LibDem Blogs - Archived!

There is an intriguing article on the Observer website. The peerage for Lord Black is in the spotlight there was huge lobbying for his peerage, particularly through Lord Carrington, the former Foreign Secretary and a board member of his Hollinger company, and Lady Thatcher . But bringing things up todate the party is refusing to disclose the identity of 'secret' foreign financial backers to Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who is heading the inquiry into party political funding. Police investigating the cash-for-peerages allegations are also looking into claims the Tories broke electoral law in receiving donations from overseas. ...

Not a headline you read every day, but I think the England cricket selectors deserve some praise for their approach this summer. Ashley Giles is injured. Instead of going for a bits-and-pieces player (Alex Loudon? Ian Blackwell) to bat at number eight and bowl a few token overs of spin, they have chosen Monty Panesar, who is the best young spinner in the country. Simon Jones and Steve Harmison are injured. Instead of playing safe and picking a good county seamer like Jon Lewis to do a job on the green, early-season pitches, they have chosen two promising young fast ...

Last week I wrote approvingly about an article by Matthew Parris. I quoted what he described as an extract from a speech by William Hague: The parallels with the rise of Nazi-ism go further ... If only, some argue, we withdrew from Iraq, or Israel made massive concessions, then we would assuage jihadist anger. That argument ... is as limited as the belief in the Thirties that, by allowing Germany to remilitarise the Rhineland or take over the Sudetenland, we would satisfy Nazi ambitions ... We’re all in this together ... standing with those brave democrats in Iraq ...

Before the month is over, there is time to catch this page on the Common Ground site. It is devoted to seasonal fruit and vegetables, seasonal dishes and observations of customs and the natural world for May.

My usual recommendations: Tim Worstall's Britblog Roundup; The First Post's digest of the Sunday papers.

This is my last blog post from Staffordshire. We leave on Friday. We've sold our house to a very pleasant couple. I hope that they are as happy here as we've been. The logistics for our move are all sorted out and all that remains is to do as much clearing up as we can before we go and to say goodbye to a few more friends.

And an impressive debate it is, with weighty contributions on both sides. Here is Andy Burnham making a nuanced case for Prescott to continue in office: "I feel very strongly that John Prescott has done an excellent job for this government and he has been an excellent deputy prime minister. He has my full support in the job."Some, however, have put much thought into whom they should support in Prescott's place: David Kidney, MP for Stafford, reported that he would back “whoever Gordon [Brown] wants”.

Download this factsheetThere's still time - just - to get over the Passport Office's website and renew your passport before the end of the month. I did mine a couple of days ago.Why do it?Because, as far as we can tell, if you get it done by the end of the month then you avoid going on the national identity database - the real Big Brother scariness behind the ID card scheme.This is from the Renew for Freedom website:You may have heard that you'll be able to opt out of having an ID card if you renew your passport before ...

Part of "Songs of Praise" this evening featured a clip of David Cameron at a conference on climate change. He was asked what the Conservative party's goals for reduction of carbon emissions are. He said they haven't got any yet because they have to work them out (even though it is 14 years since the Rio conference - so they've had long enough). Then, extraordinarily, he launched into a diatribe

At least according to this piece in today's Sunday Times. The article implies that Tessa Jowell may have known about the gift / income earlier then she says and if so she should have declared it. My reading of the article however does not necessarily lead to the same conclusion. Mills could just as easily have been alluding to how he thought Tessa would react if an when he were to discuss it with her. What riles me is not the possibility that she knew early (which is debatable) but the approach which Mills takes to these matters as witnessed ...

My latest survey project is to survey Bradford House, a grade 2 listed property in Belbroughton. The project is to produce accurate of floor plan, section, and elevations drawings of the main house, coach house and stable block. Additionally a site survey will also be produced. The first image shows the front of The Main House. This consists of the [...]

I am still a bit numb after yesterday's penalty shoot-out that left Swansea where they started and allowed Barnsley to progress to the Championship. Swansea were by far the better team but they did not take all their chances, specifically in the second half of extra time. When Barnsley equalised to make the score 2-2, the Swans seemed to freeze and never quite regained their midfield dominance. We will just have to make sure that we get automatic promotion next season. One team who will not get a second chance if they fail next month are the Independents who ...

The Home Office, the NHS, Tax Credits, The Child Support Agency, the Ministry of Defence, Single Farm Payments ... etc etc. It is quite clear that the Labour Government are "not fit for purpose". They have been in government for 9 years and although some positive things have been achieved, there are still many areas that are chaotic. That comes from their concentration on spin and concealing

A winged messenger is on the way to Paul Walter who did not take very long to spot the quote from Mr Standfast by John Buchan. Here's some more of it. I'm no socialist, and I would have ye keep mind of that. I'm yin o' the old Border radicals, and I'm not like to change. I'm for individual liberty and equal rights and chances for all men. I'll no more bow down before a Dagon of a Goavernment official than before the Baal of a feckless Tweedside laird. I've to keep my views to mysel', for thae young ...

A live performance of David Fanshawe's African Sanctus is a rare treat. It combines original recordings taken across Africa, interspersed and overlaid with a choral mass accompanied by a rock band and djembe drums. So I was really looking forward to the concert yesterday by Kingston University Chorus, and found it exciting and uplifting. But there was an unexpected treat...

The latest part of the campaign against ID cards is to get people to renew their passports early, so putting off the evil moment (remember the government decided to link the scheme to passports - claiming this made it non compulsory!!). I came across a website all about this - www.renewforfreedom.org which is run by the No 2 ID Cards campaign people. I know a lot of Lib Dems have renewed their passports already as part of this campaign . In fact the Home Affairs team in the House of Commons have. Am doing the same ...

Give yourself a treat and listen to the Now Show on Cameron's sex slip The show came in a week where David Cameron inadvertently demanded that the British public log on to a sex-contact website and Britain 's surgeons came head-to-head with Prince Charles in the debate as to where NHS priorities should lie; with alternative therapies or with ACTUAL MEDICINE... This isn't the first time I've heard Cameron inked with the Heir to the throne. (Hat-tip Mike Smithson)

"Film director Michael Winner has said he turned down an OBE in the Queen's 80th birthday honours' list. He told the Sunday Times newspaper, for which he is a columnist: "An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at King's Cross station." " You've got to hand it to Michael Winner. He certainly adds to the jollity of nations with these sorts of comments. People normally turn down

"Villagers have been left baffled by the discovery of a bugging device hidden in their parish hall. The electronic transmitter was found in a wall socket during a safety inspection at Malham (in drawing left) village hall in the Yorkshire Dales. Speculation is rife in the village that someone has been listening in to parish council proceedings." An insomniac perhaps?

So, here I am and boy, is it sticky? Walking out of the airport terminal was like walking into an outdoor sauna but, thanks to my prescience in arranging for a car to deliver me safely to the hotel, I was able to get to a place of sanctuary quite quickly. My first impression is that Ho Chi Minh City is quite a lot like Mumbai, lots of people, lots of mopeds and small engined motorcycles. I'm

Its ages since I went to a "Late Show". Catching the 2340 showing of this film brought back student memories of the Hild/Bede film Society and late night walks home through Durham in the early hours of the morning discussing art house. This however is less subtle. Now I absolutely love the X Men comic adaptions. Brian Singers direction and the hammy shakespearean gravitas that Stewert and Mckellan give have made the franchise top notch. On one level this makes this a sad way to go out as its less thinking and more traditional blockbuster. Also as they kill ...

I seem to have hit a glut of training for the next few weeks. Last week we had the 'Moving Forward' programme in Worcester, including some Page Plus training. This weekend trogged down to Cowley St for one of the Get Set Go sessions, I have another two booked next month. I am very impressed with the standard of much of the training we get in the Party, the session today on Interpersonal Skills

Curiously, given my thoughts on quotas in the past, the big issue in India in recent days has been the decision of the Government to guarantee 27% of university places to OBC (Other Backward Castes) students. This attempt at blatant positive discrimination is entirely consistent with existing policy but the fear now is that, once the various quotas are accounted for, there are insufficient places