LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Thursday 7th September 2006

Day 2073: Where Millennium leads, the papers follow…

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The Blair/Brown circle jerk

The problem with the extreme-slow-motion-car-crash that is the Blair/Brown rift is that, apart from being appallingly tiresome, it tends to highlight to me why I don’t think Gordon Brown will make a particularly good Prime Minister. For certainly the last 6 years, he has been plotting away to undermine the PM every way he can - [...]

Secret plots

It was not until I got home that I had an opportunity to read this story in today's Western Mail alleging that Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats have secretly agreed in principle to form a coalition Assembly Government after next year's election. I was informed about the article first thing this morning and can testify that the airwaves have been buzzing all day with Welsh Liberal Democrats, including those most senior people who would have been involved in such talks, asking each other where this very clever work of fiction has come from. I do not blame ...

False alarm

It has been quite a trying day, largely because I have had my first direct experience of the sort of alerts that are symptomatic of the age we are living in and which are hitting airports all over the world. Having spent a very productive day in the Scottish Parliament talking to officials and their corporate body about the way that they operate, we caught a plane back from Edinburgh airport to Cardiff. On arriving we were puzzled as to why it was taking so long to unload our luggage when a police officer arrived and we discovered that ...

Identity cards

Following my speech about ID cards at the Government Smart Forum, I've now put up the text of it on my website.

Overviewed and Scrutinised

Tonight I attended an Overview and Scrutiny commission at work. It’s nothing to do with being a Bury Liberal Democrat, just the confusing fact that I also work for a Council (a different one) and occasionally have to appear in front of OS Commissions at all Councils are open to the public, who can raise questions to be asked at the meeting. It is the place where Councillors can scrutinise any

Blair has not agreed to stand down as PM!

A common misconception is that the Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling party. He's (or She's) not, they are appointed by the Queen. Today, Tony Blair agreed that the next Labour Party conference would be his last as leader but he said nothing about standing down as PM. As Guido Fawkes comments, this is the Aznar option.

Marriage 'keeps families united'

The BBC and reporting that Marriage 'keeps families united' Couples with young children are five times more likely to split up if they are unmarried compared to those who have had weddings, the Tories claim. Or is it that those who decided to get married were already in a strong relationship and more committed to each other, so already less likely to break up?

Up and down

My webhosts Dataflame have been playing with their servers, which has been causing me some troubles. The first problem affected all of my .htaccess files which in turn crashed my blog and LibDemBlogs. After getting them to fix that, I then noticed a collection of scripts were broken, CNPS and my sidebar script all stopped working, so then I got that fixed. Then tonight everything disappeared. I sent off an email, but didn't get any reply, then I realised email to was down, so I tried live chat instead. Someone called Jamie went off and soon everything was back up ...

Steve Irwin

I was not a great fan of the late Steve Irwin. But I do admire this tribute from Chase Me Ladies, I'm in the Cavalry: His death is especially tragic when you consider how many people there are on TV who deserve to be attacked by stingrays. To kill Steve Irwin and spare the entire cast of Friends shows very poor judgement on the stingray’s part, in my opinion. He was highly talented, in his way. Almost any other job on TV I could do myself, but I couldn't do his. I could read the news- so could any idiot. ...

Buckingham, the trend

A provocative article in today’s Indy Education supplement lauds the success of the UK’s only private university: In the Higher Education Funding Council of England's (HEFCE) National Student Survey, published last month, two institutions topped the tables: the Open University, and Buckingham, a private university that charges £10,000 a year for most of its courses.The key to their satisfaction?

The Tom Watson Code

Dizzy Thinks thinks he has identified the common factor uniting the junior minister and bag-carriers who resigned yesterday. Found via Iain Dale.

Catching up

That’s one of the disadvantages of B&Bs - unlike hostels, they tend not to have internet access, at least not for guests, so I haven’t been able to make any updates as I’ve passed through Yorkshire. Anyway, it’s been an interesting week as I’ve steered down the eastern edge of the Pennines, passing over a few [...]

Losing the will-power to govern

After all that hype and excitement, a stunning... anti-climax - the Prime Minister will resign within the year. I'm not sure he can last that long, or anything like. But it doesn't really matter: he's yesterday's man, even if he has a few more tomorrows left in him. The Bagehot column in today's Economist puts forward a shrewd and persuasive case why Mr Blair - despite all evidence to the contrary - still thinks only he has what it takes to be Labour's leader: [Mr Blair] finds it hard ...

What announcement?

So Tony Blair made an announcement today, did he? Well I must have missed something, since all I heard from him was “I’ll be gone before the 2007 Conference”. We forgive me but NO **** SHERLOCK! We all know he couldn’t possibly survive another 12 months after this week (however loyalists try to play it [...]

Tony Blair loses his touch

Our prime minister has always been given to making important announcements during school visits. He launched his 2001 election campaign at St Saviour's & St Olave's church school in Southwark. And it seemed to go down well with the press, even if it was the occasion for one of Matthew Parris's most memorable sketches: It was nauseating. It was breathtakingly, toe-curlingly, hog-whimperingly tasteless. It was unbelievably ill-judged. Just when one is teased by the thought that Blair might not be all bad, he does something which nobody with a grain of sense or sensibility could even contemplate. ...

Political bloggers

Speech to the Government Smart Forum. It was a bit like walking into the lion's den to give the Liberal Democrat position on ID cards (against) because - as the Chair pointed out - most of those in the room stood to gain financially from the relentless march of the ID and smart cards. In the event it was good fun - and seemed to go down well. And given what the Chair said, I though it was a moral victory that in the straw poll vote at the end the room was pretty evenly split – only marginally in ...

Penguins back after 'Atonement'

Redcar's seafront penguins have been safely returned to their Esplanade patch as the town returns to normal life after the summer excitement of becoming 'Hollywood by the Sea.' The penguins had been carefully lifted from their habitat and kept in protective storage while the area was totally transformed into 1940s Dunkirk for filming scenes for the eagerly-awaited adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel, Atonement. Redcar and Cleveland Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism Councillor Dave Fitzpatrick reflected on an amazing few months for the town and said: "The penguins must be the only members of our community who haven't ...

ALDE Taking the Right Line on China - Time for The Real Gai Ge Kai Fang

I'm delighted to see the strong line taken on EU-China relations by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) which can be read here. Although I would like to see more attention drawn to specific human rights cases by the group the continuing firm line on the need for improved human and political rights whilst maintaining trade links is very welcome. Although the continuing arms embargo is largely symbolic it should still remain until there is a recognition of the enormity of the crime that was the Tiananmen massacre, a reversal of the verdicts and the release ...

Meanwhile away from Brown's dithering prætorians

the British Association for the Advancement of Science is discussing small matters. Like the future of life on earth, how climate change is bringing new diseases to Europe including one which makes your muscles turn black and die. (Excellent. H5N1 has proved a bit of a damp squib, maybe black muscle rotting lurgy will be grounds for a few hysterical posts, along with the new strain of TB which

Dave Cameron: a promise he can deliver on

I haven't indulged in any Dave bashing for a while because, frankly, there has not been much point. There really isn't much substance and - I remain fairly sure - he stands little chance of becoming Prime Minister any time in the next six years or so. However, Dave has said some remarkably silly things in India recently. The BBC are reporting that in a speech on Globalisation Dave said: I don't

Blair: Even the kids are revolting

Tony Blair has chosen audiences of school children to whom to make major announcements on at least two previous occasions. One was the launch of his last general election campaign. The idea seemed to be that if you want a meek and mild audience with that extra splash of "they are the future, not you old gits" then go to a school. And, indeed, the school children sat, rather bemused, while our

Is Brown any good?

I hope for the sake of our sanity that we do not hear any more ridiculous nonsense about when Blair is going to go - now that he has made an announcement. (It was nice for him to apologise for the recent ruccus though. And how is it that all his major announcements are made in front of a audience of bemused school children?) The full text is here. If Gordon Brown makes any more mischief about it,

National Youth Opera: Don Giovanni

Last night I got in to the dress rehearsal of the National Youth Opera’s production of Don Giovanni, which opens tomorrow night in the Peacock Theatre, London. Even if you’re not an opera fan, but have an open mind and would like to give it a whirl, I commend this production to you - you can [...]

New Labour, New Lemmings?

Tony Blair has now confirmed what most people already knew - that he is to resign as Prime Minister at some point in the next twelve months, at a time of his choosing. The recent wailing and knashing of teeth among Brownites and some Blairites alike might at first sight seem to be the transformation of the Parliamentary Labour Party in to a group of political lemmings, determined to rip their

Has Blair Done Enough?

So, Tony Blair has said that he's going within the year. My big question is, has he done enough to hold off a coup by Gordon Brown. My prediction yesterday was that if Blair had not said anything about retirement by the end of today then Brown would go into plotter mode and force him out this weekend. I was forecasting a Lawsonesque resignation with an angry demand for Blair to name the day. Perhaps now the Blair administration will just about soldier on but there will be a slow leak as credibility ebbs away. He might ...

Constitutionally, Mr Blair...

...I am an "irrelevant bystander", as are approximately 59,800,000 other members of the public, and I simply do not believe you are going to do anything in the next twelve months to change that, much as I would want you to, so that we never have a party place-person appointed to your executive office by a dwindling group of political hacks and activists ever again. So if that was all that is holding you back, I give you leave to go now. By the way - thanks for sorting out the blockade of Lebanon, today. That was you was ...

Nothing to blog about here...

Move on, nothing to see here. OK, I can't help but mention the Labour leadership shenanigans. You can't help but notice something going on! Is there something in the West Midlands connection between Tom Watson, Khalid Mahmood and Siôn Simon. Or is it that they all feel threatened by potential deselections by hacked off local memberships?

Help Support Cressex School

The Tory controlled Bucks County Council has cancelled the much needed improvement works that were planned for Cressex Community School. This is an appalling act of mismanagement and was only cancelled at the 11th hour when bulldozers were on site. We can not allow the Tories to get away with this. The Friends and Governors [...]

Gordon Brown: Homophobic or too busy?

The headline is from Pink News and I couldn't resist it. They report that Mr Brown has on 14 separate occasions failed to attend the House of Commons when issues relating to gay equality were voted on. He failed to support the government's equalisation of the age of consent, the abolition of Section 28, gay couples being able to jointly adopt, civil partnerships and the Equality Act. The registration of civil partnerships are the responsibility of the Treasury, the department that Mr Brown heads. Worth reading in full.

More from Tony's iPod...

Yazz: We've been broken downTo the lowest turnAnd been on the bottom lineSure ain't no funBut if we should be evicted from our homesWe'll just move somewhere elseAnd still carry onHold on, hold on, hold on The only way is up, babyFor you and me now, babyThe only way is upFor you and me nowNow we may not knowWhere our next meal is coming fromBut with you by my sideI'll face what is to comeBoy, I wanna thank youFor loving me this wayThings may be a little hard nowBut we'll find a brighter dayHold on, ...

So Long, Farewll, Auf Weidersehen, Adieu

So Tony is about to name the Date. Maybe we should have a special of the reality show How do you solve a problem called Maria? and line up Gordon Brown, Charles Clarke, Tom Watson et al in bright coloured dungarees so that they can sing to Tony as he prepares to exist stage right. Watch out for Graham Norton hosting such a show next May. What Tony said. What Gordon said.

12:44pm - at this time, it got ridiculous

I have the ‘good fortune’ to work just up the road from the back entrance to Downing St. After a while this morning I became aware of the sound of helicopters - not uncommon, often police helicopters are busily chasing evil criminals around London. But no, oh no. There are two choppers hovering above the office - one is [...]

Brown to stand down?

{Texture like sun} Now if I was Gordon Brown, the moment Tony announces the date, I too would announce that I was standing and possibly retiring from the house at the next election. Why would you want to run the country after the mess Tony has left it in. If he's lucky he might win one election, and even that could be with a minuet majority and whilst unlikely imagine the embarrassment if he actually lost the next leadership election, it would destroy his political career. Instead Brown's legacy would be a great economy, one of the best chancellors ...

Blair to speak but won’t say when

Well, today presumably? I dare him to begin by saying to the assembled journos: “Today I will lay out how my premiership will end. But first you must cross my palm with silver…” (As opposed to “Today I will recommend you for a peerage. But first you must cross my palm with silver…” of course.) Tags: tony+blair, bbc+news, [...]

Beating off

Tony Blair thinks he’s got problems, but at least he hasn’t got two-tone bands on his back, telling him to sling his hook. Thatcher had to contend with the likes of the Beat, and their accessible brand of jaunty ska. In 1980 they released the single Stand down Margaret. A mere ten years later she had been forced from office. Coincidence?

That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government

Slightly breaking my self-imposed ban on discussing Tony Blair's current troubles*, John Hemming points me towards this article, which appeared in today's Independent. They write: "Go back far enough, and Prime Ministers quit when Parliament sacked them. Every government from 1837 to 1874 was brought down by a parliamentary vote. That happened again in 1886 and 1895, and, much more recently, in

Comical Tommy and the decapitation strategy.

In one sense you can't blame them. After watching and reading Blair's post-summer interviews I wrote that Blair is now in the same position as Thatcher in her last days in office: not quite in a twilight world (if anything too black and white). But beyond parody. I haven't changed my mind - and so perhaps Labour needed some auto-decapitation. But the way this has been done (the revolt of the pygmies?) is going to leave scars in the Labour Party. It certainly means that the chances of a Brown coronation are slimmer than ever. This need not hurt them ...

Where did it all go wrong Tony?

How did we get from: You can walk my pathYou can wear my shoesLet her talk like meAnd be an angel too But maybeYou ain't never gonna feel this wayYou ain't never gonna know meBut I know you...Teach you now that Things can only get betterCan only get, can only getThey get on from hereYou know, I know thatThings can only get better I sometimes lose myself in meI lose track of timeAnd I can't see the world's formed treesYou set them alight, burning the bridges as you goI'm too weak to fight youI got my personal health to ...

Calling all Lib Dem Bloggers attending conference

There are details of the facilities being laid on for bloggers on the party web site. Three new announcements - discount wi-fi (I think the rate is going to be something like £1 an hour, but the final details are still being thrashed out), press passes for the runners-up in the blog of the year competition [...]

Muswell Hill Library

Went to the public meeting / consultation on the plans for Muswell Hill Library on Wednesday evening. If it all came off as described and local residents concerns can be addressed - then the library could be fantastic. It is much in need of really expensive love and attention. Patching up won't do any longer - and it is right to develop the library into a modern, vibrant social centre. So that's the good news. Of course, funding it requires the building of a few probably luxury dwellings and the leasing of a space within the new library development ...

Will Brown be the loser in the long-run?

The combination of work all day and meetings all evening meant I missed all of yesterday’s political excitement. Andy when I did eventually land home, I was more interested in finding out the Scotland result against Lithuania, so the extended political coverage was just a nuisance. For what it’s worth, though, here are my thoughts on New Labour’s internal wars. I have always thought that Brown’s best chance of winning a fourth term would be a handover relatively late in this parliament – late enough to call a general election during the honeymoon period without appearing to cut and run. ...

Sic Semper Tyrannis

President George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United Sates, is not fit for the office that he holds and should be removed from it as soon as the constitution allows. It is almost inconceivable to believe that after the attacks of September 11th we would now be debating what level of torture may be inflicted by US Federal agents- and whether near-drowning even counts. Illegal wire taps- spying on an industrial scale against American citizens, in clear contravention of the law have continued unabated. Today we see Mr. Bush defending- defending God save us- Illegal CIA prisons that detain ...

Face Facts

I'm pleased to see the publicity which the cross-party report outlining the rise of anti-semitism in the UK has drawn. There are some people in the Liberal Democrats (and doubtless in the other main parties) who deny outright that anti-semitism has grown, and appear vaguely sceptical over whether it exists at all. They simply chant the mantra “criticising Israel is not the same as being anti-semitic” and turn a blind eye to the fact the people being spat at and abused in the street for wearing a skullcap isn’t a traditional way of critiquing a state’s human rights record. You’d ...

How to get rid of a serving Prime Minister

The linked article in the Independent shows how strong the position of the Prime Minister is even if a majority of his or her party's MPs want him/her gone. In a sense it is a sign of our constitution that tends to concentrate power in individuals. I take the view that this is not helpful for good government. What it does is increase the power of the civil service and paid officers against the

Tom Watson Takes a Stand

I was interested to see Tom Watson resign as a junior Minister to put pressure on Tony Blair to set out a resignation timetable. I know Tom from the world of political blogging as he has been the most high profile UK MP blogger. Not sparing his blushes, Tom is smart, able, wholly committed to [...]

Labour are fools if they think Brown is the answer, and Brown is a fool for letting them

{0004276433b51239aca680c328ec0000} As I write this, we're still waiting for Mr Blair's much-feted announcement that he won't be Prime Minister in a year's time. His gut instinct might be to hang on for as long as possible, but there appears to be another game on the Downing Street chess board, it's called "How best to bugger Gordon". Should be fun to watch. I know Labour, and I know Labour people, both supporters and politicians. They've more or less convinced themselves, to a man, that its all Blair's fault and that Brown is some sort of left-wing prodigal son. ...

Everything bad is good for you.

I've just been reading the hot pink edition (seriously, it glows) of Everything Bad Is Good for You. The Grauniad wasn't impressed at all but I think they missed the point. I guess that's because I realised what Johnson meant by "smarter". He was talking about what's called systems or associative thinking. This is the skill that enables us to keep track of a huge web of social relationships in a

Blogging Lite

Barely blogging at all at the moment - drowning in work, which also explains why I failed to publicise this evening’s Liberal Drinks. Anyway, just to say I should be turning the corner soon and to regret that I simply don’t have time to rip the piss out of this. Ah, happy memories! In the meantime, [...]

Feel the quality

Northcliffe Press’ lack of shame knows no bounds. Having launched London Lite last week - a paper notable for making the Metro look heavyweight - they have just rebranded the Evening Standard as “London’s Quality Newspaper”. This is bogus because a) it barely qualifies and b) it is only quality because its sister [...]

Birmingham Libraries Online

Many of the reference websites at Birmingham Libraries can now be accessed at home or at work if you have your library card to hand. Among the services available for use are the Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and recent Birmingham newspapers. Library card users just need to follow the link from the City Council website and type in the first 14 characters of their library card number (on my card, that meant leaving out the last two numbers, as I eventually worked out!). A list of available sites can be found by going to ...

Looks like the trigger has finally been pulled

The trigger has finally been pulled on the assassination/starting gun and the in fighting within the Labour Party of the last few days, weeks and dare one say years had finally exploded. Blair has been forced into making a statement later on today on his timetable for departure after seven junior members of the government resigned having signed a letter calling on Blair to go. Speculation is rife in the media as to what he will actually say. Will he go now? And if he does will this leave Brown with blood on his hands? Remember Heseltine never inherited the ...

Thursday 7th September 2006

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