LibDem Blogs - Archived!

It may have escaped your attention that Doctor Who has returned to our screens. If you have been living under a rock. More likely, you'll be entirely aware of what the Guardian's leader column today heralded as the return of family viewing. So was tonight's episode any good? Emotionally, yes, rather, with a rather touching ending (which Russell T Davies expands upon on the commentary the BBC have

These lovely chaps have had me on their front page twice this week, so as a thank you I've added them to my list o' links. Thanks guys!

No one seems to care anything but about money today. Nothing is held of account except the bank accounts. Quality, education, civic distinction, public virtue seem each year to be valued less and less. Riches unadorned seem each year to be valued more and more. We have in London an important section of people who go about preaching the gospel of Mammon, advocating the 10% commandments, who raise each day the inspiring prayer "Give cash in our time, O Lord". Thus spoke a famous Liberal cabinet member in 1904. It is only the slightly archaic ...

burnt out vehicles Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. I saw this van when I was campaigning in Evelyn ward. This is clearly still a big problem.

forest hill library Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. A closure notice served on Forest Hill library.

Fear is a potent force. When we are afraid, we seek to protect ourselves and, unfortunately, we protect ourselves by giving up our liberties. Because of fear, the US PATRIOT Act and the UK's Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and Terrorism Act 2006 were passed. In the face of terror, we have given up the very things that the terrorists are seeking to destroy, all because of fear, because

another panic closure Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. Forest Hill library was suddenly closed on Thursday. A health & safety inspection suggested the roof might fall in. Same as the pool - a lack of planned maintenance ?

worst-street.org.uk Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. I’ve a website to highlight the appalling state of Lewisham roads.

I was a day behind with my leaflet schedule after our foray into Village ward yesterday but like a good trooper, turned up this morning to help with our stall in Lordship Lane - the shops there serve residents of East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, South Camberwell and Village, so it's a good opportunity to meet voters and give them a face to match with the leaflets. Cold and wndy it may have been, but

OK, so it’s a bit late, but I’ve finally got round to writing about The Christmas Invasion, with just a few hours to spare before it’s no longer the most recent Doctor Who episode. Of course, I could always backdate this review and make it look like it appeared on time, but where’s the fun [...]

Congrtaulations to Sheffield United who are up thanks to Leeds only drawing against the Champions Reading. According to Sky this was a fair result. Leeds still need to find an edge somewhere if they are to finish in third. Still a goal was good news and a draw against the champions should give the team some confidence as the play offs approach.

I've blogged on this subject at least once before, but left/right distinction is something that refuses to lay down and die the undignified and long-overdue death it deserves. Three blog posts provided the inspiration for this post: 1) Via Chris Dillow, Dave Osler's acid test for the Euston Manifesto 2) ConservativeHome wondering if anyone calls themselves 'right wing' any more 3) Iain Dale's definition of right-wing Dave Osler asks: Honest question to signatories of the Euston Manifesto. What substantive political point would David Cameron find impossible to agree with? And if the answer is none, in what sense ...

In 1962 Acrrington Stanley Football Club went bust and were forced to resign from the English Football League. However, this afternoon after 44 years in the wilderness they have sealed their return to the English League by winning 1-0 away to Woking. Paul Mullin who scored the goal that made history will probably have a statue soon outside the club's Interlink Express Stadium soon (the fact that

There were a few eyebrows raised when Ming Campbell talked of being from the centre left. Given that Ming is a big fan of Jo Grimond the quotation at the start of Chapter 17 of Roy Douglas's Liberals is quite instructive (the quotation comes from News Chronical 29 March 1958 via Michael McManus in Jo Grimond: Towards The Sound of Gunfire) We carve out a niche for ourselves left of Centre ... in

Somebody, somewhere thinks that thespians should play a more prominent role in politics. What other explanation could there be for Eastenders actor, Nigel Harman masquerading on the politics.co.uk site as Bury North Labour MP, David Chaytor. This is not the first time this has happened. Back in August 2005 I highlighted the fact that Islwyn MP, Don Touhig, was featured on the same site as a racehorse. That picture remains there to this day. The politics.co.uk strapline is 'politics unspun'. Perhaps the webmaster has become unpicked.

Last year, just after the July bombings in London, I pointed out that suicide bombing is not the new phenomenon that many imagine. An Anarchist blew himself up at Greenwich Observatory in February 1894. An article by Mike Davis shows that the same is true of the car bomb - or at least the horse-and-cart bomb: On a warm September day in 1920, a few months after the arrest of his comrades Sacco and Vanzetti, a vengeful Italian anarchist named Mario Buda parked his horse-drawn wagon near the corner of Wall and Broad Streets, directly across from J. P. ...

I'm in London, disorganised as ever, and without my mobile. I'd be very keen to do a bit of delivery on Sunday/Monday in Lewisham if anyone spots this particularly Dan Houghton or Brian Robson. Email me on davidmorton306@hotmail.com with a time and place to meet. This is an awful abuse of lib dem blogs. However I promise a profound piece on the atomisation of society soon. Its just dawning on me how little I know about most people other than there mobile numbers. And now they have gone...

I am not sure how it does it, but the BlogCode box on this blog does seem able to identify other blogs which Liberal England's readers are likely to enjoy. At present the top four places are held by Quaequam Blog!, Chicken Yoghurt, Tim Worstall and Cicero's Songs. All of these appear in the links for this blog, and I read them regularly myself. The fifth place blog is a different matter. I can't imagine Tom Watson's blog appealing to anyone who is not a committed Labour activist. As a teenager he must have had posters of Roy Hattersley on ...

The Independent has a sad story about the Cornish housing market: Figures released this week by the Halifax bank show average house prices in Cornwall have rocketed in the past 10 years, outperforming every other county in Britain. Someone who could afford to spend £250,000 on a Cornish property in 1996 will find their investment is now worth £1m. The average rose from £53,000 to £195,000. Cheap flights, leapfrogging the caravan jams to the West Country, and a seemingly neverending source of holiday attractions continue to stoke the Cornish property market. But the economic picture is not so rosy ...

Following the arrest of Des Smith, former member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust council, the focus of attention has moved away from loans to the Labour party and towards donations and sponsorships of schools. This may prove to be something of a red herring. On the face of it, Smith was caught red-handed offering honours in return for money. As first reported in the Sunday Times on the 15th of January: On Friday, Smith told a reporter posing as a donor’s PR assistant that “the prime minister’s office would recommend someone like (the donor) for an ...

Anyone living near Hook Youth Centre in Devon Way knows that for the last couple of months building work has been going on there. That is why it will not be a polling station on May 4th, the Parish Hall being used instead. In September, Hook Youth Centre will reopen as the Devon Way Centre with facilities for two groups of residents. One end of the building will serve the...

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. However, that is not how independent Moray councillors Tom Bothwell and Ron Shepherd see the letters that Mary Scanlon, the Tory canadidate in the Moray by election has been sending out. These created letters alledge to be from these independent voices on Moray council endorsing the Tory candidate to replace Margaret Ewing in the vote on the 27th. Cllr. Bothwell has told The Scotsman: 'I didn't wryte any of the things in the letter. It was the last two lines I really objected to.' Those last two ...

I can remember when products were built to last and didn't stop working just because they'd been thrown across the room in a cold fury a few times. I say this because my phone finally started malfunctioning beyond a level I was prepared to tolerate, so...