. It also lifts the veil on some of the setters with ...

Michael Howard's foray into the politics of morality is another phase in the Tory's mirroring of the Bush campaign. First it was asylum seekers, now abortion. With nothing to say on the key issues of education, health and the economy, the Conservatives have settled into a campaign based on motivating their core vote and seeking to win seats through differential turn-out.

Let nobody accuse the Welsh Liberal Democrats of stage-managing their conferences. Even in this time of spin and focus groups a relaxed, faintly-shambolic air always pervades the occasion, and nobody would have it any other way. As David Cornock explains, no matter how professional the organisation (and it was very good), there is no way that anybody can plan for the individualism of the average Liberal Democrat conference representative. As if to underline this independence there was even an attempt to refer back the section of the manifesto on the environment this morning - eight weeks before the likely General ...

We have all seen the fiasco this last week between the two legislative houses. What a nightmare for those involved. The whole process bordered on the ridiculous. It’s Ok for the young free and single but what about those with family commitments or the senior members. A friend called me from the Lord's whips office just for a phone no because she wasn't able to leave. 100 hours without any proper sleep. That is real dedication. Leaving political sentiment aside, my respect goes out to all of them who stayed the course.

Today's St Patrick's Day Parade went off very well. The new route seemed to work quite well. It was good that it didn't rain although it was very cold and my fingers were quite frozen until close to the end. As usual I paraded with the Tipperary County Association which is run by an (ex Labour now independent group) Councillor from Rubery. (Dave McGrath - see main person in photo) Unusually

The composer Peter Maxwell Davies was 70 last year, and so 47 choirs got together to commission a work from him called The Kestrel Road. Last night saw me singing this challenging piece in a concert with Kingston Choral Society. It is a setting of some poems, including Windfall below, by the late George Mackay Brown. Both composer and poet celebrate the wild beauty of their home, Orkney. Windfall No red orchards here; the sea Throbbing; cold root To salt incessant blossoming Burdens the net With grey and with white and with blue fruit. At ...

Once again the Shropshire Star come through for me: A concerned Shropshire father was trying today to contact his 18-year-old son who is at the centre of allegations that he filmed a New Zealand cricket star having sex with a woman. More here.

An important part of Labour's election strategy will be to avoid any media exposure it cannot control.The first clue came with Labour's decision not to use a battlebus or hold any traditional morning press conferences during the campaign.Tony Blair has also made a point of seeking out 'soft' interview opportunities, preferring an afternoon on the sofa with Richard & Judy to a grilling from John Humphrys on Today or Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight.Final confirmation of this strategy came with John Reid's manufactured outrage on BBC2 Newsnight last Tuesday. Jeremy Paxman referred to Reid as "Labour's attack dog", prompting Reid to ...

Just when you thought Michael Howard's powerful assault on Tony Blair at last Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions meant that maybe the Tories weren't so bad after all, comes more news of what they're up to in their election campaigning.Saturday's Guardian carries a report on the Tories' anti-immigration campaign. The original print version of this article (but not the online version) includes a photo of a new Tory billboard. It reads:"It's not racist to impose limits on immigration."Underneath is the strapline,"Are you thinking what we're thinking?"This is part of the Tory strategy of 'dog whistle' politics, messages that are heard only ...

Max Hastings does not pull his punches in his piece in Saturday's Guardian, on the subject of New Labour's recent conduct over the so-called Prevention of Terrorism Bill."Heaven knows what we are supposed to make of the bleating sheep that pass for backbench Labour MPs, who have voted for this rotten measure at the whips' behest every time it has been sent back to them from the Lords. Their only credible excuse is that they know they possess no possibility of alternative employment which pays half as well, if they are cut off from the gusher of public largesse by ...