LibDem Blogs - Archived!

The big event today of course was the all-party agreement on a way-forward over variable top-up fees for students. After nearly a month of negotiations all four parties agreed on six basic principles to help Welsh students studying in Wales. These are: All Welsh domiciled students will NOT pay top-up fees at universities in Wales A commitment by the Labour Assembly Government to address the funding gap between Welsh higher education institutions and others elsewhere in the UK. The introduction of a national bursary scheme, including additional incentives to study shortage subjects – such as mathematics ...

Managed half an hour in the Westminster office before I had to head off for a lunch with the International AIDS vaccine Institute. Then had to catch up with the Chief Whip (How's it going, what are your plans? etc) followed by a meeting with someone from the British Association of Shooting and Conservation. We covered the use of snares, Lib Dem shooting policy and Driven Game Shooting. Very

Following advice (not least received in the early days of this blog) I started the quest for a station car parking space some time after 9:30. Winchester did prove succesful on the first attempt but only after two circuits of both car parks. All success to the planning application at Parkway.

Being a night owl I have never really understood the attraction of breakfast meetings. Was up at 6 in order to pack my bag for the week and be in Stockbridge for 7:30 for a meeting with local business people. Seemed to go OK but was struck by how many people were offering services rather than products (Eddie - who invited me being one of the exceptions). Chatting afterwards one chap charmingly

Plaid Cymru today have finally ruled out ruled out entering a coalition government with any other party in the Welsh assembly. They have said that they will not even discuss a deal with another party before the assembly elections in 2007. This will be a huge blow to all those journalists who were filling their allotted column inches with gossip and speculation. It also leaves Peter Law with one less weapon to threaten the First Minister with.This stance was predictable and completely logical. With less than two years to go to the Assembly elections all the opposition parties want to ...

Thanks for the suggestions about turning off pilot lights. I've also been told that I'm using the wrong word. Pilot light means gas; the word for the electric equivalent is standby. But, not all purposeless electric lights indicate standby mode. For example, I have two extension leads with red lights on them that only indicate that they are in use. I've received two suggestions: firstly that I use a meter to judge which of the appliance's standby lights uses the most power, and secondly that I use timers to switch appliances on and off at ...

Thanks for the suggestions about turning off pilot lights. I've also been told that I'm using the wrong word. Pilot light means gas; the word for the electric equivalent is standby. But, not all purposeless electric lights indicate standby mode. For example, I have two extension leads with red lights on them that only indicate that they are in use. I've received two suggestions: firstly that I use a meter to judge which of the appliance's standby lights uses the most power, and secondly that I use timers to switch appliances on and off at ...

Blair: “When I pass protestors every day at Downing Street, and believe me, you name it, they protest against it, I may not like what they call me, but I thank God they can. That’s called freedom.” (Via.)

Lord Goldsmith wants to remove the right to trial by jury in 'complex fraud cases'. Is he suggesting that jurors are not intelligent enough to understand these cases? Are judges always people with their fingers on the pulse of businesss and therefore easily able to understand complex fraud cases that the rest of us mere mortals are not? The right to trial by jury is one of the fundamental pillars of our stable society - and as such it should remain sacrosanct. And Lord Goldsmith needs to stop patronising us!

Last Saturday, I visited one of the finest greasy caffs in London, if not the whole of Britain: the New Piccadilly in Soho. (My passion for the traditional caff was revealed in this earlier posting).The New Piccadilly (address: 8 Denman Street, London W1, just off Piccadilly Circus) is one of the last survivors of the once-commonplace 1950s Italian-run cafe, with Festival of Britain-inspired decor. Nothing much has changed since it first opened in 1951 and it remains a riot of yellow formica. As well as variations on the English breakfast theme, it serves a variety of old-fashioned Anglo-Italian dishes plus ...

An interesting new angle for nuisance calls is people from the USA using computers to phone people in the UK (including those on ex-directory numbers and probably those on the Telephone Preference Service lists) with calls such as "you have won a luxury holiday in the caribbean".

BBC News invited viewers to send in pictures and videos of flash flood stories in their area - had visions of people out with cameras looking for interesting stories to make names for themselves - seems their gambit paid off. Watched with amazement the BBC news flash of the dramatic rescue of Gordon & Mayer Nelson sent in by a resident in Newcastle. Story & live video recordingMust have been a traumatic few moments for the Mr & Mrs Nelsons (both in their 70's) - would have scared the pants off anybody.Walkergate resident Garry Alexander, who filmed the rescue ...