LibDem Blogs - Archived!

In a fairly recent interchange with Tom at Let’s be Sensible, I suggested that liberty and equality as guiding principles for policy in a liberal democracy were unhappy bedfellows. In that interchange Tom had stated that he was interested in policies that incorporated a combination of aspects of equality, liberty and security at different times, in such preference – I assume - as suits circumstance, outcome or pragmatism. Such a belief is not mere eclecticism. The social, economic and political compact of this country has always been measured by the dimensions of equality, liberty and authority. But pragmatism does not ...

The David Davis for Leader blog has a neat conspiracy theory to explain the eclipse of their man by David Cameron in the past few days: No complaints, because we live in the world as it is. But further investigation into the background of Frank Luntz reveals some very interesting connections from the past. In the 1980s Frank was at Oxford, where he obtained a Doctorate in politics. He was also a member of the Oxford Union Standing Committee. By a curious coincidence, Michael Gove MP was Union President at the time. He succeeded to the post shortly after ...

The Telegraph reveals that a very young Laurence Dallaglio can be heard singing backing vocals on Tina Turner's "We don't need another hero".

If you are hoping to read my Parish Council Manifesto - you're too late! If you haven't read it already then you've missed the shock and horror of my suggestion that Ched PC conforms to government recommended best practice. If you were hoping to get a thrill from my outrageous suggestion that they rejoin Staffordshire Parish Councils Association - then tough. Enough already! On Monday the Highways Agency published its report on the M6 Toll. This was originally going to be called the '18 month report', but this became redundant when 18 months had come and gone. ...

Nick Cohen has written another of his hack pieces in the Observer today about how wicked “liberals” are blaming the Iraq War for terrorist atrocities, and how this proves they’re a dreadful shower, etc. As Matt points out, this contrasts with his pre-Iraq War pieces when he condemned “liberals” for supporting a war in [...]

Am doing a "west midlands ciurcumnavigation" tomorrow on the bike, with a bunch of cycling officers from various authorities in the area.I should be about 95 miles (maybe 100 if we do a small loop somewhere...). So by my calculations I'll need about 4500 Cals during the day (based on body weight and an estimate of our average speed). Finding high Cal, low fat food is actually quite difficult in a supermarket. But settled on dried fruit and nutri-grain bars, with lucozade active and water for fluids.The ride should be interesting as I've never done more than 70kms in a ...

Seems like the usually dreary Tory Party conference was enthused with an interesting sideshow in UK politics last week. The reduced faithful was entertained by five wannabe leaders showing their wares as to who is best to lead the party into another defeat at the next election. I almost expected Simon Cowell to be there with a B-list celebrity panel to help the viewers decide which numbers to text into to choose their favourite Tory. Judging by the results is seemed there is going to a swift exodus leaving David Davis’s camp over to new kid in town Cameron. ...

The World Health Organisation has said that diabetes in the UK is on the rise. Diabetes is a killer and costs the NHS money. The other crucial point to remember is: it can be prevented. One of the major causes of diabetes is obesity. Obesity has become a big issue (pun half intended) in the last few years. There have been various reasons put forward as to why this has happened and the finger

The Conservative Party, like most other sentient organisms, is a curious paradox. Its very philosophy is designed to appeal to the glass-half-empty brigade, apprehensive that the future is an ambush poised to ensnare any adventurer naïve enough to believe that what lies ahead could possible be better than the familiar path well-trod. As the Tory historian John Charmley has noted: there is a “vein

Noticed this disturbing BBC news report Child camel jockeys left disabled These races take place in the United Arab Emirates. They are a main attraction for foreign visitors to the country and considered high profile events, with huge financial incentives. The races have the 'Lawrence of Arabia appeal' The report says, "The risk of serious injury, disability and death is shockingly high among child jockeys in camel races in Gulf countries". I'm hardly surprised. I 've witnessed these races whilst on business trips to the UAE (another lifetime away). It made me ...

Mmm, judging from these poll results the Tories think that they have a Tony Blair mark II in the making in David Cameron. Things really are getting interesting.

Encouraging news in the Observer this morning, who report that Tony Blair is prepared to allow his Health Secretary to pursue a complete ban on smoking in public places. This is a health and safety measure and is the only workable way to introduce such a ban. Partial bans will not work because they are unenforceable and, as the paper says, would have been circumvented by the simple method of pubs ceasing to serve food.

Last night after a productive evening in my local, drinking beer and talking crap we ventured back to a friends house where there is a fireplace set in the garden. We sat around the fire discussing the world in general and one friend summed up the sad state the world is in. "George Bush is the most powerful person on Earth" at the time it was quite a profound statement and we sat there for a while reflecting on how mankinds evolution had culminated in this situation, a world that created Enstein, Picasso, Shakespeare, Beethoven, had mapped the human Genome. ...