What to make of John Redwood’s proposals?
Vince Cable gives the Liberal Democrat repsonse over on Comment is Free. Monday 13th August 2007
11:41 pm
Vince Cable gives the Liberal Democrat repsonse over on Comment is Free. 11:34 pm
Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #25
Our weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere reaches its quarter century, which we celebrate by featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (5th - 12th August), together with a personally-selected quintent you might have missed but shouldn’t have. Live from Washington DC, here are the top of the blogs [...] 11:32 pm
Norman Lamb exposes hospitals who fail food hygiene tests
Liberal Democrat Health spokesman Norman Lamb has unearthed some very worrying information about hygiene levels in hospital kitchens. Almost half of all hospitals kitchens and or canteens in England could be failing to meet cleanliness and hygiene standards, according to a nationwide survey by the Liberal Democrats. Nearly a fifth of hospitals surveyed kept food at the wrong temperatures or in unsafe conditions, while 11 hospitals had problems with vermin. Some of the hospitals, whose record were obtained via the Lib Dems seeking the local council's own environmental health reports via the Freedom of Information Act, reported problems including cockroaches ... 11:24 pm
Five reasons to be serious during the silly season
At the moment the papers are full of "silly season" stories (and blogs seem to be full of stories about how the media are full of silly season stories - we just need the TV to start covering how the blogs are covering ... !), but just because J Prescott and G Brown go off on their summer holidays, it doesn't mean the world stops turning. So here are five serious (but I hope interesting!) stories that have just caught my eye in between the piece of Lego retrieved from the sea / remember to shake the sand out of ... 11:21 pm
Someone doesn't like Gordon Brown
Stomped around two parades of shops today in Alexandra ward (which runs east from the Fortis Green area through to the western edges of Wood Green). Outside of parking - there was quite a tirade about the bureaucracy created for small businesses by our now Prime Minister G. Brown. One chap said he hated him for what he had done. Using the example of his brother-in-law on £25k as a cab driver with a wife earning £5k as a school's dinner lady - he went through the number of people now involved in the process of their tax return and ... 11:20 pm
The Whisperers
A dotty old lady imagines that all sorts of crimes are taking place in her neighbourhood and dutifully reports them at her local police station, where the officers smilingly humour her. Then she comes into some money - the proceeds of a robbery. But it's not The Ladykillers. It's the film I taped from this week's Social Realism section in the BBC British film season. The Whisperers is dominated by the central performance of Edith Evans, at once riveting and painful to watch. It is a revelation to those of us who remember her only as Lady Bracknell and as ... 11:03 pm
Don't build on the flood plain, darling
At the end of June - a couple of floods ago - I wrote about the Shropshire Wildlife Trusts call for an end to building on flood plains. I have now found more about it on the Trust's website. And this rather nice photograph. 11:00 pm
How much CO2 are the Heathrow protesters putting out ?
Just how much CO2 is being emitted by protesters going to Heathrow to protest against people getting on planes that emit CO2 ? How much CO2 is being thrown out of the back of police cars and extra security staff's vehicles to make sure that Heathrow is protected ? It reminds me of back in 1996 or 1997 when a group called something like "Reclaim the Streets" has a march against the car in Coventry when I was at University there. Thousands of people marched through with anti car banners. A lovely principle were it not for the fact that ... 10:45 pm
Tories, Tax and Redwood
I’m surprised how few Liberal Democrats have commented on John Redwood’s proposals to ‘cut red-tape’ and ‘cut waste’ all in the aid of a ‘tax cut by any other name’. Instead, the main Lib Dem reaction is not from bloggers but by Vince Cable’s official response on the party website, which seems somewhat lengthy, convoluted and all about the word ’spurious’. I can’t help but get this uneasy feeling that the Tories are returning to their own ways, as soon as they start talking about cutting waste and cutting tax. Not that I have a problem with either, and the ... 10:45 pm
Heathrow Aeroflot, we care
I currently on fundraising mission near Heathrow Aeroflot terminal at annual jamboree for yuppie hippies against flying. We very popular down here. When a bunch of goons from British Aeroflot cartel attempt to gag the hippies, Signora Kramer send team of crack Liberali lawyers to explain to flyboys about meaning of civil liberties. Our lawyers can be very persuasive, particularly when demonstrating alternatives to a robust respect for human rights. However these boys no come cheap, so today we collecting our due. Hippies not kind of people you can run usual squeeze on, so through Signor Hunhe we have new ... 
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Praise for the Lib Dem stance on terrorism
Rupert George has an article on e gov monitor on the limitations of Gordon Brown's approach to combating terrorism. He writes: The sense of “Britishness” that Gordon Brown wraps himself in is the old Tory cloth of a militaristic, proudly reactionary belief in strong government.Liberal Democrats will be cheered by his conclusion: The only political party attempting to fight the battle of ideas with terrorists are the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg’s forthright consistency on these issues deserves greater credit from the media. We need more voices challenging the myopic vision that refuses to tackle the issue seriously. 10:38 pm
BritBlog Roundup 130
Tim Worstall has come off the bench (like a latter-day Ole Gunnar Solskjaer) to ensure that this week's selection of the best in British blogging appears. 10:04 pm
Same old story
I note that Wales Labour are up to their old tricks already, and the new coalition ministers have not even answered their first set of questions yet. A press release issued today by Finance Minister Andrew Davies, makes the claim that extra support is on its way for disabled children and their families thanks to Welsh Labour. Apparently, the "Labour led Assembly Government is delivering on its promise to provide more help to the most vulnerable people in our local community". No mention of any part played in this largesse by Plaid Cymru. In fact Social Services Minister, Gwenda Thomas, ... 9:50 pm
Waterstone's in Wood Green
Only time for a quick posting on this issue, but as a lot of people have been getting in touch with me about Waterstone's plans to shut their branch in Wood Green I just wanted to highlight both the online petition (being submitted on Friday so sign soon if you haven't yet!) and what my colleague, Cllr Catherine Harris, has been saying on the issue. 9:44 pm
Excellent analysis of Cameron's decline
Have you ever gone to write something and found out that someone has done it already and done it better than you can ? After making some progress in writing a long analytical piece on Cameron and his about face and retreat to the right wing of his party I went on to the internet to find some sources only to find out that Jeremy Hargreaves had written exactly what I wanted to write, only much better. So I'll save the time in writing it myself and refer you to his excellent blog. 9:34 pm
Spelling in charge of Education
I have been having a browse around the White House website, I am probably going through one of my 'sad' stages (I am watching the West Wing from start to finish for the third time, although not sure whether I should admit to that). Whilst looking on the White House website I noticed that he Secretary for Education's surname is Spelling. Lets hope she was chosen because her surname linked to the 9:19 pm
Karl Rove, I Salute You.
To Karl Rove; the most evil and dastardly political consultant of the 21st Century, I salute your skill, your tenacity and your ability to be more underhand than anyone ever thought possible and keep getting away with it. May you never be caught in the act. UPDATE - According to CNN: When asked for his reaction to those who say he's being "run out of town," Rove responded, "That sounds like the rooster claiming to have called up the sun." - Brilliant. 9:11 pm
Prom 39: Götterdämmerung
My plan to blog the Proms has been largely gutted because it takes soooo damn long to get home after the Proms that I’m usually fit only to tumble straight in to bed, then come the next morning it’s straight in to work… But I had to make the effort to say something about Prom 39, the culmination of a four-year Ring cycle at the Proms. I don’t really have the vocabulary, depth of musical knowledge, or for that matter hearing to do this performance justice, but I thought I should say that at times it was pretty much the ... 8:51 pm
Cowley Street scoffs the lot!
The plums I brought into HQ today from the allotment in Sunniside were gone within about an hour of being put in the kitchen. (Don't forget this is national allotment week!) The jam seems to be going more slowly. I brought in 2 jars of rhubard and ginger after kind hearted colleagues complained about the absence of jam for morning toast! I give it until Wednesday before it's all been 8:49 pm
News from over the Pond
Here are a few stories from the last 24 hours; news bit number one, and probably the story you havent heard from Over the pond; as predicted former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson has ended his bid to become the Republican nominee for president of the USA. the anouncenment, made earlier today, came after a poor showing in sundays Iowa straw poll, where he finished 6th. realistically he was never going to achieve his aim, of coming higher than 2nd in the poll, as his campign has been weak, compared with the others, for a long long time. The other big ... 
8:28 pm
Wood Green loses its bookshop
A colleague at work told me this morning that Waterstones in Wood Green has closed, which I hadn't heard. It used to be an Ottakers until Waterstones took them over and was the only shop on Wood Green High Road dedicated to books. The closure seems to have been a bit of a surprise. It was a decent bookshop, with a café area inside too which attracted a lot of mums and prams. I know from my Lib Dem colleague Cllr Catherine Harris that there is an online petition protesting against the closure, but I don't know yet if the ... 8:20 pm
All Quiet on the Blogging Front
It will be all quiet on the blogging front from me until at least Saturday as I'm off to the wonderful Czech Republic capital Prague, armed only with a Rough Guide and £250 in koruna*. Here's hoping the cheap beer doesn't prevent me seeing being a tourist during the day. * To check I'd got the spelling right on this (I was going to put "krona", as in the Swedish currency) I came across this nifty 7:53 pm
Me and The Thatchers
Well, alright then, "Me and the Thatchers" is somewhat over-billing this morsel of a political reminiscence, but I'll forge ahead anyway. I met both Denis and Margaret Thatcher during the 1983 general election campaign. I was working on an industrial estate off the Oxford Road in Reading. It was a very nondescript place, and the last place where you would expect to be descended upon by the 7:49 pm
Ban advertising on Formula - but is that the full answer?
It was with interest I read Stephen Robinson's blog on backing the ban on advertising of all formula products. I fully support the campaign but I also know that this is not the full answer. Having breast fed all of my children I know the pressures mothers face as they decide the great ‘Breast or Bottle' debate. There is immense pressure put on women to breastfeed - we have got to the... 7:49 pm
That Hovercraft Tour - How Punch saw it
Liberal Burblings interesting piece about Jeremy Thorpe's hovercraft tour in Devon and Cornwall, during the summer of 1974, gives the impression that it was a rather odd thing to do. But according to Jeremy in his book, In My Own Time, it was rather successful with some 10,000 people at Plymouth and he reckons to have "addressed over 60,000 people during the course of the tour." 7:48 pm
British hospitals... just don't drink the water
Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Norman Lamb has used a freedom of information request to indentify that nearly half of British Hospital kitchens are risking patients health by allowing slack hygiene standards. Lapses include vermin, staff that don't wash, storing food in medical freezers, medical waste on food trolleys and storing food at incorrect temperatures. In Southwark Guy's Hospital kitchens are found to have four lapses (the worst hospital had six). These lapses include: "No soap at hand wash basins. Floor and shelving of walk in freezer dirty. Olive oil stored below raw meat. Mould growth on ceiling of Cold Room. ... 7:45 pm
Tim Garden
Lord (Tim) Garden, a former Air Marshall and the party’s defence spokesman in the Lords, has sadly died. There’s an obituary in today’s Telegraph and also a tribute on the party’s website. 7:11 pm
It's the silly season and some journalists can be lazy
Surely this is the most pointless and silly story that any newspaper could possibly run during the silly season ? A car company have paid someone to conduct the most pointless piece of research ever in order to enable them to issue a press release and at least one journalist fell for it. 6:45 pm
Foolball economics
I’m confused about what Don Foster wants us to do about the price of football tickets in the UK: “This just goes to show that rip-off Britain is alive and well. “If European clubs can keep their prices down, there’s no reason why English clubs can’t follow their lead. “Despite the recent enormous TV cash windfall and the promise to freeze ticket prices, many clubs are still massively overcharging their fans. “Last season we saw empty seats at premiership grounds - when will clubs wake up to the fact that ordinary fans are the lifeblood of the game?” Now, I ... 6:33 pm
Jacquie Smith
Jacquie Smith our wonderful Home Secretary was recently interviewed by the New Statesman. Apparently she says she’s no liberal, no shit. Actually she is in here own words, “a home secretary that is trying to make a difference to peoples feeling o security and enabling them to get on with their lives” at least that what she’s attempting. This is a wonderful position to take, justifying anything as long as it has a popular mandate. The phrase “the greatest good for the greatest number comes to mind” something that Liberals played with in the early 20th century I believe and ... 6:21 pm
Safety First - Not Covert Protectionism
Sadly it seems that there have been a significant number of safety scandals involving Chinese products. This one has claimed the life of a factory boss in Guangdong Province. Clearly it is vitally important that consumers are protected from dangerous products. However, there is a fine line between consumer safety and covert protectionism. In China's case, yes, they need to strengthen safety standards but this should not become a cover for some of the protectionist attitudes emerging in the US and parts of the EU. The benefits of free trade have long been shown to outweigh the costs and furthermore, ... 6:16 pm
Cameron chickens it
Gosh, David Cameron really is ditching the moderate image and scarpering back to cover his home bases: Cameron on offensive with call for tax cuts (Daily Telegraph) Osborne vows to ‘pick fight’ with Brussels (FT) This really is tantamount to giving up on trying to win over the moderate voters he would need in order to win a General Election, and just doing what’s necessary to shore up his core vote in order to avoid a meltdown in the Conservative vote. (more…) 5:52 pm
Labour Minister Malcolm Wicks makes prat of himself on Radio Five Live
Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Science and Innovation just made a right prat of himself on Radio Five Live. Being interviewed by Peter Allen, he was asked if Britain would reach its target, that Tony Blair signed up to, to reduce emissions by 20%. He said it was Europe's target and that we were working towards our share. When asked what our share was, he was unable to answer, reiterating that we would make our contribution. So Peter Allen asked him "Would Britain achieve a 20% reduction - yes or no", his response was, again, that it was Europe's target. The ... 5:16 pm
Help Little Jack Strike Back - Campaign to stop formula milk promotion in the UK
I am backing the campaign to stop the advertising of formula milk in the UK, because a mother's own milk is best: Help Little Jack Strike Back Although illegal since 1995, baby milk companies are still advertising formula products by taking advantage of loopholes in the law. NCT, Save the Children and UNICEF UK are calling on the government to tighten the laws and to adopt a complete ban on the 5:06 pm
No rest for the community spirited
Today has been a day off work, but I have spent most of it attending to council work and writing the new Focus newsletter. This morning I had telephone conversations with the Council over the cemetery on Bury New Road which has been causing security concerns, and also I finally resolved a blue bin query for a resident that had been rumbling on for about six weeks. Which just goes to show that persistence pays off - although why it took eight emails to get an officer to mnake one phone call is a mystery… I then sat down to ... 3:13 pm
Kelly and Ashley's wedding pictures
Our daugher Kelly got married, a week last Saturday, to Ashley Seaman and Colin Crawford took the pictures. A selection are displayed below: The Bride and Groom Left to right Chris, Ashley's mum Carol, Kelly, Ashley and Glynis The cake created by Glynis Two lovely bridesmaids Charlotte (left) and Jessica. Signing the Register. Best Man Paul Mellor 2:21 pm
Stranger Than Fiction
Yesterday, I made a rare foray beyond the M25 to have lunch with Michael Bloch at the writers’ retreat, Mount Pleasant, in Reigate. Half-a-dozen at a time can stay there, at a very reasonable rate, be fed and watered (or wined) and have their beds made. When one is deep in producing a book, such things do indeed help. Other guests yesterday included the delightful Merseyside poet, Roger McGough, and Bryan Magee, the philosopher, broadcaster and former MP (Labour, then SDP) for Leyton, in whose steps I followed as parliamentary candidate in 1992. But the subject of most of the conversation ... 2:19 pm
JOB VACANCY
Full Time Caseworker to Councillor John Hemming MP Constituency – Birmingham, Yardley Salary: to be negotiated depending on experience The role of a caseworker in the constituency office involves a variety of areas dealing with many government departments and members of the public both face to face and on the telephone. Our office makes good use of the technology available and you will need to 2:17 pm
Something Fishy
Getting back to nature. 2:05 pm
European and London Mayor selections
As the party’s selection process for both our 2009 European and 2008 London Mayor candidates is now kicking off, Liberal Democrat Voice is introducing a slight change in our comment moderation policy for the duration of the selections. Although this isn’t an official party site, we’re happy to abide with the spirit of the party’s selection [...] 1:59 pm
Is Rooney's absense from the England squad really a "devastating loss" ?
Apparently Wayne Rooney is to be out of action for two months, meaning he will miss four England European Championship qualifiers and a friendly against Germany. On the BBC website Alan Shearer describes Rooney's absence as "devastating for England and Steve McLaren". I disagree. The statistics show that Rooney has not scored a goal in a competitive England match since joining Manchester united three years ago. Indeed his biggest contribution to England in the last three years was getting himself sent off against Portugal in the last world cup, and thus contributing to England's elimination from the tournament. Some loss ... 1:55 pm
London Mayor candidate selection process starts
Members who may be interested in applying can obtain an application pack, which includes an Application Form and the Selection Criteria agreed by London Region’s Candidates Committee, from London Mayor Returning Officer, c/o London Regional Office, 4 Cowley Street, London, SW1P 3NB or by phone 07956 374220 or, preferably, by email on returning.officer - returning.officer.hat.libdems.org.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) - returning.officer.hat.libdems.org.uk.spam.com [...] 1:51 pm
Hooray for Simon Cowell
This headline tries to make out that Simon Cowell is some sort of monster, however I welcome his decision to see sense in this particular case. For anyone who didn't see "Britain's Got Talent", the girl in question, Connie Talbot, warbled her way through songs in a way that sounded so trained, so copying of an adult style of singing that in the same way as it brought tears to the eyes of Amanda Holden, a judge on the show, it brought tears to my eyes like someone had poured mustard up my nose. I really couldn't bare to listen ... 1:34 pm
Official response to green energy targets: lie
The Guardian’s expose of DBERR’s response to the EU’s 20% renewable energy target which Tony Blair signed us up to earlier this year is sadly reminiscent of Yes, Minister, replete with calls to reclassify solar panels in Africa and nuclear energy as counting towards our renewable target. The worst thing about all this is that our partners on the mainland are making us look like chumps. The civil service response to every green target has always been to fudge it; now we are lagging behind to a cringe-making degree. Even if you are a climate change denier, surely decreasing the ... 1:03 pm
Scots politicians lose their accents
From yesterday's Scotland on Sunday: A study of the speech of major political figures has shown that senior Scots at Westminster have changed their accents to sound more akin to their English counterparts - dropping their pronounced Rs and changing their vowels. Those who have altered their speech include Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former Tory Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind and Lib-Dem leader Menzies Campbell.But there is one figure who has stood out against this process: Alex Salmond has not changed his accent despite two decades in the Commons. Music fans will know about this. The Proclaimers issued their first LP ... 12:59 pm
News Stories of the Day
Dawn French: I've nothing much to say but it's time I was in the papers.Don Foster: I've nothing much to say but it's time I was in the papers. 12:49 pm
Jeremy Thorpe and the hovercraft
Liberal Burblings reminds us of the summer of 1974 and one of the most bizarre pieces of political campaigning you will ever come across. See the comment from Paul Tyler too. 12:45 pm
Lord Garden
It was with great sadness that I heard last night of the untimely death of Lord Garden, who died on August 9th at the age of 63. Tim Garden was diagnosed with incurable cancer a few weeks before his death. Only a few months ago Tim came to speak to Chipping Barnet Liberal Democrats about foreign and defence policy. We had a great evening and he answered questions with great authority and knowledge over a very wide range of issues. He will be greatly missed. My condolences to Sue and the family. 12:43 pm
A good day for the police?
Thames Valley police has incurred the wrath of the Daily Mail, and plenty of others, for recruiting 16-year olds to be Police Community Support Officers. And just down the M4 in London, traffic fines are costing the Met police £900 a day, the Guardian reports. Last year’s bill was well over £300,000 - up a third on last year. UPDATE: Just noticed this one too - Penalty Notices for Disorder (also known as “pay and go” justice) are being issued at a rate of three a minute, all in the name of OBTJ targets. That’s Offences Brought to Justice, for ... 12:33 pm
Britain has no hope of meeting revewable targets Blair signed up to in the spring.
"Government officials have secretly briefed ministers that Britain has no hope of getting remotely near the new European Union renewable energy target that Tony Blair signed up to in the spring - and have suggested that they find ways of wriggling out of it". Stated the Guardian this morning. An internal briefing paper for ministers, a copy of which was obtained by the newspaper, reveals that officials think the best the UK could hope for is 9% of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydro by 2020. It says the UK "has achieved little so far on ... 12:31 pm
Perseids Off
Well last nights meteor shower was pretty poor. We popped out for about 30mins after 10pm and saw a grand total of 3 meteor trails. In that time we spotted more satelites! 12:29 pm
How accurate is the Daily Mail ?
I watched an old episode of Men Behaving Badly last night on UKTV Gold, an episode from 1995. The headline on the the Daily Mail that the character Tony was reading is typical of the headline that the Daily Mail still uses. Over sensational, designed to worry people and lacking in factual evidence. It said; "Artificial wombs withing ten years" Given that the headline was badly wrong, can we really trust the headline that Dizzy makes reference to today ? 12:20 pm
MY GOD, LOOK! TREES EVERYWHERE.
Having said that the detail of the latest bit of blather to emerge from the Tories doesn’t count, I now see that it is in fact of key importance. I tend not to read anything with the words John and Redwood attached but in fact he has signalled the start of the next phase in the Cameron project. The Tory leadership follows recognisable phases and it seems that we have now entered the third one. The first phase is to be welcomed with open arms by all and sundry, desperate as they are to win something – anything. The second ... 12:20 pm
Senior Tory says "You may not like Cameron, but don't tell everyone"
A senior Tory, Lord Marland, has called for Tories to keep criticism of David Cameron behind closed doors. "It is very unfortunate when people jump on the criticism bandwagon when you hit turbulent times because you are playing straight into the hands of our opposition. I would urge all supporters to keep their own counsel and to debate behind closed doors and show discipline. " It's like the dreaded vote of confidence from the board at a football club for the manager. So clearly the Tories are now admitting that they have a problem with Cameron and it is not ... 12:00 pm
Have the Tories been caught faking Norman Lamb on Facebook ?
Lib Dem Voice highlights today that someone has set up a fake Norman Lamb page on Facebook. Now this account has been removed from Facebook after the Lib Dems advised Facebook that the page was fake. However, details of who set up the account remain hazy. however, there are some clues. Firstly, as Lib Dem Voice points out, there is also a fake e-mail address that is being used. Actually this isn't fake, it is a real address that has been set up on yahoo in an attempt to impersonate Norman Lamb. So someone out there is already trying to ... 11:55 am
The Missing Link
Seems that my posting "The Ugly Face of Communism" didn't come up on Lib Dem Blogs yesterday. I'm writing this to test whether or not there is a technical problem somewhere. Seems that all is well after all and it was probably temporary blindness on my part.... 11:45 am
Long Haul Begins
Well the football season has started – not the rugby for wimps version they play in the US but Association Football, or soccer as it sometimes abbreviated. Torquay United remai... 10:55 am
Fantastic Response to Parking Survey
I have had a fantastic response to my Parking Survey that has been going out in parts of Warwick. Apart from the Guy Street, Cherry Street area where residents have done a lot of excellent work to get things changed, there are problems in the Packmores area and also along Watham Road. All these hotspots are in the same residents parking zone although the problems are slightly different. I shall wait until the last of the survey responses comes in and will write a report to the District & County Council outlining the problems you have told me about. If ... 10:37 am
Deep Clean Keep Clean (DCKC)
What an excellent three days for Combe Down! Focused mainly on Foxhill this exercise, paid for with money from Government through the Local Area Agreement (LAA) and the first in Bath, was a great success. There are six such exercises altogether, with the last one a return to Combe Down in three years time. This is the only ward to get two DCKCs. One of the tests of the effectiveness of the DCKC is whether local residents can reduce litter to allow the normal cleaning to keep up the high standard achieved in the last few days - we can ... 9:58 am
Geo Pressure is a renewable energy source
Andrew Mercer, a Bath based business man, has with others, created a company 20C to exploit the energy potential of pressure change as natural gas is pumped around the grid. The gas is carrier of the potential, the pressure is the source of the energy. By fitting the technology to the grid enough energy is generated to the equivalence of a nuclear power station. It would reduce the countrey's CO2... 9:55 am
Who has been impersonating Norman Lamb MP online?
Last week, someone set up on Facebook both a fake profile of Norman Lamb MP and a related fake group: Whoever did it, clearly went to some effort, including setting up a Hotmail address in Norman Lamb’s name - norman_lamb - norman_lamb.hat.hotmail.co.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) - norman_lamb.hat.hotmail.co.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com [...] 8:28 am
Boris 4 Mayor?
You know Boris Johnson is no longer cool when the Guardian is backing him! Of course, Roy Hattersley's reason for backing Boris' nomination is that it'll be disastrous for the Tories. Nevertheless, it's a clear sign that Boris is no longer cool! 8:27 am
Boris Johnson - the race charge is starting to stick
Roy Hattersley is now backing Boris Johnson (to lose). Also in the Guardian, a pattern seems to be emerging. First of all, we had Doreen Lawrence denouncing Johnson (cue outraged Dalestorm). Now we have a letter from several Black and Muslim leaders criticising Johnson's record on race issues and listing his past utterances on th esubject: They include stereotyping Africans as having " 8:26 am
No energy
Today's Guardian reveals that the UK government is secretly trying to wriggle out of renewable energy targets signed up to by Tony Blair because they are too difficult: In contrast to the government's claims to be leading the world on climate change, officials within the former Department of Trade and Industry have admitted that under current policies Britain would miss the EU's 2020 target of 20% energy from renewables by a long way. And their suggestion that "statistical interpretations of the target" be used rather than new ways to reach it has infuriated environmentalists. An internal briefing paper for ministers, ... 8:24 am
Euro-rows could re-open in Tory party
Philip Webster in The Times observes David Cameron risks whipping up an old-fashioned Tory EU storm. 8:23 am
Wolverhampton longlisted for the Penhaligon Award
Wolverhampton Liberal Democrats have been longlisted for this years Penhaligon Award. The Award is the Liberal Democrat membership award, and is judged not only on recruitment and retention but also how members are treated and newsletters and social events. 8:16 am
DC come home
Excellent cartoon from Dave Brown in the Independent. 8:13 am
David Cameron should be very worried
A Telegraph leader praising the Tories and saying "At last we're getting red meat from the Tories". 8:05 am
Heavy duty Grammar check ready for Prescott memoirs
We are to be treated to John Prescott's memoirs. As usual the reverse self-justification rule applies: the more the author tries to justify their actions and sanctify themselves, the less the books sell. I don't expect a great readership for this oevre. 8:04 am
Cracking open the champagne
We did this last night - having brewed up 13 bottles of elderflower champagne earlier this year, Sunday was the first time we tried it. We were very happy with the results! When I got to Newcastle on Friday evening (the train did eventually get me home an hour and a half late) David picked me up as usual. And as we were leaving the station, a moron bumped his car into the back of ours. I got out 7:50 am
Third party leader arrives by hovercraft to address voters on busy seaside beach
Yes, it did happen. Several times. In 1974. Jeremy Thorpe did a tour of seaside resorts to drum up support from voters in the run-up to the second general election of the year, which was held in October that year. I witnessed one of these events at Bude, Cornwall. It was absolutely bizarre. Jeremy Thorpe's hovercraft arrived from the sea and landed on busy Summerleaze beach, on which hordes of 12:35 am
Flock Together now shows contact email addresses for meetings to people who aren’t logged in
FT now shows contact email addresses for meetings and by-elections to site users who aren’t logged in. To make things harder for spammers, they’re shown as graphic files rather than text. If you’re logged in, they’re regular clickable text links as before. 12:02 am
Buy a Peerage
On Friday I commented on how I would like to see an elected House of Lords or at least a democratic second chamber in the United Kingdom however today I writing about how people could buy peerages or at least virtual peerages. 
