LibDem Blogs - Archived!

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a new campaigning website, to help paint a true picture of the National Health Service by hearing feedback and concerns from thousands of patients and medical professionals. It's promoted by Steve Webb MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary. There's also the Meeting the Challenge consultation exercise website. In Charles Kennedy's welcome message on the site he says, I am determined that, despite our success at the General Election, we avoid complacency and maintain the Liberal Democrats as a dynamic, forward looking ...

I contributed another Armchair Conference column to Liberal Democrat News this week. The right horse Political conferences say something important about the parties that hold them. Twenty years ago I spent the summer working for the Liberal Party’s conference office. It being the old Liberal Party, naturally that office was housed in two semi-converted narrow boats moored deep in the Leicestershire countryside. So what does Brighton tell us about the Labour Party? Tony Benn was made to wait hours for his pass. Austin Mitchell’s digital camera was seized and wiped. And delegates even had sweets confiscated (though that ...

I never thought I would get excited about litter bins, but watch out for the new bins that will be appearing around the borough this weekend. 117 new bins will have separate sections for paper, cans and plastic so you can recycle as you go.

So Tony Blair has warned Iran not to interfere in neighbouring Iraq then. You couldn't make it up.

By PeterWell, of course he did. The "glorifying terorism" charge was so transparently unworkable that my seven-year old would not have given it credence (and she believes in Father Christmas).The puzzle is how this proposal got into the Home Office proposals in the first place.It is unlikely to be the work of some six-year old civil servant. A more likely explanation might be that Tony Blair read something in the Sun and told Clarke it was a good idea.My guess is that they always knew if would have to go. But including in the White Paper meant they made ...

It is even worse than I thought. George Bush is reported to believe he is on a mission from God. White House denials don't wash. The only consolation I can find is that, unlike a disturbingly large proportion of his countrymen, Bush has yet to claim he was abducted by aliens. At this point, even the most hardened Atlanticists should be thinking, "This is where I get off." Tony Blair's loyalty

George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, effectively repeating his gaff of a few years ago when he announced that the war on Islamic fundamentalism was a crusade. The problem is that these voices keep putting ideas into his head! Are they speaking to Tony Blair as well?

Government watchdog, the Electoral Commission, has raised some fundamental questions about Labour's plans to exclude candidates from fighting both a constituency and the list at the next Assembly elections. They say: "At present some high-profile candidates stand for election in constituencies with the fall-back of election through the regional list. A party may be unlikely, under this proposal, to risk a high quality candidate to challenge in a constituency election; opposition parties may be obliged to run their major players in regional lists to ensure election. This may impact adversely on the quality of some constituency contests, where ...

A couple of interesting blog posts has set me thinking about Labour's current tactics. Since 1999 Labour have been on the back foot regarding the Welsh Nationalists. Unexpectedly, they lost some of their safest seats and failed to get the majority they had anticipated in the first National Assembly. The fight back for them has been long and hard. The Labour politicians in the front line of that struggle have been the most vehement about Plaid's failings. They have organised leaflet drops and canvassing, they have dug deep for dirt and they have taken every opportunity to expose every possible ...