LibDem Blogs - Archived!

First up, congratulations to Max Calo on begetting a beautiful baby daughter. Just in time for her to submit written questions for the first full Council meeting of 2006. And to play for West Ham in about 2020.Second, many thanks to James Cleverly for sending me Christmas greetings. Got a card from Ken Livingstone as well. Perhaps there really is something in this season of goodwill business. Nothing from David Cameron yet though. Guess it serves me right for going to Charles Kennedy's speech today on climate change, who was less than kind ...

I was struck by a comment on Political Betting tonight by Zebidee: "26. Estelle Morris seems to have Blair over a barrel over the education issue. if he doesn’t cave in he will end up trying to get his silly bill through with the support of Cameron and more Tories than labour MPs than Labour and Lib Dem ones. Brings me to the Labour (Blair) succession. Former education Secretary, come out of

by Peter Two pieces by Tony Greaves hit my desk today, his letter in the Guardian and his back page column in Lib Dem News (helpfully signposted "no backbiting says Tony Greaves").OK I know that someone slagged Greaves off on this blog a few months ago. But it was not me, and I have got a lot of time for him on issues like the ID card. That said, I do not find this kind of name-calling very helpful.Let's go through the letter:Martin Kettle writes "centrist" when he really means "rightwing" (A botched putsch by people who yearn to ...

Seemingly it is the case that if they were in Government (yeah, not yet…), the Conservatives plan to leave public spending levels at something approaching their current share of GDP. For anyone who considers themselves to be in favour of progressive politics this is a worrying development. At first sight this might not seem the case. For those – perhaps including the Blairites – the apparent reconfiguration of Conservative policies in the general direction of the social and economic compact established by New Labour is evidence of the remaking of British politics in favour of, as they like to put ...

A great row in the USA over security service eavesdropping on US citizens. We are quite closely entangled with this in the UK, however. The current US dismay is about spying on US citizens when they are in the USA, using long-established mass surveillance technologies. US citizens abroad like foreigners have been subject to this surveillance for decades…The UK is a vital part of this global US operation. The electronic eavesdropping stations based in Britain at GCHQ Cheltenham, at Morwenstowe in Cornwall and at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire collect phone calls, electronic mail messages and possibly now mobile messages and ...

by Steve Travis Our internal disputes and disagreements have been well documented over recent weeks. But it seems we're not alone in this new fractiousness; Labour and the Tories want to get in on the act too. We learn that the PM's No 2 and hitherto enforcer of his will, John Prescott, has serious misgivings about Labour's plans for school reform. And all this on top of Blair's defeat over 90 day detention. There is already a gaminess about this Government after a mere 7 months in office. Not to be out done, over at Conservative Home ...

The BBC adaptation of Bleak House ended yesterday. A triumph of Dickens' storywriting, BBC production and homegrown acting talent: the actress that caused the breathless celeb headlines was ex-X files import Gillian Anderson, who as Lady Honoria Dedlock acted the whole range of emotions from A to...well... A minus. The best thing she did was die, and as she expired wetly (literally and

Celestia is a free, interactive 3D space simulation program that lets you roam around the solar system and beyond. It's great fun and full of features. You can save images and videos. Decades of Darkness is a chronicle of an alternative history that you can download - there's a lot to read. The point of departure for this scenario is that Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States

The BBC News today said that they were going to show a series of interviews over the coming week to give perspectives on the big news "of the year". What's the schedule? Monday: Bob Geldof talking about Live 8 and the G8 summit (July 2-9)Tuesday: Lord Coe about the Olympics (July 6)Wednesday: A survivor of the London bombings (July 7) Is this the year in review, or a review of early July?

Astute readers may have noticed Mr Cameron this week purporting to be 'the real voice of liberal UK’ and informing us that: ‘There is a new home for Liberal Democrat voters - and so a real prospect of a change of Government - because today we have a Conservative Party that: believes passionately in green politics, that is committed to decentralisation and localism, that supports open markets and that is prepared to stand up for civil liberties and the rule of law, and which wants Britain to be a positive participant in the EU, as a champion of liberal ...

Although this article doesn't specifically mention Cabinet Ministers ... ... I am sure they wouldn't be so hypocritical as to apply one rule to their servants but another to themselves ... ... would they?

I hate to be such a nay-sayer all the time, but what a wasted opportunity Kennedy’s speech on climate change was today. Don’t get me wrong; he’s absolutely right to criticise the Tories and Labour - we still have a stronger record on the environment than them. But it doesn’t appear to have moved us [...]

I have just been phoned by someone from the national media telling me that one or more Labour MPs have referred me to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for asking questions about the weather. Apparently they think I have a financial interest in it. As all regular readers of this blog will know the weather is important for determining gas usage. I am told they have also approached my Whip

Lord Tony has taken exception to Martin Kettle’s article about the Lib Dems this Saturday. His beef is that the “modernist centrists” that Kettle is referring to are actually “Blairite rightwingers.” As usual, I find myself half agreeing with the learned Lord. Martin Kettle’s writing about the radical centre leaves me scratching my [...]

Do you have a grumble about Public Transport in Bath? If so we want to know about it. Although public transport is no longer under local authority control it is still important that your local council are kept aware of the problems which people face when trying to use public transport. Councillor David Dixon (Lib Dem, Walcot) who also Chairs the Council's Planning Transportation Economy and Sustainability Overview and Scruntiny Panel would like to hear your concerns. The website www.bathnestransport.blogspot.com has been launched by Cllr Dixon in order to act as a vehicle for residents to share their problems surrounding ...

Well at 10am this morning at Belfast City Hall, just up Chichester Street from one of my former places of employment, history was made. Shannon Sickles and Grainne Close become the first gay couple to take advantage of the Civil Partnership Act. There were unable to formalise their relationship in Ms Sickles home state of New York where there is not recognition of gay partnerships. Henry Kane and

I finished off my December Focus/Xmas card delivery this morning.Should probably have done it later today as it took about twice as long to complete than normal. The worst bit was a jet black tarmac drive that was covered in a thin layer of ice, with a slope. I began to traverse it, then realised that I was sliding down, so managed to turn and slide down onto the road. I then proceeded to walk on the grass... I avoided going down onto my arse at any stage, but with my centre of gravity being so high it was a ...

I think people get too hung up over whether a business is a corporate or an independent. You can easily have a corner shop that is more unethical in the way it treats its staff (for instance) with less rules to govern them than a corporate. I speak as someone who planned and organised our entire wedding through small independent shops in Newbury. I used an independent dress designer, bakery, florist, photographer, hairdresser, beautician and venue. About the only thing bought from a chain was our jewellrey and my shoes which, at £20 from New Look, were much cheaper and ...

Since posting my thoughts on the role of corporations in the modern market place I have received several comments on the issue. This has been great - it was exactly what I was after and open debate on my thoughts of the day.It has allowed me to further my views on the issue. To expand: Corporations can of course be dangerous entities. They require regulation and close monitoring. My argument is that an ethical corporation can be good for consumer choice. There is a benefit to having a freedom of choice as to where you ...

Curious headline for a press release: Kennedy - “This is no time to be rolling over” For some reason I have visions of Kennedy asking his shadow cabinet to remember to tie a knot in their respective pajamas. Come to think of it, that song is a pretty relevant metaphor for the current state of [...]

Although the Government's Education White Paper will have few ramifications for Wales, the all-out war it has provoked amongst Labour MPs continues to provoke headlines. Today, it is the turn of the Deputy Prime Minister, who has refused to retract his outspoken concerns about the impact of the reforms: Since Mr Prescott voiced his doubts about Ruth Kelly's new education white paper in cabinet last month it has been an open secret that the 11-plus failure, who attended Ruskin College, Oxford, as a mature student, shares many of the concerns voiced by the former education secretary, Estelle Morris, and ...

Interesting to note that, according to the Baxter calculator (via pb.c), MORI’s 9-point lead for the Tories yesterday still doesn’t guarantee David Cameron a majority. And that’s leaving aside MORI’s dodgy methodology which is dubious at the best of times, and even more so now. MORI only count people ‘certain to vote’, and [...]

I am simply shocked - shocked - to learn that such barbarity still continues in this country and will henceforth only eat cheese made entirely from vegetables.