LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Via Mr Guerrier comes this lovely factoid. You may have noticed that Dan Brown has been in court this week defending some novel or other from the allegation that it is ripped off from a non-fiction (in the loose sense) work called The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail. His publisher is being sued by that [...]

by Peter Just the other day I was reflecting on Cameron's first 100 days as Tory leader. I was not all that impressed: I think the Tories would have expected rather more: Cameron on paper is a more attractive figure than Howard; the other parties have been in considerable trouble during much of this period; and Cameron ought to be having a baby bounce (or have the Great British Public sated their appetitie for politicians with babies). And frankly one of the issues that has bemused me is the extent to which he has got the press coverage as ...

I tuned in for Kathryn Tickell’s Northumberland on Channel 5 this evening, which so far as I can tell was an excuse to mix Northumbrian pipe music with great video photography of Tynedale for 45 minutes. So no complaints from me. I include two screengrabs from the programme to brighten your day, and offer them with [...]

Iain Dale has a guide to the runners and riders. In the comments, Susan Kramer and David Heath are emerging as the hot tips.

Here is a list of the dozens of British courses which used to host horse racing meetings but no longer do so. The last to close was Stockton in 1981. The course in Derby is now the county cricket ground.

Reading this report on the Education Bill stirred a few distant memories. David Cameron...has reaffirmed that Tory support for the Bill will be dependent on Mr Blair not making any concessions to his dissident backbenchers. I wonder, is David Cameron a student of the words and deeds of David Steel?

Yet another 'I couldn't resist when I saw this article' moment. The accompanying picture is equally excellent - he looks like he's just been inhabited by a Slitheen. *** Tory leader David Cameron has admitted his party has "work to do" to convince voters of its commitment to help people. He called for action to end world poverty, inequality, conflict and late running train services and to

You’ve got to feel a little bit sorry for Edinburgh City Council chief Donald Anderson, just a few days after he announces the biggest gamble of his career to chase hard working Lib Dem MSP Mike Pringle’s three figure majority in Edinburgh South next May, he gets fingered by the Evening News for spending over [...]

Paul Davies reminds me to recount a story from my dim and distant student days. Back when I was a stude, Jim “trust me!” Murphy was NUS President. At the time, we’re talking 1996 here, there was a lot of talk about the Dearing Commission and the Tories’ threat to introduce tuition fees. Jim came to [...]

The annoying talking donkey hasn’t just been getting up Gordo’s nose: In a policy document handed to the Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank, in January and published yesterday, Mr Osborne raised the idea of removing the majority that the Bank’s staff currently hold on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). However, the Bank was annoyed by [...]

By Peter Iain Dale has a post on the contest to become Deputy Leader. This is not a contest that is keeping me awake at night - Jack Garner's words on the Vice Presidency come to mind - but Iain seems to be offering odds of 25/1 on David Heath - and I might put a fiver on that. He does not mention Malcom Bruce, who stood last time, and always strikes me as a good performer and safe pair of hands. But I thought that when Malcolm stood for the Leadership too, and the rest of the ...

The Labour government are saying that asking passport renewals to get an ID card does not make it compulsory. But just how voluntary are passports. OK if you don't want to travel overseas you don't need one. But with most internal flights being ticketless these days people are required to provide some form of photo ID either passport of driving licence. So I will need one to travel over to

by Steve Travis Nick Assinder raises the issue of a Commons Creche, but chooses to portray this as solely a female issue. I'm sure I am not the only man in the world who, along with his partner, has made the issue of child-raising a joint decision. In practical terms, as we both have demanding careers, that means a difficult balancing act cum timetabling exercise as we juggle our professional diaries around our childcare provision. Typically it means my wife works an early day in order to pick the children up, and I work a late day so that I ...

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1730412,00.html A rather damning article in the Guardian that shows just how bad the situation has got. One parent considering selling a kidney to pay for private education, another having been refused their 5th choice school, appeals consultants making a fortune helping parents (those that can afford it) get the places they want, house prices going through the roof near sought after schools. Where does this leave the bright kid from the council estate, or the mother of the child with special needs that can only get a place in a failing school with little in the way of the ...

Trouble seems to be brewing in Thailand – a country which I have great affection for and which we visited in January. Even then there were signs that trouble lay ahead as protesters besieged government house in January. The Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is not popular in the urban areas but appears to be much more popular in the rural areas where the majority of the population live hence his gamble in calling an early election. see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4749992.stm The most worrying aspects of the latest reports are the suggestions that Thaksin Shinawatra may declare a state ...

It is hard to explain to people who know nothing of Estonia why the death of Lennart Meri means so much. As President he displayed an intelligence and vision that truly marked him as a great statesman. Yet he was so much more than that- he understood the character of Estonians- the bad as well as the good. He connected deeply with the culture of his country- writing of the deep roots that connected the traditions of the Estonian people with the land where they have lived for millennia. A theme of one of his most popular books was the ...

Edinburgh became the first UNESCO City of Literature so it is only fitting that now seeking to become a city of refuge for persecuted writers and their families. It would join a network of other locations within Western Europe, North and Latin America, when the writer is given leave to stay and contribute to the live of their sheltering community. The city is hoping to have this status made

It is not often that I agree with Dr Denis Balsom but his comments today on Dafydd Wigley's chances of getting back to the Assembly are spot on: Dr Balsom said, "As far as the North Wales regional result in 2003 was concerned, Plaid Cymru were awarded the fourth seat out of four on the PR calculations, so were nowhere near being allocated another seat. "In terms of 2007, a number of other issues need to be borne in mind: Under the boundary revisions Plaid Cymru will undoubtedly lose more supporters from Caernarfon to Dwyfor Meirionnydd, than ...

Parliament has now ratified the secondary legislation measures for May 2006 Elections (and any by-elections that will take place after 23 March 2006). There are a number of changes that you will need to be aware of, most but not all concern postal or proxy voting, they are detailed below:

Iraq Q: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the policy of the Coalition is on the protection and identification of holy sites in Iraq. (John Hemming) A:The Iraqi Government has responsibility for the identification and protection of holy sites in Iraq. The Coalition does, however, take very seriously the need to respect Iraq's religious, historical and cultural heritage. UK forces

I'm taking part in a discussion at the moment that asks people why they first joined the Lib Dems. I got so many good memories writing my answer that I thought I'd cross-post an expanded verion of it here.I chased a Liberal leafletter down the...

According to the radio this morning a Committee of MPs is to start considering the question of a replacement for Trident today. Good. Late but good. First three questions. 1. When did we first start developing a replacement for Trident? 2. How far have we got with this development? 3. How much have we spent so far and how much further expenditure is already committed? And I assume that when these hearings commence they will consider the issue of whether or not we need or should have a replacement at all. Consideration of what Trident should be replaced with ...