LibDem Blogs - Archived!

UKIPwatch reports that East Midlands Tory MEP Chris Heaton-Harris is offering a bottle of champagne to the first person to spot Robert Kilroy-Silk in the region. Yesterday's Telegraph reported Heaton-Harris as saying: "How exactly is he representing his constituents in the East Midlands? He rarely visits the European Parliament and I'm not aware of him doing anything in the East Midlands since the general election. I think he's letting down both his constituents and the country."Kilroy-spotting fever is reported from Cropwell Bishop to Eyam, and from Newtown Unthank to Ingoldmells. If you think you have seen the man with the ...

London Geezer offers a generously illustrated account of the course of the River Fleet through the city, taking in the landscape I wrote about in North of St Pancras. Highly recommended.

I have been away from my computer this week so unable to post my thoughts on the unfolding horror in New Orleans. A natural disaster of that scope is devastating, but its effects have been so much worse than they should have been because of the appalling lack of emergency planning. I have never been to New Orleans, but I met up with a friend today who returned last week from a holiday there - probably one of the last tourists to enjoy it as it was. I hadn't realised until this week that the ...

by Peter It has been a rough week. But here are some reasons for Lib Dems to be cheerful. 1. Labour are giving Lord Haskins an ASBO, and telling him he can´t sit with them anymore. Surely our chaps could offer to budge up a bit? (But first Haskins will offer the excuse that Lady Haskins wrote the cheque.) 2. Labour will have even more space on their benches as Lord Watson pleads guilty to playing with matches (but what was Blair doing in Iraq?). This will lead - apparently - to a by-election in Glasgow Cathcart (aka known as ...

I am pleased to report that the Shropshire Star is keeping up its high standard of reporting. Try: North Shropshire firefighters were called in to help "moo-ve" a cow that became stuck after deciding to give milking a miss. and: Gnipper is top dog in grrreat town. Meanwhile, the South Shropshire Journal reports: If administrators fail in their battle to save embattled trouser manufacturers Walters, south Shropshire could be facing an estimated £2 million loss to its economy.I always insist on embattled trousers myself. They are so much harder wearing.

I've felt angry and disturbed at the prospect of the teaching of "intelligent design" (creationism under another name) creeping into the US schools system. Perhaps the word 'evolution' will be banned in US schools in a few decades time. I'm sure the Taliban would approve. I can't help think of the late science fiction writer James White. He wrote truly good books - not only were they

I've just found a new blog "Eye of the Storm" reporting, with photos, of what's happening along the Gulf Coast. Have a look.

I find that Political Betting are actually a little slow off the mark. For example this morning there was a piece listing the four declared candidates for the Livingston by Election. When that article went live there were 4 and now there are six. So in alphabetical order to appease the masses here they are. Angela Constance SNP born in Blackburn (that's West Lothian not Lancashire or

I refer the reader to this article on the Guildford Conservatives website, where "local Onslow campaigners" Dennis Paul and Mike Chambers slam 24 hour licensing. Now, to many, this wouldn't shock. But to myself and the students of the University of Surrey, it was quite startling. Because before the election campaign, Mike Chambers, myself, and Paul Sanderson did a radio debate whereby we discussed licensing laws. I admittedly did not know the Lib Dem policy for it, so I was simply compromising about the issue. Mike then decided to agree with me, and I can quote ...

It's so difficult to comprehend why he did it. That voice in a Yorkshire accent is so unnerving.Mohammad Sidique Khan (video, 2m:15s): Full text of his messegeI’m going to keep this short and to the point because it’s all been said before by far more eloquent people than me. But our words have no impact upon you, therefore I’m going to talk to you in a language that you understand. Our words are dead until we give them life with our blood. I’m sure by now the media’s painted a suitable picture of me, this predictable propaganda machine will naturally ...

The new LibDemBlogs shop focusFodder is open for trading, buy now and get your goods before Federal Conference!* Delivery dates can't actually be confirmed, as goods are sent from the USA

Inspired by Alan, and while I wait for the votes to pile up over the weekend, here’s a fun list of Celebrities I Spotted In Edinburgh. Stand-up comedian Jo Caulfield, at Stewart Lee’s show Comedy actor and writer David Walliams (who I also saw in Camden a few years ago) outside the Assembly Rooms booking office Ben Miller, [...]

The Western Mail reports this morning, with rather a bit too much glee I thought, that the knives are out for Tory AM, Glyn Davies. Glyn takes himself very seriously as is evident from his comment:"I would be very surprised and disappointed if anything like this was happening. I believe in the party I am a popular AM and don't believe there are any grounds for deselecting me."To be fair he has made some thoughtful and interesting contributions in the Assembly, although his refusal on occasion to be easily whipped on votes has led to some 'misunderstandings' on the ...

Simon Titley quotes extensively from Paul Krugman's column in the New York Times on the incompetence of the Bush government: Before 9/11 the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the three most likely catastrophic disasters facing America: a terrorist attack on New York, a major earthquake in San Francisco and a hurricane strike on New Orleans. "The New Orleans hurricane scenario," The Houston Chronicle wrote in December 2001, "may be the deadliest of all." It described a potential catastrophe very much like the one now happening. So why were New Orleans and the nation so unprepared? After ...

Gerard Baker in today's Times casts scorn on Jon Snow and anyone else who says that Katrina might have been caused by global warming:The Times Professor Kerry Emanuel's argument that Katrina might have something to do with global warming was outlined by Paul Brown in yesterday's Guardian:The Guardian On computer models the warmer the sea, the faster the wind of the hurricane. The temperature of the water deep down as well as on the surface is most important. The storm mixes up the water from lower levels with higher levels. If the lower water is cool then the ...

... it's not just New Orleans that gets washed out but also much neo-conservative dogma. The neglect of infrastructure and organisation by an arrogant and ideologically-driven government has made the consequences of a natural catastrophe much worse than they need have been. As the week has progressed, more and more stories of warnings ignored and fundamental incompetence have emerged. Scenes on

The date has been set for the Livingston by election, 29 September. So we have four weeks of intense activity to come now. Just like last year when Jody Dunn turned up at conference I expect we'll be sending Charles Dundas down to Blackpool to encourage key people to tell their activists how we are doing. I unfortunately am going to have to make apologies to a number of events that I have been

Calls for Watson to be stripped of title - Labour MSP Mike Watson has fallen on his arson.

Says the Press Assocation (feed via icTeesside), Lord Paddy Ashdown, currently the top international administrator in Bosnia, was an agent for the British MI6 secret service in the 1970s, according to a report published on the internet and picked up by Bosnian newspapers. […] The Cryptome list also includes the former head of Ashdown’s public relations office, Julian [...]