LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Is it just me or are there positive signs that in response to New Labour control freakery a strand of thinking is developing on the left that is sceptical of government activity rather than always assuming as a default that state intervention in social problems is benign? In this week's New Statesman, the magazine's political correspondent Martin Bright takes the government to task for its obsessive legislating on education and crime, before concluding: I have a suggestion: a moratorium on legislation. I suggest the following wording for a pledge in the next Labour (or, for that matter, Conservative or ...

You are invited to Camden's Campaign Launch Reception - Enjoy this private champagne reception at Proud Galleries Camden, London's trendiest photography gallery. Many people keep asking what's happened to Charles Kennedy MP. Can assure readers he's very much around. If you are in London and want to have a chat with the man himself come to an exclusive evening reception to celebrate the launch of Camden Liberal Democrats' campaign for Camden. Meet other top parliamentarians, Sarah Teather MP, Lord (Tim) Garden and a host of others. You can also view an exhibition of ...

That is all that Reading now need to ensure promotion to the Premiership following a hard fought draw against Wolves which they were perhaps a little bit unlucky not to win. Meanwhile Sheffield United continue to come apart at the seams as they went down to a 2-1 defeat at Norwich. Congratulations and thanks to my Norwich supporting readers. Leeds struggled to get a draw at Coventry but are now 4 points behind Sheffield United with a game in hand and still to play them again. The games between Southampton and Watford on Monday and Leeds ...

We all worry about people with the same name as us getting famous for really annoying things, thus assigning us to a life of misery as every person we introduce ourselves to hides a snigger. Indeed, one of my old school teachers had the same name of a certain 90s famous serial killer. Imagine being an employer receiving a CV with the name "Frederick West" at the top: there's an automatic unfair bias against them. Well, I have been subject to a similar yet admittedly milder situation. There is a Chris Ward in this world alive today ...

I have not really got the time to watch reality TV, so it is unlikely that I will catch the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 'The Games'. However, I will try and follow Julia Goldsworthy's performance from afar. This morning's Guardian questions whether she should be taking part at all. It seems that George Galloway's humilating performance on Big Brother has further undermined the credibility of these shows for 'serious politicians'. However, as Julia Goldsworthy points out this is hardly the same thing. She has no delusions about using the show for wider political ...

... Or so the Home Office would have you believe. Perhaps the Home Office could target it at everybody, then maybe more crimes of that nature will be reported.

Discovered in The Hop Leaf yesterday: (Click to enlarge)

Warning to blog readers coming in from the homepage - clicking the link below leads to an expletive littered post. I just collared two 11/12 year old bastard tearaways spray-prainting the local train station - and sent them away with a flea in their ear and an expletive-littered lecture on social responsibility, instead of calling the police. In [...]

Story in the daily Post today about the Condoleeza Rice visit. The local labour party has apparently welcomed this saying its a good chance to talk to her. rubbish. The thought that any local politician is going to get more than 10 seconds of her time is ridiculous.. andn they know it. Of course labour were in favour of the war so they can hardly tell her to go away - but this just shows how they misjudge things. I, and a lot of others, are planning to be at the demonstration agains the visit. We didn't invite her to ...

Yesterday (Friday 17th) included a visit to Fairbridge at their Kemback Street premises; they had an Open Day to promote the work they undertake with young people. I had recently met with two of Fairbridge's staff to look at ways that Fairbridge and the City Council can work together. It was really useful to see round the premises and learn of their plans for the future in the City. Today, apart

Sometimes, you realise that you're fated to spend more time in a place than you had intended. For me, that place is Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Having spent most of Monday there, I had the pleasure of being scheduled to pass through it again on Thursday, so you can imagine my surprise and pleasure to check my itinerary that morning to find that I had been reassigned to a direct Delta flight from

What counts as a 'political use of public resources'? This is a very important issue for councillors and MPs who run their own blogs and websites. We are all limited by our codes of conduct, which state that council or parliamentary resources should not be used for political purposes. So do we set up pages on the Council's website and accept the restrictions, or do we go for...

So farewell then, Michael Howard. Credit where its due, Howard did prevent the Conservative Party from entirely self destructing. Under Iain Duncan Smith, the story beginning to emerge really was that the party was on its last legs. That is no longer the case. But let’s not get carried away here. The [...]

Lord Bonkers once wrote that he could never visit Brighton without being reminded of Sir Richard Attenborough's Pinkie. Now you can share the experience. Today the Daily Telegraph is giving away a free DVD of the 1947 film Brighton Rock . And tomorrow the Sunday Telegraph is giving away The Go-Between . Both films are well worth owning. Looking at next week's TV schedules there is certainly one film to tape. At 1.45 p.m. on Wednesday, Channel 4 is showing Went the Day Well? This Ealing drama was a wartime (1942) propaganda film, warning its ...

The row about loans to the Labour party has given new life to the debate about public funding for political parties in the UK.  We have also learnt (these figures need to be published by law) that Labour spent nearly 18 million GBP at the last election in 2005. I have sympathy with the case for [...]

Found this elsewhere and thought it was worth posting Makes you think. A time comes in your life when you finally get it - when in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice in side your head cries out - ENOUGH!Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes, you begin to look at the world through ...

The first installment of Channel 4's The...