LibDem Blogs - Archived!

My nomination forms are now in and I can finally exhale. It looks as though there will be 6 of us, but we will find out at 4 o'clock tomorrow. Exciting times ahead. I guess I am being outspent heavily by the Tories (who have been using some thoroughly dodgy statistics about asylum seekers, but that is another story), and DVD-toting MP Joan Ryan, but the reception we are getting from people on the doorstep is beyond my wildest dreams. Some people are going to be quite shocked on May 5th. Also, Andrew Paterson (a friend ...

Despite promising in their manifesto that they will reduce hospital waiting times in Wales it seems that Labour are not prepared to tell us how they will do this until after the General Election is over.Presumably they want us to trust them to deliver. They asked us to trust them in 1997 as well, when they set specific targets for waiting lists which they then failed to meet. They asked us to trust them over war in Iraq, only to have the words thrown back in their faces when the alleged weapons of mass destruction proved not to exist.Trust is ...

The Western Mail reports this morning that a lecturer at the University of Swansea has resigned as an examination officer because of the difficult position he has been put in following the continued suspension of Colwyn Williamson from the Philosophy Department there.Mike Cohen, examinations officer for philosophy students, has handed in his resignation, citing a lack of faith in the exams procedure.His philosophy lecturer colleague, Colwyn Williamson, a strong critic of plans to cut philosophy and other "unpopular" courses at the seaside campus, has been suspended for more than a month.Students on the philosophy course, which is now drawing to ...

Today was a day for leafleting. It is a fairly dull task and as I step from house to house, occasionally talking to people I meet, my mind begins to wander. I don't know how many leaflets I have delivered in the past few months- it is thousands upon thousands. I often wonder about the different ways in which political parties try to communicate with the voters. Election broadcasts, TV, Radio and print media, posters, by telephone and by internet. Still the humble leaflet seems to be the primary method, notwithstanding the vast numbers that are probably thrown away unread. ...

Stephen Moss, writing in the Guardian today, pays tribute to the Collins New Naturalist series. The hundredth volume, The New Naturalists by Peter Marren, is about to be published. Moss sets out the series' origins: In 1945, just after the Allied victory in the second world war, a series of books was launched that would revolutionise the way we experience nature. Published by Collins, the New Naturalists were an instant success. They combined fine writing, scientific rigour, and, most important of all, colour illustrations - a welcome antidote to the monochrome austerity of wartime. For a postwar generation eager ...

In light of recent events, I hereby declare the Campaign for Real Comedy (or CAMRC) officially formed. It's aims are simple: the end of catchphrase comedy and the thorough support of comedy which has been written by those with more than 2 brain cells to wipe their arse with. Comedies which fall into the latter category: The Office Scrubs The Two Ronnies Morecombe and WisePeter Kay (I

Which seats will the Liberal Democrats gain or lose on 5th May?It's hard to tell from the nationwide opinion polls, since there will not be a uniform swing across the whole country. Perhaps the punters have a better idea - after all, they're putting their money where their mouths are.Thanks to this betting portal on the Political Betting site, you can now compare odds for each of the individual constituencies where a betting market has opened up.Before we look at the list, some health warnings. First, this posting is a snapshot based on current odds (which in many cases are ...

In case anybody missed it - this is an extract from Michael Portillo's piece in The Sunday Times yesterday: Even if the Liberal Democrats now have little prospect of becoming, in the words of their election slogan, “the real alternative” their manifesto does score points for being distinctive. Replacing council tax with local income tax is the only way to give local authorities more autonomy (provided they are allowed to raise much more than they now collect in council tax). ...

The Court Hearing day is now listed for the permission stage of the Judicial Review into the lawfulness of the election. That is for this Thursday. It does prevent me speaking at the Sustainable Buildings Conference and presenting Evidence to the Mobile Masts Scrutiny, but the Scrutiny Committee will meet on other days. I would like to have also gone to the opening of the Birmingham W1

Fascinating piece about the state of the political debate and in particular the position of New Labour (or as I prefer to call them 'Not Labour'). Regular readers will know that I was once a Labour person myself. I think the Labour party was more of a 'drawbridge down' movement in those days, but has systematically sold it's soul in order to appeal to a wider group of voters. The contention of this piece is interesting. If New Labour's support is as fickle and shallow as it may well be, it could easily evaporate if the electorate started to take ...

Well, it was my birthday yesterday. I also took the decision therefore not to campaign. I've got a really full week coming up too. Oh, I was 27 (that means nearly 30)... On Saturday, I took part in the Charnwood Make Poverty History event. I've been involved with Make Poverty History locally since the start, and I support their campaign. I will be going to Edinburgh on July 2nd to encourage

The process of electioneering is a very isolating one for the candidate- it is hard to know how you are doing, because people will only come up and talk to you if they are vaguely interested. Hard antis walk past on the street, so you never get to meet them. It does create a dreamlike state where one feels rather detached. A great friend of mine is the writer Vitali Vitaliev. He was staying with me a few days ago. We discussed the campaign process. Vitali is a cynical romantic- he expects things to be bad- a legacy he says ...