Three weeks ago, I wrote: Mr Blair is formidably impressive, and without doubt the most articulate, clear-sighted and instinctual politician of his generation. Today's speech proved that: it was utterly masterful, truly mesmerising. It's what Mr Blair does best. Which is why he should go now - he can achieve no more in that time which is left to him. Better to leave when the encomia are still
I've just watched a Newsnight report in which a journalist tried to hand out wristbands to Labour conference delegates based on who they would be backing in the forthcoming race for the leadership. Now, I know it's a little bit tongue-in-cheek and I fully understand those who did not wish to pin their colours to the mast. One MP (unfortunately I didn't catch who it was), however, positively lambasted the BBC for using licence-payers' money to "play little games". I was equally incensed by his disgraceful behaviour. Admittedly, media speculation can go too far ...
Although I am still coming to terms with my new computer, it would be wrong not to mention the performance of Watford's Labour MP Claire Ward on the 'honesty booth' feature on Radio 5 Live's Morning Phone-in today. The basic idea is for an MP to answer various questions after which listeners text in to say whether they think the MP is being honest. Onlu 11 per cent of listeners reckoned her answers honest. Lembit on the same feature last week scored circa 70 per cent. Perhaps more damning and accurate was the following listener comment: “It’s clear ...
Tony Blair used his final conference to tell a story about his two sons being lambasted by a voter who later claimed he didn’t mean what he said when he realised the youths were Blair’s offspring. Anytime he and they wish I’m sure I could introduce the Blair’s to people who really do dislike him and [...]
I have just produced a leaflet for Peter Maughan who is standing for the peers' panel. (4 times parliamentary candidate and twice European candidate.) Applications close tomorrow and no doubt there will be a surge of people wanting to go into the House of Lords. No harm in that but I do feel this system of electing the panel could be improved.It is meant to be democracy in action and shortly a
The spectre of a hung parliament being the outcome of the next general election is looming in the air again. Liberal Democrats traditionally tend to get a bit uneasy about this, or at least tend to get portrayed as uneasy about it. I agree with the opinion taken by Process Guy, commenting on an intriguing article by Matthew Paris in The Times, that this presents us with an opportunity, more than
I am increasingly concerned about the flabbiness of political thinking on both sides of the political spectrum about education. The current status quo is aptly summed up by George Walden: 'For all their protestations to the contrary, neither right nor left really believe in meritocracy. At heart the left retains a gut opposition to selection in any form, while the right is in favour of
It has been nearly 20 years since I sat in a comprehensive school as a student... writes Sarah Teather on the Guardian's mortarboard blog today.That is true. But as an earlier profile, also from the Guardian, makes clear, it is slightly less long since she sat in the independent Leicester Grammar School as a student. As the product of a Leicestershire comprehensive myself, I take an interest in such things. It strikes me that Sarah's background - experience of state schools, private schools and home schooling - is perfect for a shadow education secretary. I do hope she will ...
You very rarely see us all together like this. The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Sheila Griffin, and I donned our mayoral robes and followed our macebearers through the Ancient Market to Kingston Parish Church for the Crown Court Service yesterday morning. We were followed by judges from Kingston Crown Court. As the judges approached the church a fanfare was sounded. Sadly...
First draft of York's Local Area Agreement (LAA) at today's Exec meeting. I remain to be convinced by their ultimate value, even though government office have apparently rated York's progress as 1 of the 2 best in the region. The Chief Exec suggested that having a good LAA would result in more trust in a local authority from central government. Even if that's accepted, what remains...
Sheena Wellington, Treasurer of the City Centre & Harbour Community Council, and so much more ..., has sent out the latest update on Fest 'n' Furious - with Sheena's permission, I'll simply quote her words but click on the headline above to link to the Fest 'n' Furious website: "Fest'n'Furious - www.festnfurious.co.uk - is on this weekend! Please feel free to pass this on to your friends!! Highlights include a ceilidh dance with music from Ceilidh Minogue and the Tayside Young Fiddlers at the Bonar Hall on Friday night, Cappuccino Concert ...
The rest of the Exec meeting took on a bit of a serious tone. A paper on York's ftr outlined ticketing problems that are being experienced by operator First York. The ftr bus launched in May and most of the teething troubles have been sorted out- the most controvertial element, and probably ultimately the clincher for its success, is the ticketing. I have no fundamental concern about...
The Lib Dem blogosphere's very own Alex "Brevity" Wilcock has recently pointed out that he says "err" quite a lot. Well, my paws, tail, the paws of my neighbouring dogs, other tails and a few human fingers have been busy counting this evening. We've been digesting the YouTube video of him speaking at the Brighton Conference blogging awards. He spoke for 558 seconds and said "er" 71 times. That's once every 8 seconds. Just thought you'd like to know. Time to rest my paws...
I don't know what it is about Cherie, I've just never quite warmed to her. I've been trying to put my finger on just what it might be and today it hit me...........its her hair...........whilst those of us who are mere mortals struggle with every conceivable haircontraption known to woman, hairdryers, hotair brushes, straighteners, straightening gel..........only to have our efforts dashed by a
The Town Crier to the Mayor of London welcomed the Pearly Kings and Queens and a whole gaggle of mayors to Guildhall, London. It was the Costermongers Parade and Harvest Festival. I was intrigued - what is a costermonger, and where did the Pearly tradition come from? Costermongers were London market stall holders who sold fruit and vegetables. They attracted customers with...
A couple of hotspot maps came up during Nick's presentation with some interesting information, particularly the city centre cycle theft map. Like how three bikes had, according to the mapping, been nicked from inside the police station and another one pinched from the nave in York Minster! I knew that Archbishop Sentamu had pitched his tent up in there during the Lebanon war recently, but his...
... that was the fate of Nick Warnes York Police's Local Authority Liason officer when he turned up at today's Exec meeting ready to give a presentation to the bemusement of the Exec and other officers! To be fair to Nick, he took it all in his usual good humoured stride and got on a delivered- admitedly to the wrong people- a very interesting presentation about the CDRP (Crime and...
So – today was Tony’s big farewell day. How did he do as regards his speech? Put it like this – if Brown was Prime Minister and Blair the heir apparent, I think after their pair of speeches, Labour members would be begging for Brown to step aside. Tony’s speech was a class act of oratory - unlike Gordon’s dullness the day before. I have never been much of a fan of the Punch and Judy show that
Two friends of mine have just taken up blogging. Being younger* and prettier than me, they’ve both chosen the same austere Blogger template to seem very, very serious, but don’t be put off – both Theo Butt Philip and Andy Strange are witty, engaging, terribly nice chaps and splendid Liberals. Good luck to them both. They’ve even shamed me into posting again on my Doctor Who blog, which had lain 
Southborough School held a Sports Fayre to raise funds for some much needed sports kit and equipment. I had to call in before it started on Sunday because of my next engagement, but this gave me a chance to chat with the people who had put their time into organising the event and running the stalls. Here I am with Joseph Hunt, a Year 11 student who has been actively...
The more astute amongst you might have noticed that a rather unusual event is taking place this week. I'm talking about an Autumn political conference in an inland city. Yours Truly was unable to lose his conference virginity in Brighton this year, but I am aware that Seaside Towns are the usual venue of choice. Much has been made of Labour's decision to visit Manchester this year, rather than one of the Big Three seaside venues. The Peterloo Massacre is pointed to; Marx and Engels' studies of such utter urban deprivation. But is Labour really returning ...
I am writing an article on this subject for Friday's Liberal Democrat News. Rather than put in all the web addresses I shall refer people to this posting, where they will find a version with the links in place. It should be up late on Thursday night. In the mean time, here is a joke. A farmer goes to market. He buys 38 sheep, brings them home and puts them in a field. He goes out the next morning with his dog, and is concerned to see that the hedge is looking rather thin in one or two places. He ...
Following Richard Hammond’s appalling accident, a whole chorus of commentators has called for Top Gear to be axed. This joins the existing campaign waged against the programme’s lack of environmental credentials, mainly led by Lib Dem MPs Norman Baker and Tom Brake. However this is one campaign I will not be joining. Top Gear [...]
You won't catch me passing tittle-tattle on. Try Liberal Action instead.
The BBC report that at the UN: A speech by Mr Chavez cited Chomsky's 2003 critique of US policy, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, as an "excellent book". Mr Chavez also said US President George W Bush was the "devil" who had left the UN podium smelling of "sulphur". When I think of Chavez, Chomsky and the UN I find it difficult to decide which is the least credible.
Now we've got all of that policy out of the way, I thought I'd recount some of the highlights from the real conference, i.e. the one that happens between 10pm and 4am in the bar of the Hilton Metropole. Being as I don't want to get sued, the style of PopBitch has been adopted. Which front bench MP spent half an hour sat on their own on Wednesday evening, because no-one would talk to her? Then, when a young male admirer did wander over for a chat, they were rebuffed with a roll of the eyes and a look ...
From today’s Newsnight e-mail: Not as much as you sometimes wonder about the BBC, of course, which chose the time of Blair’s speech to tell its staff of the latest round of redundancies in something called a Value for Money initiative, which is another way of talking about the management’s desire for cuts… Don’t you dare [...]
Just watched the last bit of Tony Blair's speech, the last he will be giving as Leader at the Labour Party Conference. I thought he ended it oddly. He said, 'You are future, make the most of it.' But what did he mean? Make the most of it, you are not going anywhere with me and you most defiantly wont go anywhere without me.
Tonight sees the final two episdoes of the second series of the excellent Lost. I've followed this series from the beginning, and due being able to watch the following episdoe on E4 have only missed one or two episodes. (The life of a Campaigns Officers generally makes it hard to follow a weekly series) I love the general Prisoner like spookiness and the various plot twists and developments. I think tonights episodes are going to be good, and we will probably find out a lot about the 'others'. But I bet there will be an almighty cliffhanger to lead ...
Little did I realise when I added the Top Five Links box - see below right - that it would have such amusement value!
As a tribute to Freddie Mercury, who would have been 60 this month, those nice people at Classic Rock Magazine have asked a batch of rock starts to nominate their favourite Queen tracks. The 50 are not listed in order, but form an excellent cross section of the bands output - a total of 14 studio albums between 1973 and 1995. The mid seventies - when the band were breaking through - provide the largest number of tracks. The classic Night At The Opera album contributes 8 of the 50, with Sheer Heart Attack providing 6 and News of the ...
I'm at home today because little Emma is unwell. She woke us up in the middle of last night with a temperature and spent the rest of the night wriggling around in our bed. With the help of a few doses of Nurofen for Children (Stawberry Flavour) she is enjoying a subdued day on the sofa. I have now seen enough Disney videos to last me a month!
I’m writing this whilst watching Blair’s speech. Well, the comment about his wife not running off with the man next door was brilliant. He’s also just thanked the activists on the ground. Nowadays, that won’t take long. But “Our core vote is the country.” Really!?. I don’t think so. This is a party elected on one of the lowest turnouts and one of the lowest shares of the vote ever. Labour
A Zambian Archbishop has been excommunicated after ordaining four married men as bishops. He was also married himself in a ceremony organised by the Moonies. I have to say I'm not surprised that he's been excommunicated, nor do I really blame the Vatican for doing so. Regardless of what people think about married clergy, it's a sensitive issue requiring discussion. Publicity-seeking stunts such as this will inevitably be met with uncompromising action by the Church authorities.
There are so many reasons why Labour are not fit to govern the country. Let's not forget that for every expensive disaster, whether it be ID cards, illegal wars or money wasted on an inefficient tax credit system which causes so much pain for so many people - one Gordon Brown signed the cheques. There are many valid reasons why he should not be PM, but the one which seems to be making the most headlines is because he's a Scot. What utter nonsense. The PM covers the whole of the UK, not just England. Why on ...
We’ve become the biggest party in Burnley after an independent councillor, Sam Holgate, decided to join the party. The press release from them says: An independent Burnley councillor for the Rosegrove with Lowerhouse ward has joined the Liberal Democrats after conceding that the Lib Dems have delivered on their promises and begun to make real improvements around [...]
If you ever decide to take the plunge and become an approved parliamentary candidate, you will be subjected to a ‘Paxman test’. This is where you are interviewed by a ‘journalist’ who is determined to write a headline at your expense. He will try to badger you into saying something, while you politely hold your [...]
From Make My Vote Count I see that two LibDem councillors are being prosecuted for voting fraud. Naturally the LibDems condemn this sort of thing, and unlike Labour, I hope we see strong condemnation from the party leadership for this sort of action. Is expulsion on the cards? (I know little of such matters). There is a tendency, amongst all groups, to think that 'we would never do that' about
I've never chaired Lib Dem Conference, let alone Labour Conference (well that would just be down right weird), but I have chaired a few meetings in my time. When I was at Lancaster University I made the mistake of getting involved in students’ union politics. To be fair to me, I did do it in such a was as to allow my self to play as much or as little part in the internal politics as I liked, you
I have come to the conclusion that Tony is preventing his MPs from watching too much Television. If you remember last week Harriett Harman said she had other things to do rather than watch Sir Menzies Campbell's speech at the Lib Dem conference. Now possibly that would have been pass remarkable only she was appearing on Question Time that evening and surely even the most junior researcher
Liam Byrne reckons the Government can cut the cost of ID cards by using “existing databases”. Which existing databases, which actually work, would these be? I still refuse to believe that ID cards and the national database will ever come into force. Its so moronic an endeavour, so doomed to failure before its inception, that I'm sure someone important will wake up and consign it to the biological waste dump of history.
I thought that one of the best bits of commentary coming out of the Lib Dem conference last week was this article by Matthew Parris in the Times. It suggests that the very real possibility of a balanced (hung) parliament being the outcome after the next general election could be an advantage to the Lib Dems during the campaign. Conventional wisdom has it that while the actual result of a balanced
Poor Peter Brookes The Times cartoonist had a tough time at Labour's conference yestreday as he attempted to encapsulate the passion in Gordon Brown's speech. Judge for yourself how he did in this series of images. {Peter Brookes - The Times 26-09-06} Personally I reckon the 10th image must have been his joke about the Arctic Monkeys and the Arctic Circle.
The slogan of this Labour conference is obvious; "Working With People's Aspirations" (Hilary Armstrong just invoked it once again). As a slogan it's fair enough, sounds nice, very democratic. But as ever in the New Labour experiment, it depends upon a semantic leap of faith that is thoroughly unjustified. What they actually mean, of course, is "Working With What We Think People's Aspirations Should Be". All the evidence suggests that the New Labour answer to that question is, "The poor want to work at all, the rich want to get richer". And fair play to them, the rich have got ...
Sarah, the party’s education spokesperson, is spending the week as a teaching assistant in a school in outer London. She’s blogging about it on the Guardian website: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/mortarboard/
I had dinner with my uncle last night. He had recently been in Ireland, visiting his second cousin Dick, who is 91. Dick was born on a 3,000-acre estate near Bantry on the West coast in 1915, and inherited it the same year. In 1921 being land-owning Anglicans became a bit unfashionable, and it was suggested that the family might like to leave Ireland, which they did. In the past couple of years Dick has moved back to the estate, currently living in a caravan on the 50 acres he now owns. His niece also lives in the bay. Dick ...
A few months ago I wrote about how the media, once they’ve decided on a narrative, use every single minor incident they can to reaffirm this while downplaying every major event that contradicts it. In that case I was talking about Ming Campbell and the fact that the media had settled on narrative focussed [...]
The dead-tree version of this Western Mail article has a quite interesting typo. The headline says: Lib-Dems largest door jailed for two years.
I see the world's largest private collection of Barbie dolls is being auctioned today. Good job it's not taking place in Manchester. Imagine the confusion that would cause. A large army of plastic figures turns up in the city ready to be put on display for the public, melting under the heat of the lights. Hollow inside but ready to have their clothing changed as soon as their owners decide
It's not often that I take Labour's side, but this morning the majority of newspapers are running not Gordon Brown's conference speech, but the unverified, denied and unrecorded comment Cherie Blair made during it. Cherie L. Bandit The mass media need to stop focussing on gossip like this. They defend it as the "human interest angle", which they claim sells more papers. But they should be
Whatever the truth of today's headlines about Cherie Blair's reaction to Gordon Brown's speech it has completely derailed the Chancellor's make-over. Mike Smithson on politicalbetting seems to have it summed up when he writes: 'The reason that Cherie Blair’s alleged remarks carry so much force and dominate the headlines this morning is that they ring true. ' In other words she can deny it all
I note with interest today a story that a company whose shareholders are 3000 dairy farmers accounting for primary production of 16% of the UK milk output is buying the cheese businesses of Dairy Crest. What goes around comes around perhaps? Remember that company Associated Dairies, now known as ASDA. It was of course once upon a time a co-operative of dairy farmers. I hope they succeed in taking some market influence back from the supermarkets.
This article in The Economist caught my eye. It seems to indicate an academic and well as a political and financial sclerosis that is afflicting the United States. America has been an extraordinary intellectual power house in the sixty years since the end of the Second World War. Albeit that many Nobel prize winners, like Einstein or Edward Teller, were born outwith the US, nonetheless they were
Remember I sent that email to Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, after his characterization of Land Value Tax as some kind of nasty left wing tax that was designed to blight our beautiful countryside. I was slightly hesitant about publishing his reply and my response as I was hoping for a rather more adult correspondence, but since such has not appeared, to hell with it. For your delectation, his first response: Thanks for your e-mail, Jock. I understand I was featured on the Politics Programme today but have not yet had a chance to see ...
A dark brooding beast sulking in the house next door. A sparky wife telling him he's too soft and should stand up to the dark brooding beast. And he just sits there, caught between the two of them, with a saintly grin on his face. Don't you feel just an iota of sympathy for Tony Blair?
I suppose it was inevitable, the injury to Richard Hammond, the Presenter of the BBC's -slightly dated- motoring programme Top Gear, has sparked the usual chorus of po-faced disapproval. In particular I see Johann Hari of The Independent- self appointed leader of Britain's burgeoning gay chav community- has spoken out against the cult of speed and anti-political correctness of the
The BBC came under some heat last week for broadcasting an interview with a character called Abu Izzadeen. This followed an incident where this guy heckled Home Secretary John Reid at a meeting. I listened to the interview and was very glad that I had. Abu Izzadeen has views which are entirely contrary to [...]
Labour's ruling National Executive Committee has avoided a confrontation with Birmingham MP and ex-Cabinet minister Clare Short in a bid to avoid anymore controversy at the Labour Party conference in Manchester this week.
I'm posting this today from Wells, in wonderful North Norfolk, having spent last night on a residential trip with my school. Despite having lived in North Norfolk for a little over four years, I still regard the district as my home, so it is always good to come back. The other thing that I like about "coming back", is when I do so NOT to deliver leaflets. Taking my school group around Wells last night, they commented "you know your way around well Mr Starling", I didn't tell them it is because I had canvassed most of Wells at some ...
The recent 20 mile charity tractor run in aid of St Kentigern's Hospice looked like it was to have an unlikely start to the day. As tractors arrived at the Kinmel Field in Llandyrnog, through lashing rain and thunder and lightening. Farmers were jumping off their tractors in the field in case of being struck by lightening! And others took shelter in the village bus shelters as torrential rain fell. This weather did not stop the keen vintage machinnery lovers and 23 tractors turned up for the tractor run some having travelled up to two hours in the rain ...
I’ve been getting a lot of publicity recently, and I’m in two minds about it. Iain Dale likes my blog. Iain gets a lot of traffic, and Iain has written a pamphlet about blogging in which he ranks various blogs. I made it in at #2 out of the Lib Dem blogs (pipped to [...]
At last week's Lib Dem conference - during the debate about whether or not the party should ditch its commitment to increasing the top rate of tax for the very wealthiest to 50% - the argument was made that the exisiting policy was simple to explain, and would prove crucial in helping to sway centre-left voters in key Labour marginals, where many of the Lib Dems' best electoral hopes lie. I was
... the prospect of the Regional Conference draws ever closer. Luckily, the Regional Conference Committee, chaired by the ever patient Alison Sanderson, is on the case, drawing up the agenda, organising guest speakers, stewarding, session chairs and all of the other minutiae that tend to go unnoticed unless they aren't actually done. Alison also tolerates my presence and so, in return, I've
Click and enjoy: {New Tory Labour on climate change} 
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