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This is exactly what my mother would say when she thought we were making an unreasonable request. Well I have to write ad deliver all my postal voters ‘Good Morning’ leaflets. I think this week is Hump Week - just get over it and were are nearly there! the Tories have put out a leaflet claiming

This morning there was a fire, and almost certainly an arson attack at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh Temple in Bilston. According to the BBC this morning the fire started in some wheelie bins and then spread to the ground floor of the building just before 0100. Fortunately no one was hurt. I will update the site if when more information becomes available.

Like Iain Sharpe, I, too, had good intentions to write an article on the Easter Rising, prompted partly by this article by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in the Observer, and the rather predicatble outrage it provoked in the following Sunday's letters page. Wheatcroft's article follows a similar tack to Ruth Dudley's in the Irish Independent; namely that the "Martyrs of 1916" were a sect rather obsessed with the concept of blood sacrifice. Wheatcroft's contention that this was all part of a movement which culminated in Fascism rather stretches a point, but it is true that De Valera was alone amongst neutral ...

A few weeks ago, I was on the panel for the BBC Schools Question Time at Wolverhampton Girls High School. It was the final round and the BBC were present and judged the School. I have know the result for a week or so, but the School had asked me to stick to today's embargo - the results are being announced on tonight's Question Time.

This piece is really very good.

Two Tory propaganda coups yesterday: their ‘Vote Blue, Go Green’ broadcast was their best in about a decade – probably their only positive one in that time, too (like a Lib Dem one with added cartoons). Of course the pitiful Tory green record and proposals made it a con, yet still less deceitful than the longer Tory propaganda slot calling itself ‘Newsnight’. We’re all used to the constant bias of Nick ‘Mate of Dave Cameron’ Robinson on BBC ‘News’, but Mr Luntz’s shockingly rigged Newsnight polling has been exposed by Millennium… Complete with a witness from his focus group. ...

Michael Frayn famously discussed headline language in his novel The Tin Men. You can find a summary of his conclusions here. The art, I am pleased to report, is alive and well in Shropshire: Teenager in well plunge

a meeting with the police Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. I met with the Borough Commander to discuss policing in Lewisham. He confirmed my fears that SNU leads to a reduction of police numbers in Blackheath.

Wikipedia is a new paradigm in human discourse. It’s a place where anyone with a browser can go, pick a subject that interests them, and without even logging in, start an argument. In fact, Wikipedia is the largest and most comprehensive collection of arguments in human history, incorporating spats and vendettas on subjects ranging from [...]

Remind you of a song? Bonzer song and video here.

The Scottish Parliamentary committee structure is something we should all be proud of. It was Justice 1 that formally went against Labour policy by demanding an inquiry into the McKie fingerprint travesty and now Justice 2 has stepped up to offer full square opposition to extradition of Scottish citizens to the US. Justice 2 has [...]

Tonight's BBC Question Time panel will include Vince Cable, Charles Clarke and George Osborne. For a Lib Dem, a better lineup on this show is almost unimaginable. I fully expect Charles Clarke to be hauled over the coals for his myriad of authoritarian policies - it's about time he had to face some public questioning on these. As for the prospect of Osborne vs Cable, this will hopefully prove once and for all that it's the Lib Dems who have the credible Shadow Chancellor.

Just found on YouTube - the video for ‘Star Fleet’ by Brian May & Friends.

According to The Electoral Commission, motivation to vote can be assessed by an equation:

I had intended post a long entry on the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Dublin, but the best laid plans and all that. Perhaps it is no bad thing, since I suspect that those who read this blog don’t share my interest in the subject. But I do recommend this article by Ruth Dudley Edwards from the Irish Independent. For me it raises wider issues about the way in which we (ie people with progressive liberal views) are inclined to look at ethnic and national conflicts, not just in Ireland, but in the Middle East or former Yugoslavia ...

There doesn’t seem to be much comment in Liberal Democrat blogging circles on the so-called Euston Manifesto (rotten title), which was the subject of an article by Nick Cohen in last week’s New Statesman and is described as ‘a new democratic progressive alliance’. I suppose this could be crudely described as a cri de coeur from the pro-war left, although signatories apparently include some supporters of the war. A formal launch is promised in May. Perhaps more fairly, it might be described as an attempt to define a middle position between crude anti-Americanism and uncritical support for Bush and is ...

This reported in today's Oxford Mail: Life Ban For Leys Thug (from thisisoxfordshire): A violent thug has been banned from setting foot in Blackbird Leys for the rest of his life. Magistrates slapped an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) on David Reid, 37, after hearing about 26 convictions for offences including theft, burglary and assault in the past 22 years. Reid is banned from ever

Someone asked me the other day if I was busy with an election coming up. Most people have little idea of what is involved.... Fortunately in Chessington North & Hook we have a strong team, not just the three councillors, who all want Liberal Democrats to hold on to the ward and to control the Council. Between us we publish Focus leaflets regularly, all through the year....

Want to show your displeasure at the ID Cards Act and National Identity Register? Well, May seems to be the time to do it. Unfortunately I'm travelling abroad during May and don't have enough confidence in the Identity and Passport Office to get me a new one before I leave. I may find that I forget to check my pockets when I do my washing once I've come back though... Tags:id_cards

Noble though this cleanupwestminster petition is, it’s a shame they didn’t pay more attention to the grammar: We, the undersigned, believe that there should be no further appointments to the House of Lords until the current investigations have run their course; and the possibility of corruption has been removed from Westminster; and Parliament behaves with absolute [...]

For those of us wondering, “who in the world is Sir Cyril Townsend?”, when our largely unheard of ex-Tory MP defector (and CAABU Director) was recently unveiled, it may be of interest to know that he is engaged with bigging the party up in the Arab world. It's a sort of "'Martian's guide to the Lib Dems".

Via Ain't It Cool News, Comedy Central's response to one viewer's letter about last week's South Park: Dear Viewer, Thank you for your correspondence regarding the "South Park" episodes entitled "Cartoon Wars." We appreciate your concerns about censorship and the destructive influence of outside groups on the media, entertainment industry and particularly Comedy Central. To reiterate, as

So far, so predictable. The House of Lords last night voted by a majority of 19 to continue the current system whereby candidates can stand for the Assembly in both constituency and regional lists. Peter Hain has insisted that he will push through the rule-change regardless. This no longer affects me as I have already made the commitment to stand on the Regional List only, though if I am allowed there may be circumstances whereby I will put my name forward for a constituency as well, if only to use the opportunity to increase the Welsh Liberal Democrat list vote. ...

come to Scarborough for part of your Easter hols. We've got two borough council by-elections, and need to make inroads into and a Tory controlled borough council that is as rotten as a compost heap.

It's not easy being green It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things And people tend to pass you over 'Cause you're not standing out Kermit the Frog It's Not Easy Being Green With both Gordon Brown and David Cameron chasing the green vote maybe they should take lessons from Kermit and Dick Strawbridge and Family. Mr Cameron had to do a lot more than merely get on his bike and

Psychologists have come up with this formula as part of the Electoral Commission's attempts to get more people to vote in the local elections this year. Anything which can get some of the very low turnouts up has to be worth a try I guess.

We are somewhat fans of the Harley Davidson Fatboy in this house. I have owned one for four years and my wife is in the process of acquiring one (pictures to follow sometime soon). If you read this review from American V you will see why.

Matthew Turner has provided us with a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to the Decent Left, i.e. that disparate bunch of leftish bloggers who have embraced neo-conservativism. Three major new initiatives in less than a year. What is notable is that, despite their obsession with their old comrades, they are using all their old techniques of setting [...]

Stephen Tall wonders why the BBC continue to retain Frank Luntz over at ‘A Liberal Goes A Long Way’. I wonder if he’s seen the earlier comments on the ‘David Davis for leader’ blog? BBC management probably like Luntz because he makes entertaining TV and he predicted the Cameron victory - although several commentators have [...]