LibDem Blogs - Archived!

So, Michael Howard comes to Wales and announces that a conservative government at Westminster would provide the cash for a council tax rebate for Welsh pensioners. His plan is that he will give the money to the Welsh Assembly Government and challenge Rhodri Morgan to implement the policy or explain to pensioners why they are losing out. Putting aside the fact that he is just tinkering with the system and failing to address the real inequality in Council Tax (a local income tax will take a large number of pensioners out of taxation altogether), the big problem with Mr. Howard's ...

By Douglas Adams Just came back from seeing the film version, and wow! A lot of people (most notably Planet Magrethea) have criticised the film as not being true to the books/radio/TV and quite frankly, bull. Who cares, every version has been different and whilst the additions aren't brilliant, it's still a fantastic film. The way the Guide itself is introduced is great - using Journey of the

A beautiful weekend is in prospect, with sunshine and high temperatures forecast. I have a very busy weekend ahead. I am looking forward to it. Today the reaction from the people we met in Marlow was overwhelmingly positive. So many people have wished me luck. Maurice Oram, our veteran councillor for Marlow says that he too can not recall an election like it- and he has been fighting them for over

I am off to deliver more of those leaflets soon, but here is today Election Points column from Liberal Democrat News. Mention the war This is no longer the Basil Fawlty election. In the last few days of the campaign everyone is mentioning the war. And none more effectively than our newest recruit, Brian Sedgemore. As I have a lot of leaflets and letters to deliver here in marginal Harborough, I shall let Sedgemore write this column for me. He made his last speech in the Commons on 23 February in the debate on the government’s attempt to ...

For anyone who missed Question Time last night, you can still view it on the BBC web site (don’t know how long for hence no hard link). First up was Charles Kennedy, who was cheered both at the beginning and the end of his 30 minutes. After a shaky start to this campaign, Charles was on fine form. He came across as confident, strong and principled. His supporters couldn’t have wished for more. Michael Howard – who has started to remind me of Vincent Price – seemed hell-bent on self-destruction as he told the audience ...

Last night Enfield North had its only hustings under the auspices of the United Nations Association and the local Civic Forum and it was a good success. More people turned out than I feared and we had some pretty undaunted and incisive questions. While there was some sharp disagreements on some issues, I thought that all the candidates entered into the spirit of rugged but good-natured

Yesterday I had the honour of being present at the opening of The Oaks, a care centre for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. And while I didn't get to meet royalty in HRH princess Alexandra, it was great to have her there. The new building is testament to a lot of hard work, and will serve the community proud. I was honoured to be invited, and proud to attend.

Five News's Press Release A Five News investigation has exposed how easy it is to rig the postal voting system. As six million people prepare to vote by post, Five News successfully obtained multiple votes in two constituencies, highlighting just how open to abuse the system is. This is the first time the ease of MULTIPLE fraud has been exposed in the postal voting system. The broadcaster

Campaigning last night, campaigning today, campaigning tomorrow, and I'm loving it! Realising, that what would normally be a tactical vote for Labour from Lib Dem voters is not going to happen in Loughborough for the most part, which is brilliant. This means we will increase in the constituency, which is what we hoped for! The student members are working SO hard for us, and I'm SO grateful!

I do not suppose it is my place to comment on this but the article in today's Western Mail about dirty tricks polluting politics is interesting nevertheless. Dr Richard Wyn Jones, head of the Institute of Welsh Politics at Aberystwyth University, has alleged that dirty tricks and character assassinations have reached "unprecedented" levels in this election and the Conservatives are to blame for "leading the political debate down the drain".He accused the Tories of "coarsening debate" to the point where it threatens the "fabric of democratic life".Assembly Tory group leader Nick Bourne insisted it was Labour that was guilty ...

The Question Time interviews were unexpectedly revealing. You can see them again on the BBC website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/default.stm# Michael Howard went further in his support of the war than we have seen for some time. He would have gone to war in exactly the same way that Tony Blair did. It is not surprising. The Attorney General was only asked for his advice

I attended my first art class on Tuesday evening (after delivering leaflets - delivering leaflets always comes in somewhere) and I began a still life in acrylics - a hat and a tomato. I didn't get to the tomato and I didn't really 'feel' the hat, at all, as an object. It ended up being a set of random, abstract colour that I didn't feel looked much like a hat.The instructor said that I had a good grasp of tone. I learned how to draw angles using a pencil as a guide.Yesterday, I decided to practice drawing the hat and ...

Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton in the last parliament, has come under attack from his Tory opponent, who has been accused of using homophobic material in his election campaign. UK.gay.com reports: Ken Andrew, the Tory parliamentary candidate for Carshalton Wallington in Surrey, has apparently used his campaigning leaflets to slam the current Liberal Democrat MP Tom