LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Now this was a surprise!! :-))Your expected outcome:Liberal DemocratYour actual outcome: Labour 2 Conservative -69 Liberal Democrat 98 UK Independence Party -30 Green 64You should vote: Liberal Democrat The LibDems take a strong stand against tax cuts and a strong one in favour of public services: they would make long-term residential care for the elderly free across the UK, and scrap university tuition fees. They are in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, but would relax laws on cannabis. They propose to change vehicle taxation to be based on usage rather than ...

After three weeks in the market place, we finally find company. The Conservatives come for about an hour and a half. Yet the feeling, if anything is stronger for us than in previous weeks. The direction continues to be very positive. Many people come over and talk, and the tone is overwhelmingly friendly and supportive. Up until now, the "undecideds" have been winning this election. Now we sense that they are making up their mind, and the Liberal Democrats are clearly gaining locally. The position in the national polls is a little mixed, in some we are at 23%- in ...

In the interests of balanced reporting, I feel obliged to inform you that the BNP's election manifesto was launched today. Beyond the predictable stuff about withdrawal from the EU, restoration of capital punishment and a complete end to immigration, the BNP's führer made this bizarre statement: Mr Griffin also wants the reintroduction of national service and said everyone who had undergone it

The Liberal Democrats today highlighted rural issues. I don't wish to criticise the party's rural plans as such but would make this observation. Why do we talk of 'rural issues' but not 'urban issues' or 'suburban issues'? Most British people live in cities. Britain is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, with approximately 90% of the population living in urban settlements. Britain

The reintroduction of national service, following which the ex-soldier will be required to keep an assault rifle in their home. "It's there to shoot burglars with if they want, it's there to shoot people who invade this country if they want, and if in the end a tyrannical government wants to usurp the rights and freedoms of the people it is there to use against the government as well" Please stop these idiots. BBC NEWS | Election 2005 | Election 2005 | BNP launches election manifesto

The anti-Lib Dem Liberal Democrat Watch site has provided some modest entertainment over the past year. Though anonymous, it is allegedly sponsored by the trades union Amicus. Stories appeared almost daily until March, when they began to dry up, the last appearing on 27th March. After two weeks of silence, a new posting on 12th April announced "Lib Dem Watch is back", apologising for the hiatus

Today is St George's Day, the national day of England, and the English will celebrate it with... well, not a lot. To find out what is happening, I put the phrase "St George's Day" into Google and the first website to come up in my search was St.George's Day Events, "a 'not for profit' organisation, dedicated to promoting and celebrating St. George's Day". It looked promising. I clicked on 'news

So everything is very hectic, but I am enjoying the campaign so far. I was in Enfield Island Village yesterday, and will be back in Town Ward today before heading over to Enfield Highway. So much to do, so little time. We are putting out our next leaflet soon- on the future of Chase Farm hospital and law & order. Obviously, we need all the help we can get in delivering leaflets, so do e-mail

For some reason the Tories do not learn their lesson when they score own goals. As this article makes clear they are still sending out letters quoting inaccurate and exaggerated MRSA rates for local hospitals. Could it be that they don't care that they are misleading the public as long as they are stirring up controversy and getting their point across?

I am speaking at two public meetings later today in Clare Short's Constituency. I have, therefore, hunted up Clare Short's reasoning for supporting going to war in Iraq. I have always found this the oddest reason. One of her reasons was: "We should also consider taking military action if it is necessary to minimise suffering and to maximise the speed with which Iraq is reconstituted so that it

For a splendid site dedicated to this 1960s icon (and considerable actor), click here.

Don't even recycle them (except the policies, of course). Send them to these people: We are aiming to create a digital archive of the leaflets, posters, postcards and newsletters produced by the candidates and political parties contesting the 2005 General Election. Please send your leaflet donations to: Leaflets 2005, PO Box 4312, Wolverhampton WV11 3WZ.

The twenty third of April- the Saints day of St. George. In Estonia today is the anniversary of a national uprising against the German feudal lords in the middle ages. The "rebellion of St George's night" lasted for years and forced the Teutonic Knights to seek protection from Scandinavian masters. Another mediaeval tradition is probably St. George himself- even in Cappodocia, where St. George was said to have come from- dragons must have been fairly rare. Even William Shakespeare, the pre-eminent literary genius in English, is another great mystery. We know so little about him, that we do not know ...

The first hustings meeting took place at Marlow Methodist Church last night. Four of the five candidates- UKIP, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat- attended. The independent candidate apparently could not be contacted. The audience was fifty or so- slightly disappointing, especially considering how few were actually uncommitted to a candidate. Nevertheless, the episode was revealing, to some degree. It was the first time that I had really met the other candidates, and I can begin to assess their strengths and weaknesses. The UKIP candidate was not particularly assertive, and in his comments about the Council tax- he claimed it could ...

Apart from the obvious campaigning, I'm also helping with the final discussions, etc. for the release of Young, Free and Liberal: A Young Person's Guide to Liberal Democracy. My role has been mostly to pester contributors and my two co-editors, to draw the 'Liberty Belle' illustrations. I also wrote two of the sections! :D After a consultation with the LDYS Chair (Chris) yesterday lunchtime, it appears we're going to have a formal launch a couple of weeks after the general election. I'm quite excited because the guide looks great and so many people have contributed vast quantities of time to ...