LibDem Blogs - Archived!

It was back to the usual banter in the chamber yesterday, except that every comment now has an added edge as we enter the final year of the second Assembly and an imminent by-election. This was no better illustrated than by an exchange that involved Carl Sargeant, the Presiding Officer and Ieuan Wyn Jones during First Minister's question time. The basis of these comments lay in a mistake by the Presiding Officer, who called the Leader of Plaid Cymru to ask a supplementary before Carl Sargeant has asked his: Carl Sargeant: Will the First Minister make a statement ...

In one of the wards, Labour activists were discovered knocking on people's doors asking people to take down LibDem posters as they had a visitor who might be offended. It turns out that this visitor was Tony Blair and the walk about they had planned was chock full of LibDem posters :) Tags:local_elections Tony_Blair labour

In case this gets lost in tonight's election coverage... The BBC reports: Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has resigned as the party's leader in Europe over comments to a Jewish constituent. North West England MEP Mr Davies told an e-mail correspondent he hoped she enjoyed "wallowing in her own filth". By the sound of it, Ming has been merciless: "I discussed this matter with him today, when we agreed that the proper course for him now is to resign as leader of the Liberal Democrat MEPs."

A very enjoyable day spent in the comittee room, playing with EARS. One of our candidates went totally hyperactive for the whole day and hardly sat down for more than 5 minutes. Thankfully the agent is very relaxed and a fun person to be around as well as getting things done :) He also got the head Tory told off for campaigning too close to the polling station (much to her annoyance, but she is

Can I be a shameless toady and say how good I think Ming Campbell's soundbite was at prime minister's questions yesterday? The great man said: "In the last nine years we've had dozens of pieces of law and order legislation, and hundreds of new offences have been created. Isn't what we need less legislation, better government and a new Home Secretary?"That is exactly right. Meanwhile, I am not sure that today's revelation that someone who is facing terrorist charges was imprisoned for robbery a few years ago and not deported is as damning as it is being made to ...

Polls have now closed in the 2006 Local Government Elections - and the counting has just begun. Results from across the country will appear on this website as soon as possible, but please be aware the results may take some time to appear.

Duleep Allirajah puts it well on Spiked: Four years ago the word "metatarsal" entered the popular lexicon after David Beckham broke his toe on the eve of the World Cup. Rooney's injury has once again provoked another national outbreak of foot fetishism. Once again the newspapers are full of metatarsal diagrams and fevered prognostic debates. It brings to mind Marx's famously dictum that history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce. Only this time round the tragedy seems to have followed the farce.

According to the Guardian Diary - and I admit there are more reliable sources - Mark Oaten has not taken my advice to concentrate on being MP for Winchester for while. Instead: the Sunday Times is about to reveal to a breathlessly waiting world the full inside story on quite what Lib Dem MP Mark Oaten thought he was doing. The Guardian comments: Still, we're sure Mr Oaten's bank balance has made absolutely the right decision - and delighted the ST has made such a sound investment. As far as we can see, our man's full and reasoned explanation ...

I'm told that the May Day festival has its roots in Beltrane the old pagan festival for the "return of the sun". The sun certainly came back today with the first really warm day of the year. I have just taken my constituitional walk to the polling booth and it was very much a Summers day in Hyde Park. Lots of students with mismatching shorts and tops on as they have been draged from draws for the first time since last September. Also sadly the first sighting of one of those dreadful mini motor cycles with a child screetching ...

Sven said it would 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeh take ay mir-acle' for Wayne Rooney to play in the World Cup. Well, on your knees and get intercessing to Saint Servatus, the patron saint of hurty feet, also of success and your heavenly correspondent in the event of problems with mice and rats. His feast day is May 13th. Also known as Servaas, Servatius and Servais he is also patron for credit card fraudsters

Polls are open until 10:00 pm. There's still time to get out there and vote LibDem! Must go now, work to be done!

Day mainly spent on day job but helpful discussion with both Planning I had already committed to attend, but have circulated the Climate Change meeting details amongst the Dundee Liberal Democrat membership.

Go on, you know you want to. Steve Guy has started a pool on when Tony Blair will leave office here.

I have done my civic duty in Westminster, voting in the city council elections. I really quite enjoy the ritual of going into the polling place and casting my vote. The Liberal Democrats made the ward I live in into a target ward, and a huge amount of effort has gone in. Tens of thousands of leaflets and letters, canvassing, calling, fund raising- all for today. Over the past two years there have been over twenty Lib Dem leaflets in the ward, with the Conservatives sending out three and Labour none. If it was just a question of rewarding the ...

I've added a link to the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s. The whole SUV/ 4x4 area is the latest example of Labour timidity in the face of Climate Change. An increase in vehicle duty of around the price of half a tank of petrol is not going to deter the selfish and irresponsible people who insist on buy and driving these things. Sadly UK drivers are buying 4x4s at an increased rate, far more than

For those too itchy wait for tonight's result look here. In brief: approval for Blair and Cameron down, local elections are too hard to take accurate polls, but the average of the three polls was Con 31%, Nulab 28%, Lib Dem 24%.

I have just got into the Assembly after attending Peter Law's funeral. As a celebration of his life it was an astonishing experience. By the time I got to the church at 9am, the funeral procession was already winding its way around the many communities of the Blaenau Gwent constituency. Posters and leaflets had gone out earlier this week inviting people to come out and say goodbye to a genuine man-of-the people. The Church was packed. I am told that it seats 500, but there was standing room only and possibly more outside. Tributes were led by former Labour MP, ...

Bizarrely, I seem to be the only UK blogger to have used that wondrous pun today. Good luck to all Lib Dems out there today who no doubt won’t actually get around to reading this until at least tomorrow.

Today represents the biggest electoral barometer since the General Election and sees not one but two new party leaders vying to demonstrate the momentum that their leadership has given their respective parties. Tory HQ are already down playing their chances, with some insiders representing this as a campaign of missed opportunities and ‘good stunts’. Curtis has stated that the [...]

The Gruaniad online has this interesting little retropsective of six of some and half a dozen of the others of Tony Blair's worse weeks. Who knows maybe a bakers dozen may be made by the end of today and this week.

I said I’d reveal Russell T Davies’ secret message across the new season of Doctor Who. And here it is… Chips. Yes, we spotted it at once when, five billion years in the future on New Earth, even the slimmest human in the Universe is served by a sentient Chip, and that wasn’t a one-off. By School Reunion, there were posters up saying ‘Eat More Chips’ and it was a proven fact that eating chips makes you more intelligent (albeit when cooked in super-evolving alien fat). But what about Tooth and Claw, you ask? Well, that’s more insidious, ...

Three things to do today. First: another disturbing insect newsflash: the British honey bee is, according to Robin McKie in the Observer all but extinct in the wild. This is a serious do for, says McKie: "Bees - 'the little almsmen of spring bowers', according to Keats - shape our countryside. They pollinate the bluebells that carpet our woods as well as our dandelions and willows and they ensure our apple and pear trees are rich in hanging fruit. Our landscape would be a drab affair were it not for the attentions of Apis mellifera." Read. ...

It's election day and the street cleaners are out in the most marginal Labour - Lib Dem ward in Labour controlled Lincoln. Me. Sceptical. Never.

Every year since 2003 around this time of year, and a a few by-elections as well, I've had one day I've got out of my bed at the crack of dawn knowing I wouldn't see it until I was near to exhaustion on most occasions the following day about 24 hours after leaving it, the exception being the European election. So it feels somewhat strange this morning that most of my fellow Lib Dem bloggers will

At least according to this piece from the BBC but I guess we will have to wait for the details to see whether or not these changes are the substantial ones that would be required to make this piece of legislation even half way acceptable.

Polls have now opened in the 2006 Local Government Elections, Polls this year will stay open to 10pm. There are all-up elections in London, thirds in the Metropolitan Boroughs and in some District Councils and Unitary Councils.

I spent Monday in Lewisham largely in Lee Green and Blackheath wards and the canvasing/door step reception looks very good. We sneaked into Brockley for about 45 minutes just to annoy the Greens. I feel very childish about this but Darren Johnstone has always annoyed me on the telly so I felt a frission of excitement until I trapped my fingers in a letter box. I feel this was karmic retribution! Tuesday and Wednesday nights stuffing and delivering in Harehills and Gipton ward and City and Hunslet in Leeds. I shall not attempt to call either of them as my ...