Noun: An object, such as a cork or a wad of cloth, used to fill a hole tightly.
Not read your fill of Lib Dem blogs this week? Then pop over to Lib Dem Voice for this week's essential reads. The answer is: plug. Sunday 25th March 2007
11:53 pm
Not read your fill of Lib Dem blogs this week? Then pop over to Lib Dem Voice for this week's essential reads. The answer is: plug. 11:46 pm
'Want liberalism? Vote Lib Dem.'
‘Cheer Churchill, vote Labour’ has always struck me as one of the great political advertising slogans, perfectly capturing the 1945 mood with cunning generosity of spirit. It’s ripe for re-interpretation in today’s triangulated political times, as David Cameron silkily steals the liberal vocabulary to shore up his touchy-feely brand. Mr Cameron has successfully mesmerised the media into 11:30 pm
Haringey Quiz - Veni, vidi, vici
Off to the Haringey quiz evening tonight. Lynne Featherstone was there to meet and greet - but had to shoot off to prepare for the Westminster Hour tonight. One of the advantage of doing so much literature over the years for Haringey was that I recognise people from their pictures, even if they didn't know me. Laura Edge clearly seemed to be surprised that I knew who she was - she obviously 11:24 pm
The first sign the McCain campaign is in real trouble?
There have been rumblings for several weeks that John McCain's campaign for President may be in trouble. First he appeared to fall asleep at the State of the Union, raising questions about his age. Then Rudy Guiliani opened up a significant gap in the polls (although McCain still leads in New Hampshire). This early in the electoral season its pretty easy to dismiss polls as merely being about 11:02 pm
Lib Dem wedding of the year?
So, as I reported, it was off to Rhinefield House for the marriage of Jo White and Rob Beadle this weekend. Brimming with Lib Dems, of course - Chris Huhne and family, Paul Holmes and family, Chris and Ann Rennard, Ben Stoneham, former Director of Campaigns Paul Rainger and Sheila Rainger, Ed & Dani Maxfield, Hywel Morgan, Shaun Roberts & Miranda Piercy, Carol Hall (from Sharon Bowles European 10:42 pm
Tributes to Bob Woolmer
Besides my own, I have come across two more nostalgic tributes from politicos of my generation: Paul Linford and Craig Murray. 10:30 pm
Vince Cable on Strictly?
Thanks to Louise for pointing me in the direction of an Independent interview in which Vince Cable of all people says he'd love to do Strictly Come Dancing and put Craig Revel Horwood in his place. Now, much as I love Vince, mainly for coming to the Livingston by-election, working like a Trojan and being generally fabulous, I have to say that my money would be on Craig. I really don't think Vince could compete with the master of the put down and Craig is just that tiny bit better looking. Unfortunately Vince can dance already which probably means ... 10:06 pm
Happy birthday to me
Today is my birthday. I don't like to complain, but it is going to be 23 hours long. Even so, I am not one of those who goes on about the need to have British Summer Time all year round. Just remember what it is like getting up for work on 4 January or so, and then think what it would be like to have to get up an hour earlier. Besides, it was tried in the 1960s and proved unpopular. Every time the subject comes up, the BBC uses a clip from the era showing children walking ... 9:59 pm
BritBlog Roundup
This week's selection can be found in the salubrious setting of Clairwil. 9:46 pm
Berlin Declaration - the EU at 50
The European Union has issued the "Berlin Declaration" to mark 50 years since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957. The last 50 years has seen the Union grow from 6 member states to 27 covering the vast majority of Europe, and more countries wish to join. The EU has had many achievements in the last 50 years and I am sure will have many more in the next few years. 8:51 pm
Hooting Yard Auction Number One
As promised last week, here is the first in a series of Hooting Yard auctions. This is in the way of an experiment. I might use eBay in future, but I thought I’d keep this one on home turf and see what happens. Unlike the Resonance auctions, proceeds of this one go to the Hooting [...] 8:04 pm
Pics from the inside of the stately home of the Lord Rennard
We had a bash at Chris Rennard's house in South London on Thursday so that Media, Communications and Policy staff could meet Jon Oates, the new Director of Communications. Inevitably I turned up with a camera. So here's the pick of the crop. George Crozier and Greg Simpson went head to head to battle over whether it was the Carpenters or the Eagles that were played. The Media Centre in 7:40 pm
Conservative party loses half its members in Stoke
Half of the Conservatives in Stoke-on-Trent South have resigned from the party in a bitter row with former political allies.The split involves allegations of mismanagement of city council funds. Authority managers, the police and the Standards Board for England have been asked to launch inquiries. From This Is Staffordshire, which has more details. “Half” means seventeen [...] 7:10 pm
Planning Applications
Ward: Combe Down App Ref: 07/00631/FUL Parish: N/A Registered: 14th March 2007 ... 6:45 pm
Blötzmann Manoeuvres
Ever mindful of the need to trim the wicks of his tallow candles, Dobson employed for the purpose a tiny pair of shears which he deployed using the so-called Blötzmann Manoeuvres. I took against electricity from an early age, he wrote, lying shamelessly, and often found myself in a quandary because untrimmed wicks set my teeth [...] 6:45 pm
Campaigning with Neil Morrissey
Joined a protest against a new mobile phone mast on Crouch End Reservoir, which is on Mount View Road. Once more the Goliath of the mobile phone mast people (this time Hutchison 3G) is crushing the David of local residents and campaigners against its siting. And the siting is wrong. It is within 20 metres of bedroom windows, within 200 metres of nursery school and its ugly and 30 metre being is 5:16 pm
Unsubstantiated rumour
Senior people are planning to ditch gold as a Lib Dem colour apparently - orange is the one true way. The bird is safe… for now (I’ll get dat pigeon one day..) 5:11 pm
Watery Fowls
Off to the New Forest for the wedding of Jo White and Rob Beadle this weekend. More on the wedding later, but Grace and I were staying in the same hotel as Mark Pack (which was deliberate), Pink Dog and by sheer coincidence Rob Fenwick and Chris Maines. I am sure Pink Dog will have more to say, but a hotel that couldn't find an iron for Grace (but when they found one for Mark it deposited brown 4:36 pm
High and Low Society
Delivering leaflets this morning in the spring sunshine, for the forthcoming Westminster LBC council by-election in Abbey Road ward, I understood why certain parts of St John’s Wood are considered by estate agents to be the bees’ knees in the London property market. Devotees of House and Garden will have a field-day, if they are [...] 4:07 pm
Pretext For Invading Iran?
Surfs up today as an Easterly wind sweeps into the bay offering surfers a few feet of wave to ride, rather than the usual inches. I took the dog for a stroll along Paignton beach on the last wee... 
3:58 pm
Becoming Accountable...
We all complain that companies, individuals and especially politicians are not accountable. Well I have taken one step to becoming more accountable today. I have now 'tagged' all my entries on my blog and a record of these tags, along with the number of articles, can be found on the left of this page. People can now check to see whether my views have been consistent and if they have changed, why 3:40 pm
Top of the Blogs: the Golden Dozen #5
The fifth of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator, together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed. Budgets and by-elections dominate this week’s selection. So, here we go, in descending order of popularity: 1. ‘Labour annihilated & Tory defection to Lib [...] 3:16 pm
Welsh Lib Dem’s roll up their sleeves and go rural
Trust in Wales Ymddiried yng Nghymru WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS DEMOCRATIAID RHYDDFRYDOL CYMRU This weekend two Lib Dem politicians got to grips with some of the rural issues in the Vale of Clwyd prior to the Welsh Assembly elections in May. Welsh Assembly Candidate for the Vale of Clwyd Mark Young, along with Eleanor Burnham AM took a trip into the countryside and visited Llandyrnog village this weekend. They stopped off at Speddyd Rural Business Units, a development created by farming couple Mike and Gwlithyn Owen. The units are the result of a farming diversification project ... 2:57 pm
Compensating Slavery
John O'Farrell's book 'Things Can Only Get Better' charts the gradual enlightenment of a loony leftie of the eighties to a middle class activist of the late nineties. Along the way he realises that Michael Foot was never going to be Prime Minster, chicken tikka masala tastes a lot better than vegetable quiche and that face painting was never going to stop the nuclear arms race. Something of same could be said of the strange gangs of people now wandering the UK in shackles in a laughable and trivialising attempt to empathise with the treatment of slaves, and the demand ... 2:53 pm
Could Miliband beat Brown?
I think he could - if and obviously only if he has the guts to stand. I will admit that I have a vested interest in this as I placed a bet of £20 at odds of about 11.5 to 1 on Betfair some time ago. Is it possible that I could make money on all three leadership elections since the last general election? I had a bet on Cameron very soon after polling day and made over £100. I made some poor choices on the Lib Dem leadership election but once it became clear which ... 
2:36 pm
The end of an era beckons...
Yes, the "for sale" is up in front of the house, and a photographer is coming on Thursday to take pictures and draw up a floor plan. It is, in a way, rather sad, as I'd grown comfortable in this house but, for the next phase of my life, it is in the wrong place, has too many memories that I'd rather not dwell on, and has an apparent value that I would be foolish not to crystallise.I suppose that 1:35 pm
Sindy’s Stance on Skunk Stinks
If I ever become an actual politician, when I am inevitably asked “did you ever smoke cannabis in your youth?” I will have a terribly dull answer. I didn’t. I ate a hash brownie once but it didn’t seem to have any effect. In fact, generally I’m uncomfortable about taking any substance [...] 1:15 pm
How one Labour Minister sold out her principles
Well we all know how 'Red Dawn' (Dawn Primarolo MP) is so principled. A friend of mine has pointed me to this YouTube clip of a BBC show with Dawn selling another principle down the river. What d... 12:12 pm
Sunday Sunny Sunday
So the first day of British Summer Time seems pretty sunny outside - perfect leafleting weather as it happens, which is handy given the likely fare for much of the day. It's 11.15 as I write, and I have already been out once this morning, polishing off some local streets in the West Road / North Road area. I also discovered the most taxing gate in Prestwich. Frequent leafleters - like postmen, I 12:06 pm
The battle for hearts and minds
Gordon Brown's disastrous budget PR gaffe has led to some interesting consequences. I have already reported on this blog how it has led to his approval ratings dropping below those of the Prime Minister himself, now it seems that Blair is using the opening this creates to try and push one of his protégés into directly challenging Gordon for the leadership. Whether David Milliband actually wants the job badly enough is another matter, but if he runs he could well create a major upset. If he loses of course then the Environment Secretary may well find himself out in ... 11:40 am
Conservapedia Again
I've just been flicking over Conservapedia again, while waiting for some wine to cool after doing some work on our new flat (exactly WHY the previous owners put so many screws in the walls and then painted or even plastered over them without first removing them, I have no idea). The basic problem Conservapedia - hilarious logo adjacent - has is that I don't think that 'conservatism' has a coherent worldview. Conservatism in this instance means the American sort. It's composed of Biblical fundamentalist Christianity untainted by reason combined with an all-American frontier spirit: it's the ideology of people who ... 11:38 am
Eight days to go
With just eight days to go until the smoking ban is introduced here the Wales on Sunday leads on the shock horror story that the Assembly Government is asking drinkers to report people breaking the new smoking ban by ringing an anonymous shop-a-smoker hotline. As Wales' smoking ban is based almost entirely on that in force in Ireland then this development is not entirely unexpected. On the other side of the Irish Sea this hotline is known as the 'snitch-line'. I wonder what it will come to be called here. 11:35 am
Sunday Madness
A new angle on the film '300'. I don't think I am going to see it. However, if it really were this entertaining.... 10:47 am
Happy 50th Birthday EU
As the celebrations for the 50th birthday of the EU go largely unremarked in the UK, a fridge magnet that my mother has springs to mind. This says ‘Housework is something that you only notice when it’s not done’. The EU suffers from the same syndrome - its benefits are invisible to most people but would [...] 10:43 am
Banners focus campaign mode
Making a 2m banner at the Pump House People's History Museum www.phm.org.uk , this week with students is a sharp re-focus on campaigning for social justice and protecting community assets. Re previous posting on Marie Louise Gardens - Cllr. Mark Clayton, and John Leech, MP both spoke in support of East Didsbury Residents Association's horror at proposals at the Planning Committee's meeting - 10:43 am
Barack Obama has a William Hague moment
Barack Obama, it appears, has been caught out in his attempts to portray himself as a "normal", slightly "rebellious" teenager. A few months ago he described his teenage drug taking, which at the time saw a ratings surge as he appeared to be an ordinary person, with ordinary faults, who could make a link with the poor and repressed in American society. Now, it appears, that people who knew him in this period of his life are at a loss to recognise the person he described. They don't remember his drug taking, they are confused by his explanations and ... 10:06 am
Blair reckons Miliband could beat Brown
Good grief. With friends like Blair, Brown doesn't need enemies. The Observer reports: Tony Blair has told his closest political allies that if David Miliband challenges Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership 'he will win'. 9:59 am
Why I don't want someone apologising for slavery on my behalf
The great and the good are again demanding that Britain offers an apology for slavery. I will make my position very clear, I do not want anyone offering an apology on my behalf. Token gestures of apology from people who bare no responsibility and who should bare no guilt are simply token gestures and serve no purpose in any case. If someone had attacked my grandfather 80 years ago, I wouldn't expect the grandson of my grandfathers attacked to offer an apology. After all, it is not his fault, he is not to blame. Those who call for ... 9:56 am
Possible cop-out in Northern Ireland process
While acknowledging the historic nature of the DUP's decision to go into government with Sinn Fein (albeit with a delay), Peter Hain has left the door open for a delay on the 26th March deadline. If DUP and Sinn Fein agree on a delay, then, he says, that's OK. And Sinn Fein have said that the DUP must talk directly to them to allow a delay. Crikey. It's a good job no-one is holding their breath. 9:52 am
Chancellor Straw seems a cert
Now that Jack Straw has been announced as Brown's leadership campaign manager, it seems that we know the names of both the next PM and the Chancellor. 
