LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Inquiries into the so-called "Loans for Lordships" scandal dramatically widened today when two further Lords were interviewed by the Metropolitan Police. One of them , Labour peer Lord Voldemort of Little Hangleton, has aroused suspicion because the precise circumstances of his elevation from plain Thomas Riddle to Lord Voldemort are somewhat obscure even to most political journalists. In a rare

Last weekend I went to a very pleasant evening arranged by Basildon and Thurrock LIb Dems. Highlights of the evening were a very heartfelt farewell presention from one veteran Lib Dem Basildonian (Geoff Williams) to another (Joe White) and an entertaining and thought-producing speech from Baroness Ros Scott "Of course I didn't buy my peerage" she said "I'm a Liberal Democrat. I won it in a

A warm welcome to new blogging Lib Dem Trevor Powell

In an article on the Spiked website, Neil Davenport looks at the depressing philosophy behind the government's insistence that the further education sector should concentrate on the needs of industry: There is more going on here than crude bean counting - the UK economy can easily afford to provide evening classes for art and Spanish and beyond. What New Labour seems to find uncomfortable is autonomous individuals learning for learning's sake, rather than as a means to an end. The notion of autonomous individuals seeking self-improvement doesn't fit with today's levelling-down mentality. New Labour might use workerist language to justify ...

Stephen Pollard claims to have heard the following on a radio phone in: I work in the public sector and my pension costs me 12 per cent of my wages per month. Not per year like the private sector, but per month.Found via Tim Worstall.

{Josh says No} I've created a LibDem Flickr Group as a central point for people to share (and steal) each others photos to be used blogs, websites or foci.Alternatively you could just have a look at the pictures.You can only add pictures if you are a member of the group. So feel free to contact me with your Flickr username to be added.

Reading through the headlines, it seems that the majority of us would very much like to see the end of Tony Blair's political career. However (we are told), Mr. Blair intends to stay for a while yet, and now rather regrets his statement that he would not stand again as Prime Minister. I think it was the Empress Theodora who urged her husband, Justinian, not to flee from Constantinople arguing that "Imperial Purple makes the best burial sheet". Certainly the reality of power does seem strangely addictive to those who hold it. Despite the old adage, attributed to Enoch Powell, ...

the Home Office are contemplating mass graves for the victims of a flu epidemic, should one occur. Swagging, illiberal Home Secretary Charles Clarke will no doubt be getting a shot of the flu vaccine of doubtful efficacy the government have ordered, he being so vital to the public good. Pricked, he will wobble forth and issue instructions to dig pits into which the dead of 21st century Britain

Reflecting on the swingeing cuts at the Royal Free and having done a bit of homework with various medical experts, I have come to the conclusion that many of the problems stem from the fact that management make decisions about which jobs to cut, and doctors are relatively expensive compared to, say, nurses. However due to the way medicine works, it requires several nurses on the ward for every

Morning canvassing in Woodside and afternoon in Bounds Green. But before the afternoon session I go to a new housing development to meet a group of Kurdish women living there with Ali - one of our Bounds Green candidates who speaks Kurdish and Turkish. They are just a lovely group of women who are encountering all the same problems as everyone else in Haringey - mostly housing issues with overcrowding, not being able to live near family, the Council not doing the repairs etc etc.

The deadline for nominations draws ever closer and, as Local Party Chair, I'm responsible for getting our nominations in for College, East Dulwich, South Camberwell and Village wards. East Dulwich went in on Thursday, so three more still to do. Amazingly, our Acting Returning Officer is at her desk this afternoon (and likely to be there until midnight, she expects!) so I've agreed to drop in

The Liberal Democrats must shut down the credibility question within the next eighteen months. Any longer and we are getting close to the next general election. The party battles to be heard as it is. With a new leader of the Labour Government in power it will become even harder. In fact, the new leader may well be tempted to call an election earlier than scheduled to gain an electoral

Spent a glorious morning in the rain (actually it wasn't that heavy) helping my colleague Helen deliver her ward newsletter in Strathmartine (Kirkton Transportation about missing bus shelters in Perth Road. And response re complaint about another utility "repair" - this time at Seabraes Lane.

Iraq War Guantanamo Bay ID cards Police powers Terrorism Act Belmarsh Poverty Health service reforms Education reforms Disregard for the poor Immigration policy Because the Lib Dems run things better

It would be good if as much as possible we could stick with one tag - either “libdems”, or “libdem” (both are being used at present)… my personal preference is for “libdems” - any thoughts?

Discussion on a private Lib Dem forum on Cix reveals the following facts about the 2005 Parliament. The five youngest MPs in the House are Lib Dem. Jo Swinson, East Dunbartonshire (05/02/1980) Julia Goldsworthy, Falmouth and Camberwell (10/09/78) Sarah Teather, Brent East (01/06/1974) Jenny Willott, Cardiff Central (29/05/1974) Dan Rogerson, Cornwall North (23/7/1975) The four youngest of those are women. We have the [...]

I confess that I was unable to appreciate this year's Guardian April Fool's joke because I have no idea who Chris Martin is, which just illustrates what a good high court judge I would have made. The Ratepayer/Lib-Dem/Independent alliance on the Moorlands District Council has been misrepresented in the press and by the Conservative party as being in favour of merger with Stoke-on-Trent, when it is not. So, I was pleased to see Your Leek Paper had an interview by Shaun Lintern with Moorlands District Council leader Ron Locker which set matters straight. I watched the Politics Show on the ...

Like Alex Wilcock I am looking forward to the next series of Dr. Who, although I have a nasty suspicion that I may be away for episodes two and three. Must learn how to programme the video. Wales on Sunday is also getting excited about the forthcoming series. Like the Western Mail they must think that Christmas has come early. A major series written by a Welsh writer, produced by BBC Wales and filmed almost entirely in Wales has given them an opportunity to fill acres of space in their newspapers. With Russell T. Davies suggesting that ...

The polls have now closed in Thailand and according the BBC article preliminary results will be available later today with full official results not expected until Tuesday. The BBC also produced a Q&A guide and I have reproduced some key bits from that below : The Thai constitution technically allows for a one-party election. But to win a seat the sole party contesting has to show it has won at

A day of campaigning and council work. In between delivering leaflets in Garston, I went along to the Church of England school to do my regular surgery. Met some people involved withh the school on the way.. and they are all really pleased at what we've managed to do to try to keep the school open. But you win one and then more threats come along. This time the Primary Care Trust is looking at a change at Garston hospital. I met some of the staff earlier in the week about this - and ...

Another light-hearted post today as Election Fever has set in and Sheffield is aflurry with leaflet-waving Liberal Democrats, myself included - normal service will be resumed come May 5th! I - rather smugly, I'm afraid - thought I'd gone through the whole day without being April Fooled, but then read this article on BBC News and discovered the one that got away: the hilarious Euro Theme that