LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Richard Willis, the unsuccessful Conservative candidate in Sutton and Cheam in 2005, is predicting a mass walkout of Conservative MEPs. Writing on the politicalbetting site he claimed that the split with the EPP will happen. Cons will join up with ODS and several other parties to form a new European grouping. Prob 4-5 Tory MEPs will refuse to split with EPP and will defect. The FT reports that just such a grouping is in prospect: William Hague, shadow foreign secretary, sees the ODS as a key part of the new group. His spokeswoman said: "You can expect some sort ...

Went to Wales to campaign* for the Blaenau Gwent LibDems with David and his trusty SatNav system (TomTom), which actually believed we'd disappeared off the roads at one point. The constituency is massive and I'm surprised anyone can campaign effectively in it**. It's also a beautiful place, and thus pic spam shall follow after this conversation, overheard between two canvassing Tories who were in

A few days ago I was celebrating the fact that the technical assessment for the new Hyde Park CCTV scheme had agreed with my ideas and proposed locations. Except it seems that it didn't. I picked up an email today replying to me asking an officer what the result of the Sub Committee meeting had been, expecting good news as everyone seemed to be in agreement. However it seems that there was an "error" in the report I had been sent and in fact they had included the wrong location maps meaning that the Woodsley Road shopping centre had ...

My biggest ever Byelection effort came in Hartlepool clocking up 18 days in total. I know this is a modest effort by many standards but it did allow me to see quite a bit from afar of Jodie Dunn our eventually defeated candidate. I only met her properly once when the slightly frightening Hillary Stephenson conscripted me to accompany Jodie to a community fair. " I need a man!" she said ( I don't hear this enough) as apparently sending a gender unbalanced entourage wouldn't do. Hillary never explained why. I was very, very impressed and always hoped that she ...

Yesterday was the Leeds Universities Summer Ball. Its as close as anything to the offical end of the Univerity year and marks the beginning of the Exodus. Over the next 6 weeks two thirds of the population of Leeds 6 will get up and leave for the summer. Its gradual at first with the halls of residence emptying just about now with most shared houses sticking around till the last day of June when tenancies turn over and half the area moves house on a single day. By mid July anyone that is going has gone until ...

A lovely sunny day in Bromley when I was over there earlier, and good weather predicted for tomorrow also - Vince Cable has already dropped in and helped out, and Ming and Elspeth have moved in to the HQ. So I say again, where are you?

Just to add a bit of clour to this posting, I have included a couple of photos I took today of flowers in our garden. I started the morning at 7am with a trip to Andover to view the market's canopies there. This is part of some research I have been asked to do into the subject of awnings and canopies in markets. It doesn't seem just a few days ago that I was doing up my anorak against the cold

A warm welcome to Hackney Lib Dems who have added their regular Pub Night to Liberal Drinks. If your local party runs a similar event, it is simplicity itself to get it listed here.  Simply add the information onto Flock Together in the normal way and add “Liberal Drinks” to the list of organisations you want [...]

The recent accusations that an American unit massacred a group of twenty-four innocent civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha have come to the forefront due to the actions of US Congressman Jon Murtha from Pennsylvania. Murtha is a Democrat but, more importantly, he is a distinguished veteran and something of a hawk. Normally, you would expect the Bush Administration to repeat its standard tactic

Dave's a nice guy, isn't he? All that smiling he does, all of those good causes he supports, all of the efforts he's made for the environment. Why, he's almost as nice as people used to think Tony Blair was! Except... except his deeds don't quite match his words. He cares for the environment though, doesn't he? If there's one thing people know about Dave, it's that he cares about the environment. That's why he cycles to work, and that's why he's so interested in those glaciers, right? Well yes, he cycles to work... ...

I don't know what they taught Alex Salmond in maths at Linlithgow Academy but whatever it was either Alex wasn't listening as he dreamt of being President of Scotland or else he has now forgotten it. Today he has said: "[The Liberal Democrats] are Labour's little helpers in Scotland and they should be clear that the longer they stay joined at the hip to Labour the more support they will

The recently departed chairman of the Liberal Democrats' Campaigns and Communications Committee played eight first-class games for Oxford University during the 1964 season, but was not selected for the game against Cambridge. Cricinfo, as ever, has the details.

Tim Worstall hits upon something which really makes me see red- that if you are a 'revolutionary' and 'left-wing' and you kill people its seemingly okay. It is still acceptable to be an apologist for Stalin, Che Guevara is an icon, we still hear little about the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution. It is quite right that we vilify and seek to prosecute General Pinochet, that we comdemn racist

I wrote earlier this week about one farmer's unilateral action against the 75 Cycle Route near Blackridge. Well today I'm glad to report that an agreement has been met between the council and the landowner and the route will be restored within a fortnight.

Whilst I was away a group of Liberal Democrat MPs renewed their passports en masse - in protest at the government's plans for a compulsory identity database. Now I am back from Pakistan and Japan and before I head anywhere else this is something I will be doing (as mentioned on here previously) and would encourage others to do so.

At some point I should really get back to saying something intelligent about politics but the temptation to comment on this was too much [Thanks to Paul Linford for the link]. And the sisterhood of women political bloggers... or (broading the field slightly) political bloggers who are not MM-WASPs demands it, where MM stands for 'male' and 'middle-aged'. Not sure what Catherine Bennett is taking

I'd like to see us banging on about our own virtues, but David Cameron's transport pronouncements are worth a knock. Its some time since I worked in environmental transport campaigning, but my memory is: turning left at red lights may be good for car traffic flow but it's bad for pedestrians and cyclists. Which leads me on to: moving bike lanes off roads onto pavements? If anything gives the

Miss me? No? Well, I’m back from holidaying in Cornwall. Had a great time, except for the fact that our holiday cottage was not only shit, but it emerged that, as a very mild asthmatic, I was severely allergic to the place and have now fucked up my lungs. Marvellous! So, Tim Razzall has [...]

The Tory Party seems to have been stung by comments that their policy larder is looking a bit bare. The last two days has seen a whole two policy announcements - though the coolness with which they have been greeted perhaps explains why David Cameron has been putting off the evil day when he has to stop simpering and start clarifying. First, came George Osbourne’s ‘tax pledge’, in which he boldly