LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Oh, my goodness. I have just got home to discover that George Galloway is on Celebrity Big Brother. Has he not got a job to go to. It really does defy parody.

Jonathan Calder has just highlighted this article in the times which shows the almost half of the front bench team who signed a letter of no confidence in the leader. So which of this 11 is going to declare in the leadership race or do they have another champion in mind. Looking at the names I would say possibly Vince Cable is their man, I don't see any of hte other carrying enough support to

So I hope all those who brought about the leadership contest are happy with themselves. Personally I can't think of a worse time for us to have a leadership contest. There's only 4 months to go until the Local Elections in London and the Tories seem to be consolidating. It's not good. We'd all heard rumours about the drink problem from the parliamentary party gossip but did we think it would stop him being a good leader? No, I've watched Charles perform effectively regardless of what he drinks. Not that I think being an alcoholic is clever, but like my ...

So I hope all those who brought about the leadership contest are happy with themselves. Personally I can't think of a worse time for us to have a leadership contest. There's only 4 months to go until the Local Elections in London and the Tories seem to be consolidating. It's not good. We'd all heard rumours about the drink problem from the parliamentary party gossip but did we think it would stop him being a good leader? No, I've watched Charles perform effectively regardless of what he drinks. Not that I think being an alcoholic is clever, but like my ...

The Times and a bit of informed gossip suggest that the eleven Lib Dems MPs who signed the letter of no confidence in Charles Kennedy were: Vince Cable (Captain) Norman BakerEd DaveyAndrew GeorgeSandra GidleyChris HuhneNorman LambDavid LawsMichael MooreSarah TeatherJohn Thurso Lord Bonkers writes: Not a bad side, though the tail looks a little long for comfort and we may regret the absence of a second spinner.

Iain Dale (proprietor of Politico's and unsuccessful Tory candidate in North Norfolk last time) discusses the role of Charles Kennedy's former press secretary in today's events: Daisy McAndrew (nee Sampson) joined ITN a few months ago from the BBC, where she had been hosting the Daily Politics Show with Andrew Neil. Before that she spent a couple of years as Charles Kennedy's Press Secretary. Today, Daisy McAndrew wielded the knife. She handed his private office a dossier early this afternoon and within an hour it was announced Kennedy would be making a personal statement.

The rumours are true. What - a - twat.

Was going to post last night, as I was excited by seeing a bit of my head on the Channel Four News (archive footage from the election). Well, it has been a busy day. As my desk is located by two televisions playing rolling news channels all day, I have been able to follow the Kennedy story as it has unravelled, as well as checking in for news from cadres. What to say? Can’t pretend that there is any element of his Cowley Street statement that we didn’t see coming. This is going to be a huge and unless I’m ...

The BBC reports: Liberal Democrat Charles Kennedy has called a leadership contest after admitting he has been battling with a drink problem. He said he was determined to carry on as leader but wanted to give party members the "final say". Mr Kennedy - who has previously denied a drink problem - admitted seeking "professional help" to beat the bottle. This seems to me the worst of all possible developments. As I said in my comments on Susan Kramer's interview yesterday, the danger is that Kennedy will be re-elected by the wider membership yet continue not to be ...

It's a bad day. Listened to Charles Kennedy on the car radio, parked on the driveway. Sorry , but my first reaction is that I don't think he's a viable leader any longer.

Charles Kennedy, (current) leader of the Liberal Democrats and all round nice bloke, has admitted to have a drinking problem. Ginger Ale Watch out for revelations that the Pope is a Catholic and guns kill people. Previous No Shit Sherlocks: Zimbabwe and The Interpreter BNP are Racist Iraq has no link to 9/11 attacks

So the worst kept secret in Parliament is out. Charles Kennedy has admitted a drink problem and that he is now dry and intends to stay that way. To show my support to Charles I will also give up drink as a sign of solidarity. He has also called for a leadership election to be held immediately and has announced that he is willing to stand. A brave move to combine the two in one statement but I'm

Jonathan Calder started it with his debate on whether Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Mary Poppins was the greater film. I posted my comment along with several others but Peter from the Apollo Project believes that this is all part of some deeper conspiracy to impose Mary Poppins on us Liberal Democrats. So I got to thinking and realised that David Cameron would be the only possibly person behind such

Another one of those days of frantic media speculation about Kennedy’s leadership, with Charles due to make a statement in a few minutes (apparently about allegations related to alcohol abuse rather than a resignation, but we shall see). I’ll resist the temptation to say too much until I’ve heard the statement. Except to say, for [...]

on the 'politics' shelves of Borders, Teesside Park, near Middlesbrough. (Someone obviously thought 'Taking on the World' by Ellen Macarthur meant something other than her solo round the world race.) Lots about Blair, new Labour, neoconservatism, the new Labour project, spin, the war on terror and the general state of politics left and right, here and aboard. Maybe there was some great,

Silent Call Campaigning MP John Hemming has called upon the victims of Silent Calls to make sure that their voices are heard by Ofcom. Writing on his blog he said: "Silent Calls cause considerable anxiety and nuisance. Ofcom's policy consultation ends on 9th January. It is important that people tell Ofcom that they want Silent Calls to stop. They can email: frank.phillips@ofcom.org.uk or

Lindsay Lohan (movie star and pop star) has been taken into hospital with an asthma attack (suspected) just like I was. Clearly it’s a trendy, celebrity-esque thing to do these days so I no longer feel so bad about my stint in that unfashionable hospital gown. It was pink and glittery, full of cheese and featured a huge dress and a carriage with a white pony……no it wasn’t Jordan and Peter’s wedding, it was Cinderella – the pantomime we saw last night at Wimbledon theatre! But how wonderful it was. I love the Cinderella story – so happy and romantic. ...

Well it is not really live but close enough. I have spent today in Westminster with the rest of the Liberal Democrats Assembly Group and our Welsh MPs. Most of the meeting was spent discussing the Government of Wales Bill and other issues but when we heard that Charles Kennedy was to make a personal statement at 5.45pm we all decided to go and see it in person. There is nothing like seeing history being made no matter how minor. In terms of the party this was fairly significant history. Charles' statement was brave and well-judged. He was open about ...

Last night my grandmother Alice Ross passed away, may she rest in peace. She had been ill for a little while and was in hospital earlier in the week, though was released, she had a heart attack at her sister's home in York and never regain consciousness. I am obviously upset and hoping that my father is okay, at the same time I am really quite annoyed with the hospital releasing her as she was okay when she was obviously not.

according to this new report. The dead boy's sister is seriously ill with flu, a third sibling has symptoms. While awful for the bereaved family, the news for the rest of the world is that these cases appear to have been caught from infected birds: the real trouble starts when the H5N1 virus evolves (or is Intelligently Modified, you read it here first) human to human transmission. Of course, you could believe American shrill Tom Clancy. In his book Executive Orders, a United Islamic Republic (Iran and Iraq epoxied together after an Iranian assassin does ...