There is not much more to say on this than what a sorry shameful day in British Politics. To even suggest, let alone try and make law, that politicians - who are paid with taxpayers money - should not be financially accountable to the electorate is truly disgraceful.
I fail to see why LDYS needs a policy committee. Its members are volunteers doing the job in their spare time, and they don't receive any special training - in other words they are just regular party members with a fancy title. When committees are created they disenfranchise normal members. They take the power of things away from the people and give them to a minority of interested people (who often have an agenda). It discourages people from getting involved - they are instead encouraged to rely on others to handle their issues for them. They might not formally ...
Thought I'd better write a few lines to round off the week! It has been Breastfeeding Awareness Week across the UK - so you can imagine that Real Baby Milk has been busy. The picture above was taken at the Falmouth Breastfeeding Support Group who celebrated their 10th birthday! We reckon about 1,000 women have been supported by this group which is a fantastic achievement. I delivered new posters to the Maternity Ward at Treliske and there was a really great little write up about our project in the business section of the local press. More press about all the ...
OK then media first! Was on the Tay Talk In this morning regarding the future administration of the City Council. The Talk In is a great programme as Ally allows everyone their say and the programme is dynamic, with the listeners deciding the content. So … that’s today’s positive story about the media. So here’s the all too inevitable negative one! A few days before polling day, I got a call from a BBC researcher from the ‘Scotland Live’ programme asking if Dundee Liberal Democrats would participate in an eve-of-poll feature ...
Just saw this story over the weekend and thought I'd share, if you haven't seen. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/ england/cornwall/6671975.stm Must be pretty exciting to spend the day diving and find a ship full of bullion, Hollywood-film-style. Well, I say "the day", probably more like a decade or two before you find anything as interesting as this...
Just saw this story over the weekend and thought I'd share, if you haven't seen. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/ england/cornwall/6671975.stm Must be pretty exciting to spend the day diving and find a ship full of bullion, Hollywood-film-style. Well, I say "the day", probably more like a decade or two before you find anything as interesting as this...
Along with several thousands of the Blue Black and White army from Bath went to The Stoop to watch the ERC Challenge Cup Final. The French were very powerful and complete side with great attacking backs. Malzieu and Rougerie were awesome. Bath played on the defence for most of the game but the last 20 minutes were great and Bath stormed back at the Clermont team. Maddock's try was...
As I have mentioned before on my blog, I am a governor at Fortismere, which is a secondary school in my ward. One resident has contacted me and asked that I put something on my blog about the deliberation that the governing body is going through to decide if becoming a foundation school would be of benefit to Fortismere and its pupils, current and future. As chance would have it, someone has also just pointed out to me that the local Tory has just posted on his blog - about me being a governor. Justin has even included ...
Apparently a local election result in the Philippines was decided by the toss of a coin. This earth shattering news was reported on the BBC website. Apparently the BBC have never heard about candidates drawing lots in the UK to settle tied votes in local elections. Next week the BBC reports that a woman in Thailand has bought a car... shock horror !
The next BritBlog Roundup will appear on this blog on Sunday 27 May. If you would like to nominate a post to appear there, please send an e-mail to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com giving me the link. Any posting from a British-based blog or British-born blogger made this week can be be nominated. And, yes, you can nominate something from your own blog. This week's Roundup can be found at Clairwil. And links to all the previous ones can be found on Tim's Worstall's site. 
The advantage of being a single faceless bureaucrat is that you can accept invitations without having to consider what your loved one has to say first. I've also discovered that, as you become better known, you tend to receive a greater volume of invitations. One emerging set of entries in my diary are the monthly 'Liberal Drinks' events organised by the ever entertaining James Graham in a
Having previously noted that Nevill Holt in Leicestershire may well be the inspiration for Bonkers Hall, the ancestral home of my alter ego, I suppose I am obliged to pass on the following story. The Mail on Sunday reports the adventures of "Old Etonian eco-warrior Hector Christie, 43" and in particular his attendance at the 4oth birthday party of Nevill Holt's owner David Ross: The champagne-fuelled bash, which Ross hosted at Nevill Holt Hall, his 700-year-old 90-room mansion in Leicestershire, was themed around the Carry On films. Among the 400 guests were footballer Gary Lineker, whose sister-in-law ...
This week's selection of the best in British blogging can be found at Clairwil.
Alright, I admit it, I took on too much and didn't really deliver. And so I have turned over a new leaf and started afresh. So, where am I? I have three Westminster selections and a European selection to organise, two Local Parties and a Regional Party to administer and a house move to plan. Time to get serious, I think. Having spent the day assessing four new wannabe parliamentary candidates, I
Barking MP Margaret Hodge, previously best known for boosting the BNP’s 2006 local election campaign by claiming that: 80% of white families in her east London constituency were tempted by the British National Party. has taken another wild swing at the hornets’ nest of immigration by suggesting that council housing should be allocated on a [...]
Yesterday's Guardian had a remarkably sympathetic profile of Conrad Black. It centred on the publication of his biography of Richard Nixon. That tome seems, from the summary, to be relatively balanced and prescient. While thoroughly acknowledging Nixon's stupidity, we are told, Black seeks to restore some balance to his reputation. Black entones: "The US simply can't pretend that this guy was
We were at the University of East Anglia today for the National Biathlon championships. The Bernard Matthews Olympic Pool was one of the venues we enjoyed! It is fascinating to watch parents (of whom I was one) shouting exhortations at their children on the running track. You hear these loud, highly technical streams of motivational advice pouring out. Then you look at the receiver of this
I have been invading "Norfolk Blogger" country. We enjoyed a day exploring Norwich yesterday. Again, we visited the Forum, which is one of my favourite public spaces in the country. While in there, we were gently persuaded by students from the University of East Anglia to complete a survey on climate change. It was fascinating. We were given information on polar bears, ice shelves, ocean
I am not entirely sure why Margaret Hodge is making controversial remarks about housing and immigration. She is Secretary of State for the Department of Trade and Industry, not a Home Office minister. Of course, she is an MP for a constituency where this is a big issue, but even so, it seems strange that she is making such a statement. The remarks attributed to her on Radio Two included the word
Don't watch it.
I was on a stag 'do' last night in Oxford. The stag (how tacky?) was my good friend Louisa's Fiancée, Nathan. Of course I cannot tell you any of the details because what goes on tour, stays on tour. It has been about ten years since I have last been in Oxford. A good friend of mine, Andrew Dangerfield, moved to Abingdon when he was 13 and I used to visit him regularly. Talking to a young lady
Welcome to the lucky thirteenth episode of our weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (7th - 13th May), together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed. I don’t know if it’s because he’s superstitious, but your regular host Stephen Tall has [...]
On Tuesday Cllr Andrew Dakers was selected as the PPC for Brentford & Isleworth. On Thursday Cllr Munira Hassam was selected as the PPC for Feltham & Heston. Thanks to Michael Wilson for letting us know.
A blistering article in the Mail about Michael Howard's reaction to the Cameronite abandoning of grammar schools. Does this mean that the Conservatives' massive grab for the centre ground has run aground? Education is an issue that the Cameron 'project' has dealt with relatively little. So far it's mainly been talking about the environment and the NHS, which are both issues where the public is instinctively 'in favour' and has had a long suspicion that the Conservative Party are 'against'. What's more they are issues where there is less of a cultural touchstone within the Conservative Party. NHS privatisation ...
Whilst the Council stays No-Overall Control the Conservatives made some great strides forward here, gaining 10 seats to take them to 29 seats (out of a total of 54). Labour lost 6, the Independents and Liberal Democrats lost 2 each.
That greatest of many good reasons not to read the Observer, Nick Cohen, has been at it again: The same question haunts the Liberal Democrats, who benefited so greatly from the anti-war wave of 2003. After a mediocre performance in the local elections came terrible opinion polls last week, which included the finding that half of Liberal Democrat supporters wanted rid of Sir Menzies Campbell. The
You can never trust a Tory ! A simple statement, but true when you look at the utter hypocrisy of the Conservatives in Norfolk. Having argued for the right to chair the scrutiny committee in South Norfolk as the "opposition" party, upon taking power the Conservatives re-write the council's constitution in order to prevent the lib Dems, now in opposition, from having similar privileges. Breckland Tories too are removing the right of the opposition to chair scrutiny. In Broadland, the Tories claim to be much fairer by allowing an independent to chair the scrutiny committee instead of the opposition Liberal ...
… and still only get 25% of the vote. That, according to provisional results, is all that the ‘Yes’ campaign could muster in its efforts to impeach Romania’s president Traian Basescu. Whatever else he might be, Basescu is a mighty skillful political operator with a populist touch. A skilled politician in touch with the populace - well [...]
This morning's Great Manchester Run saw me cross the finish line in 59.48, which beat my target time by twelve seconds. Although it wasn't a personal best, I was hampered by the fact that I'd done no training to speak of, and also because trying to get some pace going when surrounded by 30,000 people dressed as pantomime horses and Elvis isn't easy. My first kilometre took over seven minutes, but
I have had an internet connection at home for over 24 hours now, which is a giant step in the right direction. Unfortunately the Orange Broadband School for Technical Engineers / Circus Clowns (Motto: "Who Knows Which One You'll Get When You Ring??") has once again thrown a spanner in the works by delivering me "broadband" at a quarter of the old speed. So every step forward is accompanied by 
Donnachadh McCarthy is a micro-generator, green consultant and former Liberal Democrat federal executive member. In 1997, before it was fashionable, he installed solar panels on his South London roof. (Though the illustrations are of local solar heating and generating installations.) He has since added an experimental wind-turbine. He calculates that he will never have to pay for energy again and is even able to recoup some of the cost through a deal with EDF Energy. Donnachadh receives from them 7p per unit for electricity generated which he does not use. Thus, he was able to bill them for £45 ...
A calm sea and a light wind offer perfect conditions for rowing but members of the Torquay Rowing Club failed to persuade me to don shorts and take to the water with them. I visited the club thi...
Many readers will have rushed for medical attention when they saw me blog that I was supporting Three Jobs Bob on 17 May in the debate on the Blackwall Tunnel. Indeed the shock even made it over to the selbloggers blog. But the uneasy peace is broken. When it came to a point of principle, the vote on making MPs exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, Bob Neill was one of the MPs that walked
Just back from the Crouch End 10K Fun Run in Priory Park organised as always by Hornsey YMCA. This year the charity to benefit is Lambourne End Outdoor Centre. Good old YMCA - this is such a great local event and we are all proud of it. Today there are 1,200 adult runners and around 1,500 kids registered to race. The adults started at 10.00am with the front runners back under 40 minutes. Every
Peter Bazalgette has written a thoughtful piece about privacy and social networking sites, so for once I will dispense with the usual toilet jokes. I do think he’s got it slightly wrong however. Firstly, attitudes amongst young people and those websites. I have to admit, I’m amazed at the number of people who are [...]
“This is unacceptable” said Ming Campbell in an email to party members and supporters on the eve of this bill being given its third reading in the Commons. But having watched this bill progress through the Commons I’ve not been hugely impressed by the Lib Dem commitment to oppose it. To take it in stages. This bill [...]
I have had a response from Simon Jenkins to my letter about his comment piece in the Guardian last week suggesting that it is time that the Liberal Democrats disbanded. He actually sent it on 14 May 2007, but as my spam filter is not as discerning as the readers of the Guardian; it junked him, and I have only just come across the replay in my bulk mail. His response is frankly shocking: Dear Tom Papworth Thank you for your most interesting email. I have almost no quarrel with anything the Liberals have ever said. But ...
Via Iain Dale, I come across Tom Watson’s spirited defence of his decision to back the Freedom from Information (none of your fucking business) Bill. Apparently, the Tories Made Him Do It. But, for a bit more detail, here is his argument point-by-point (I’d comment on his blog, but he banned me years [...]
Since I wrote a few days ago about the inept way the Portuguese police have investigated the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, I have received a steady stream of comments, some of which i have not published because they are in poor taste, from Portuguese people claiming their police have done everything correctly, that their police are the best in the world and that it is all the fault of Madeleine's parents and therefore the police cannot be blamed. However, The Sunday Times today has a well researched article showing that police incompetence, particularly in missing children cases is not ...
According to Golwg, Lembit Őpik has one more thing to worry about. The 10th May edition of the magazine conducts an interview with stand-up comic Myfanwy Alexander, who also happens to be the sister of Plaid AM, Helen Mary Jones and lives in Montgomeryshire. Ms. Alexander relies on local gossip to feed her act, so much so that she even sends her children out to get her anecdotes: She has asked her eldest girls to bring back stories about the local celebrities. "At the moment they are keeping an eye out for Lembit Őpik. I get ...
I heard a member of Hamas on the radio this week blaming the breakdown of law and order in Gaza on the Israelis, claiming they were responsible for the factional infighting between Hamas and Fatah. At the time I took his comments to be a ludicrously poor excuse for what is a Palestinian issue. However, when you read that the ceasefire is now just holding in Gaza and the Israelis are now carrying out a series of air strikes in the area, you have to ask what the Israeli motives are. Why start air strikes now ? To my ...
From the Sunday Times: Police investigating alleged corruption by Britain’s biggest defence company sought access to Downing Street’s computer system to trawl for e-mails sent by and to Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff. The full story is here.
The BBC is hosting a very good blog called Open Secrets by Martin Rosenbaum that I have enjoyed reading over the last couple of days as MPs voted for a Bill to exempt themselves from the Freedom of Information Act. The arguments for the Bill have largely been expressed in terms of exempting personal correspondence from [...]
Still no break-through in Tamworth for the Liberal Democrats, it remains the one of only two Council in the West Midlands without any Liberal Democrats Councillors.
Here’s a reading list. A Short Introduction to the History of Human Stupidity, Walter B Pitkin (1934) Über die Dummheit, Leopold Löwenfeld (1909) Aus der Geschichte der menschlichen Dummheit, Max Kemmerich (1912) The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, Carlo M Cipolla (1988) Understanding Stupidity, James Welles (1986) References to these titles can be found in the invaluable The Power of Stupidity, [...]
Winchester Mayfest took place on Saturday. A new (I think) name for Winchester's annual Folk Festival. Great fun and the city was really buzzing all day. Here are a few more pics for anyone who missed it. | < | May 2007 | > | ||||
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