I did have a good conference and didn’t get fed up with people. Stayed in a lovely guest house called Acorn Lodge that had been block-booked by friends from the south. The proprietors were incredibly helpful and friendly even though I managed to turn up in the middle of the night, and, I’ve just found [...]
Many of you will know that a mobile phone company was recently given permission to site a telcommunications mast on Buckland Court just outside Belsize in the middle of a residential area and close to several schools. We’re in a real bind over phone masts. Although health risks and public concern can be material considerations for turning down planning applications, the government has made it very clear that local residents and Council planning committees should not be allowed to prevent phone masts from going up so long as mobile phone base station meets the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation ...
A splendid report from the front line in Harrogate.
Under Ming's efficient leadership, we're economising on our electricity bills so as to spend more money on leaflets. Therefore the room was a bit dim, but the training session - Delivering leaflets safely: understanding the dog's perspective - went very well.
Liberal Democrat Leaders used to make just one big speech at the close of each Conference. No longer. It’s become usual for the Leader to open each Conference too, with a speech at the opening rally (I chaired one of those a few years ago; I doubt I’d get the gig now!), but this weekend Ming Campbell even led from the front in a policy debate. Staying at home with just the press coverage of all three speeches, though, either Ming or the media were a right old mix. And nul points for raising the spectre of a hung Parliament. ...
It is probably worth noting that this morning's Sunday Telegraph puts together two points mentioned in my first posting on the subject and says: A confidential Downing Street email was at the centre of the dramatic intervention by the Attorney General into the cash-for-honours investigation, it can be revealed.Details of the email relating to one of Tony Blair's closest aides and a senior Labour Party fund-raiser had been obtained by the BBC which was preparing to read excerpts on air as evidence of a Downing Street "cover-up". The email is understood to relate to Ruth Turner, the head of government ...
Have the media gone collectively insane? Take this, from the BBC: A keynote speech by Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell has been overshadowed by speculation over his strategy in the event of a future hung Parliament. In his speech to the party’s spring conference he set out “five tests” for a Gordon Brown-led government. A party official suggested it [...]
Iain Dale, bless him, he's been out of the country, and a number of his acolytes have been quick to seize upon Ming Campbell's five challenges to Gordon Brown as a set of conditions for a coalition. Of course, that is what they (the Conservative Party) want them to be, but in reality, the Tories have totally missed the point. In his own posting Iain claims that it is a list of terms for coalition, then highlights that PR is not included. Come on Iain, work it out ... If P.R. is not one of the terms then, sorry ...
Well, back to reality this evening. Made it back in time for the Archers (sad but true......should Tom and Brenda move in together, vote now) and in time to make Shepherdess's pie for my son. (Friends will know I am a totally pathetic and guilt ridden mum, feeling so convinced that my 18 year old will die of hunger or stuff himself full of Doner Kebabs without me that I always over compensate)........ But, as ever, it was great to meet up with old and new pals. I was delighted to meet Duncan but totally devastated, being as I ...
Last night, many of conference’s reps took time out from drinking and singing in the Glee Club to watch the lunar eclipse. At least two of us recalled other times we’d seen them. For me, it was more than twenty years ago as a cub scout standing outside Tenbury Wells High School [...]
............only teasing! Though like Colin Ross, I was disappointed not to get called. In fact I will no longer be able to boast that I have not been to a conference where I have not spoken at least three times....this time it was precisely zero. I am wondering if I am now on the naughty list, or if being on FPC is regarded as being establishment (?!) or were the movers of the motion so convinced that I would deliver such a catastrophic nuclear blow........they ate my card before it reached the table???! Whatever......unlike Colin, I can't say this is ...
Yesterday’s conference speech in the Trident debate was about the best I think I’ve ever seen him. Impassioned, impromptu, impressive and moved the debate on. As readers will know, I’m not pre-disposed particularly to like Ming, and I wasn’t buying his argument on Trident either. And yet I was impressed by what he said - and [...]
'It is time to devolve power to the local level, restoring the civic pride that once made the town and city halls of Britain the source of public loyalty and affection.' Hear, hear. Though it might be quibbled that affective emotions were probably never in play with any level of English government. But an excellent sentiment, recognising as it does that the great untold story of twentieth-century British politics is the shift away from strong local government to overpowering central diktat. My heart would usually leap to read that -- it gets excited at the littlest thing. It ...
I have returned home from this years spring conference in Harrogate. It has been a chance to catch up on some training and some informative fringe events, this year I attended a couple of excellent sessions run by the Youth & Students, one on speaking in schools and colleges, very useful as I am attending a debate run by the North Leamington 6th Form next week and an interesting event yesterday on affordable housing, a particular challenge for young people in Warwick & Leamington. The guest speaker Theresa McDermot from Shelter told us, “The most progress over the past few ...
I woke up feeling slightly worse for wear after the bloggers drinks. It was a pleasure to meet Tom, Joe and Nick - along with a couple of other bloggers who, I’m ashamed to say, I’ve completely forgotten the names of. Despite my promises, I ended up in the Glee Club. For [...] 
I have just got back to this week's Lib Dem News - which has the advertisement for people to apply to be GLA candidates in it. As people may know I had said I would not be standing again. However, Grace has persuaded me that I should have another stab at the list (but not the constituency). I am at present "first reserve" on the list - and would become a GLA member if one of our incumbents were
A week or two after the inaugural parade for the Hooting Yard website, as long ago as December 2003, I received a plea in the post from a concerned reader. Dear Frank, my anonymous correspondent wrote, I have heard it said that Blodgett always maintained an alphabetical contents in his duffel bag. Is this true, [...]
I had two choices for the journey from Harrogate today. Having a lot more Welsh work to do they were: Option 1. Get up early, download files in conference centre, work all day, catch late train. Option 2. Leave straight after breakfast, head home, work on the train, then do some more when back. I went for option 2 but... Had to do train to Leeds not York. At York had to get train to Doncaster (
Conference, this is the third time I’ve spoken at this rostrum in 36 hours. You really get your money’s worth out of me. So, let me be clear. This is the last time that I will be addressing you as Leader of the Liberal Democrats; While Tony Blair is Prime Minister. And after him, the whole game changes. As I pledged [...]
We would encourage schools to 'twin' with sports clubs Welsh Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, Tudor Jones, candidate for North Wales, said: "Getting young people active and giving them opportunities to enjoy sport is crucial if we are avoid an obesity epidemic in years to come. "Our schools are full of young people who would like the opportunity to try new sports and find what they enjoy most. In our communities we have clubs and teams that are passionate about their sport, and want to introduce new young players to develop their clubs. We have to find ...
Just back from our Lib Dem Spring Conference at Harrogate - amazing - over 2,000 delegates. Great conference centre, friendly town, some fab restaurants as well as pretty spring flowers in the park close to our hotel. Last year I skipped most of the debates to be able to attend training courses - so this year I redressed the balance by being wide awake and ready for the ''Inland Waterways debate
In the days when I regularly wrote Focus leaflets and letters to the local paper I generally tried to avoid mentioning our opponents by name. I reasoned that they got quite enough publicity as it was. Whoever wrote the press release on Menzies Campbell's speech today does not believe in this rule. In fact he or she mentioned Gordon Brown no fewer than six times. But then the speech itself came across as being addressed more to the Chancellor than to the audience in the hall. In the light of this, we should not complain too hard - ...
I am back from Harrogate, where I was very impressed with Sir Ming's speech this morning, in which he set out five tests for Gordon Brown. On civil liberties, climate change, foreign policy, inequality and localism, Sir Ming outlined the Liberal Democrat vision of radical and practical policies to transform Britain, and challenged Gordon Brown to meet them. The whole weekend re-affirmed to me
It's not only Don Foster who is in danger of collapsing into old mine workings. Yesterday's Guardian reported that: A labyrinth of mines was created in and around Reading from the 18th century on to extract chalk for bricks. But over the next 200 years people forgot where most of the mines were and houses were built over many of them. Now mysterious holes have opened up across the town. Walls give off odd creaking sounds as foundations shift and, in extreme circumstances, bits of houses have vanished.I do hope Reading Liberals have not lost any Focus deliverers recently.
The official notice seeking candidates to run for London Mayor has been published, with a deadline of 23rd March - application details from London Lib DemslondonlibdemsWHOISATcix.co.uk (replace WHOISAT with @ to e-mail). The notice says “Neither of the previous candidates from 2000 and 2004 are expected to apply this time” 
The Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Menzies Campbell had a blinding day at conference on Saturday, leading the party "from the front" to avert a poorly drafted nod towards unilateralism becoming policy seven years before such a consideration needs to be taken. The impact of that triumph though was reduced by equal press coverage being given to a mooted 1% annual wealth tax on people who own homes worth over £1 million. A news story to gladden the hearts of Tory activists in Liberal Democrat/Conservative marginals across the South East, where we face many tough Council contests in May. Wealth ...
In a shock revelation, everyone interviewed for the party website agreed that it was a “great speech”
What a load of rubbish their coverage of Conference has been. Having to endure The World at One's take on the weekend (which included a lengthy interview with the Tory candidate in Sutton & Cheam saying how she was going to beat the Lib Dems at the next election) was painful enough. Now I see that they've put up this piece claiming that Ming's speech means he is "setting out the conditions for a
It is tempting to argue that most if not all of the Leeds players are not fit to wear the shirt but whilst it would be tempting to do so I for one will not do that whilst they continue to strive to avoid relegation. Yesterday they went down 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday through some pathetic defending but at least they had the spirit to keep on battling and fought back from 3-0 down. I feel sorry for Dennis Wise what with players who tell the opposition what your team is going to be and Captains ...
Well, would you believe it!? Trains from Harrogate to York are cancelled. So we have to go back to London via Leeds (I'm not going home tonight but instead I'm heading for London). So the local train to Leeds - I'm on it now - is heaving. The Sardine Express. Made all the more exciting by being a short train.Well, conference is now over and it was a good one. Ming spoke well and as usual I joined
This week's selection of all that is best in British blogging can be found chez Mr Eugenides.
The Sunday Express has an interesting story about a mother who got copies of the secret medical files and would be happy to give them to the Attorney General. One of the points about the Family Courts is that the secrecy operates to protect the bureaucrats involved. For example, I as an MP cannot report a firm of solicitors for failing to do their job properly. I would need to be legally
One other highlights of the week was going to Trinity and All saints College in Leeds to help out with a Broadcast Journalism Course. I'm fairly certain they would have preferred real MP's but they have to make do with willing City Councillors very year. 4 of us volunteered to be put through our paces by a panel of 25 young trainee journalists. It was very much a two way exercise and I benefited enormously from recording 7 recorded radio interview style encounters. I nearly always speak to quickly and go on two long but I ...
As if to add to John Reid's woes the Liberal Democrats have launched their own account of the record of his department under both him and his predecessors. Home Office Watch blog is described as a single repository of all the shambolic errors and mistakes made by the British Home Office compiled from Parliamentary Questions, news reports, and tip-offs by the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs team. They will be busy.
I have just witnessed the Sunday morning debates at the Lib Dem spring conference, and in order not to miss out on this whole 'I am here, look this is me blogging' thing - a bit like the 'hello I'm on the phone' kind of conversation that briefly provided comedians with a little material when mobile phones were fairly new. Anyway I thought I would comment briefly, while waiting for Ming's
A report on the BBC website confirms that the Attorney General sought an injunction against the Corporation because the Metropolitan Police were concerned that a planned news story could compromise their investigations. The planned story focused: "on an e-mail between two members of Tony Blair's inner circle". The BBC report also suggests that the investigations in question concern "allegations of attempts to pervert the course of justice".
Yet another political quiz. I get: Overall, the PoliticsForum quiz considers you a materialist, small-government, internationalist, free-trade, kind of person. These characteristics would put you in the overall category of libertarian. On each indicator I get (/100): Individual/Social 42 Theist/Materialist 63 Big/Small government 88 Nationalist/
I was so pleased yesterday evening to be back in that gem of a concert hall, the Yehudi Menuhin Hall in Stoke D'Abernon. I went to hear the Cobham Band there last year and thought the acoustic and design were splendid. This time we went to hear the Ember Choral Society performing Handel's Messiah. Ember Choral draws their membership from Kingston as well as the Dittons, but I hadn't...
This was one of the dozen colourful stalls that appeared in in Eden Walk yesterday. They were all set up by sixth fomers taking part in Young Enterprise, sponsored locally by Kingston Chamber of Commerce. The young people create real companies and trade over a period of several months. They then produce annual reports and enter the competition first at local, then regional...
Following a public consultation meeting last month, the Lewisham Central ward councillors agreed to allocate the £10,000 Locality Fund n order of priority, as follows: 1. Two signs on Hither Green Lane, welcoming careful drivers 2. Works to improve the environment around the 225 bus shelter on Springbank Road 3. Hanging baskets and pavement planters on Ennersdale Road and Beacon Road 4. A financial contribution to work being co-ordinated by the police to improve the environment around the entrance to Hither Green station. This is concentrated on the Hither Green area, which reflects the results of the consultation which ...
After the Citizenship ceremony yesterday I found myself sharing a healthy brunch with 80 or so child care providers. They were using their precious weekends to attend Kingston's Early Years and Childcare Spring Conference at Antionette Hotel. I missed the morning session but was able to hear an inspirational address by Matt Jardine, author of 'Mo and Lucy' which helps children to...
I thought it would be helpful to post the following update which I received from the Council to an enquiry about the Lewisham Gateway development:"With regard to the likely timetable for the completion of the Lewisham Gateway Development, the current best estimate for the delivery of the Gateway development is that subject to planning approval (and dependent on no Call-in and no protracted CPO or Stopping Up procedures) works would start in March 2008 with completion by 2013. It is not currently proposed that the Gateway scheme would include a department store but shops in the Gateway development ...
Following a public meeting on 1 November to set up a community organisation to take forward the Hither green framework, there will be a further meeting on Wednesday 28 March. The Council has not yet organised the venue: watch this space for further details. The Council hopes at this meeting, that the type of community group residents wish to form can be agreed, together with terms of reference and a constitution, if this is wanted. The Council also hopes that the group will be able to start to develop the work plan to deliver on its priorities.
I'm very aware that I haven't updated this blog in quite a while: I'm afraid it tends to fall down my "To List" when more urgent matters jump the queue. I'm not going to be able to update everything that happened since the last entry, but will try to ensure the most important developments are covered.
The Independent reports another shocking statistic that is as a result of this government's weird priorities when it comes to the NHS. Despite throwing millions of pounds at waiting lists, cutting waiting times for a number of non critical procedures, there is a shortage of midwives, leading to an increase in the death rate of mothers giving birth. "There has been a rise of 21 per cent in deaths of pregnant women in the care of NHS maternity services. Deaths over the past three years now total 391, up one fifth on the comparable period, and 17,000 women have suffered ...
Some people say that historical counterfactuals are a waste of time, and in any case unprovable. But such is their fascination (to me at any rate) that I want to toy just briefly with this one: What if Gordon Brown's 'war chest' of surplus tax receipts underpinned by a surge in the numbers of people paying 40% income tax had been spent, not on the NHS, but across the UK's entire transport infrastructure? There is no need to go into specifics over what or how exactly this would have been spent on roads or railways since there can be little ...
Google can be a cruel mistress. This morning some poo surfer landed on this very weblog having googled "whipping pleasure". I'm sure their visit was a brief one.
When you use the interweb as much as I do it is important that you become aware of the dangers that it poses to your political and personal credibility. Every word needs to be scrutinised and a certain amount of self-censorship needs to be exercised. That includes not making up stories so as to look cool to your mates. This is a lesson that Wales youngest Councillor, Chris Chapman, has learnt the hard way. Fortunately, for him he is only 18 and so can pass off his faux pas as a youthful indiscretion. He will recover sufficiently to build ...
I've not always been a big fan of Party Conferences. As a natural wallflower (it's all a disguise, I'm painfully shy and insecure, really), my networking skills were rather poor and I tended to hang out with my old friends and watch the other delegates wander to and fro, drinking, having casual sex and doing all of the other exciting things that presumably go on at these events but I never
The conference blogging took a bit of a back seat this year, partly as there is simply less to talk about in Spring rather than Autumn, and the fact I've only been here for 2 nights (which seems like 5 minutes). Two highlights are worth talking about. The first was the Trident debate. Its a pleasure to be in a party which can have a mature and honest debate with itself, and where the leader has the same single vote as the rest of us. Those people who wanted to amend the policy so it committed to us never ...
Former Home Secretary and possible Leadership contender, Charles Clarke, has demonstrated just how much he has lost the plot yesterday with a call for DNA details to be put on the identity cards database – despite warnings it will be accessed by crooks. Mr. Clarke's contribution drew from the Home Office the frank admission that their scheme is already flawed. A spokesperson admitted that fraudsters can already scan biometric passports without our knowledge. Tory MP, Grant Shapps summed up the concerns: “Imagine what will happen if all your information, everything about who you are is stored in ...
The media's fascination with blogging continues today with a piece on the Welsh segement of the Politics Show featuring yours truly, Luke Young, Glyn Davies and an unmasked Blamerbell. But why not Chanticleer?
The Lib Dem Spring conference is not the kind of event that is guaranteed to get the scribblers going. Its therefore not surprising that therefore there is only limited coverage today of the key event yesterday - the trident debate. The Telegraph has a straightforward, but quite objective report ("Sir Menzies flexes his muscles over trident"), and the Guardian mentions it in a story focusing on parliamentary aspects of the issue ("Blair stifling Trident debate, say key MPs").However, there's a fair amount of stock taking going on in the papers. Andrew Rawnsley does a whither-the-lib-dems type of piece which ends ...
There is a long piece by Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer. He thinks we are "like a boxer who can't get a fight". Exept for the Iraw withdrawal move, we get little press coverage.
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure, based on the 1967 novel by Alistair MacLean, who also wrote the screenplay. It is also the title of a late pamphlet by Dobson. Dobson’s Where Eagles Dare was written at the prompting of Marigold Chew, who hoped that by scribbling [...]
Have a look at this www.homeofficewatch.com
Dr Rant (see link) is not entirely happy about "Modernising Medical Careers". He has linked to a large number of web items about MMC. I personally don't like the word "modernising". What it tends to mean is changing something for change's sake. To that extent I don't mind being described as a "progressive", but I don't like being described as a "moderniser". Change can help, but in itself it
The BBC declares this morning: Sir Menzies' victory on Trident marked a pivotal moment in his leadership. His success, secured after an 11th-hour personal appeal, follows criticism of his style of leadership.Menzies' speech today will set these challenges for Gordon Brown:First, end the Labour Government's authoritarian attack on civil liberties; second, grasp the challenge posed by climate
"The role of the state is to facilitate culture, not to make it"
It just doesn’t seem to get any easier for UKIP, with today’s papers revealing that a) the party had already investigated Tom Wise, found problems and then sat on it and that b) one of their NEC members is an associate of BNP leader Nick Griffin - and a donor. Establishment plot to discredit them it [...] | < | March 2007 | > | ||||
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