LibDem Blogs - Archived!

* Man relives shark attack escape * A holidaymaker from Cumbria narrowly escapes being eaten alive by a shark while on a trip to South Africa. Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/england/lancashire/4382621.stm I've done some dangerous things myself in Africa but that's just plain daft.

Thames Water contractors have been digging up the roads to change the old water mains and links to individual properties. The noise was just ear shattering but with one side of the road done they started on the other. We all thought it had ended but oh no they had to come back and start digging again. Somebody decided they had forgotten to fit a meter to each property. At the moment we all pay

All this sanctimonious hog wash about Charles having to apologise for his affair with Camilla before her divorce. After all these years it’s time to heal wounds and leave the past in the past. They are only human after all. At least her ex has been invited to the wedding. How many of us are so privileged. Many people are looking forward to the wedding.

I'm still feeling very impressed with the new Doctor Who. The reviews seem to be pretty good generally. Even Sara Cox was singing its praises today on Radio One. Nick Barlow's review says it all: http://www.nickbarlow.com/blog/index.php?p=296

There's an increasing din going on in the media regarding the forthcoming general election, but most of the comment focuses on the concerns of the 'Westminster Village'. The most refreshing piece I've read in a long time is by John Kampfner in today's Observer, who points out that there are two national debates underway. Politicians talk of tax and spend, of economic performance, of health and

The Liberal Democrats were right to oppose ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) when they were first introduced by Jack Straw in 1998. Since then, the party has panicked. Some Lib Dem-run local authorities, such as Liverpool, have seized on ASBOs with abandon. Then last year, the party's shadow home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten decided to change party policy unilaterally, with the face-saving

Well, it really was Doctor Who, wasn't it? And it seemed to manage the difficult task of trying to fit a story around all the necessary introductions. Next week (and wasn't the teaser enticing? I want to watch it now!) will in many ways, I suspect, be more indicative of how the show will work from week to week. The documentary earlier in BBC One had loads of clips that looked really impressive. No time for a full review now. Hopefully the video at home will have taped the show so I can watch it again and come to a ...

The Wales on Sunday reports today that 'another maverick ex-Tory is to stand against the party in Wales, this time in a seat the Conservatives desperately need to win. Former Major Jimmy James, who unsuccessfully fought the Clwyd West seat for the Conservatives in 2001, is standing as an independent after failing to get the nomination this time.'Commenting on his decision Major James said "Many political parties have lost the plot. They've stopped doing what people want and started doing what they think is a good idea. What I want to do is what the people in Clwyd West want ...

In his wonderful novel, Catch 22, Joseph Heller created a character called Major Major - 'absurdly named by his joking father, is promoted to the rank of major by an IBM computer glitch. All Major Major desires is acceptance and companionship, yet he is continually ostracized in cadet school. He is excluded from squadron basketball games, and disliked by fellow officers due to his speedy promotion and his resemblance to actor Henry Fonda. Promoted prematurely to squadron commander, Major Major Major has no idea what he is expected to do. Bored and depressed, he begins signing "Washington Irving" on ...

The Wales on Sunday this morning reports that the father of a Red Cap soldier who died in Iraq has blasted "hypocritical" Tories for fielding the face of war against him in the General Election. It appears that the Tory candidate for Sedgefield, where Reginal Keys plans to stand as an anti-war independent, is a Group Captain who previously made his mark as the official military spokesperson during the Iraq war.The paper argues that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had originally planned to pull out of the contest in the Prime Minister's constituency to give Mr. Keys a clear ...

It has not been a good weekend for the Tories. The resignation and ostracisation of Howard Flight has both split the Conservative Party asunder and exposed the fragility of their sums and their disingenuity with regards to public spending.Things were not going well for the Tories anyway on their pledge to axe £35 billion from Labour's plans to increase public spending. The Secretary of State for Wales joined with the soon to be ex-Labour MP for Cardiff Central on Friday to highlight the fact that these cuts would mean £2 billion less for the Welsh Assembly.It is worth pointing out ...

The relationship between the Gershon report of the government and the Conservatives' James report is coming to light now. The big problem for the tories is that their James report actually includes the Gershon savings. For example if you look at page 56 of the report on James you will find that of their identified potential savings in education of £5,687,000,000 this includes the Gershon figure