Win the Taking Liberties DVD
A reminder that Liberal England is running a quiz where you can win a copy of the newly released DVD Taking Liberties. Friday 9th November 2007
11:37 pm
A reminder that Liberal England is running a quiz where you can win a copy of the newly released DVD Taking Liberties. 
11:33 pm
Chris Huhne's record as environment spokesman: what the polls say
Not surprisingly, the Liberal Democrats' track-record on environment issues during Chris Huhne's time as our environment spokesman has come into the spotlight during the leadership election. That's fair enough - judging people by their track-records. So how does Chris stack up? Well - on the substance, very well - the Green Tax Switch policies were overwhelmingly supported by party conference and then set the standard which the other parties have slowly - achingly slowly - tried to emulate. And the Green Tax Switch campaign, including the week of street stalls around the country (watch my YouTube film here), was a ... 11:31 pm
Liberal Conspriacy congratulates Neil Clark
The new website Liberal Conspiracy has an odd definition of "liberal-left". It launched the other day without a single well-known Liberal Democrat blogger amongst its announced contributors, yet earlier this evening it published the following in its daily Casting the Net feature: And finally, some congratulations. To Anti-war, anti-neo-conservative blogger, Neil Clark, for winning Best UK blog award in the 2007 Weblog Awards. Congratulations from Liberal Conspiracy, Neil.You may not be familiar with the work of "anti-war, anti-conservative" blogger. So here is an example of his work from Comment is Free. Commenting on the campaign for the government to grant ... 10:59 pm
Nimrod - a scandal and a disgrace.........a metaphor for the Labour Party?
Thanks to Nich for picking up this issue. Any fellow Lib Dems who attended the launch meeting of the Lib Dem Friends of the Armed Forces would have been deeply moved by the contribution of my old army pal Mick Smith, in particular when he raised the Nimrod issue. What he said that evening is recorded on his blog and this is an issue that as an award winning investigative journalist, he continues to pursue. To quote Mick's speech in Brighton - "The other name that will always come to mind now whenever I think about the mistreatment of our ... 10:46 pm
A village walkabout
On Saturday morning I am doing a walkabout with residents and my two ward colleagues Councillors Alan and Marilynn Ord, around my village of Sunniside. I invited people to send us their ideas of what we should visit in our email newsletter and the most recent village focus. We have had quite a few replies so I have drawn up a list and route and hopefully some residents will join us in the 
10:45 pm
The 'lyrical terrorist' is not a terrorist
{_44226866_policemalik203.jpg} It seems that the case of the 'lyrical terrorist' encapsulates many of the defining obsessions of our age. An apparently angry, extremist Muslim, 'terrorist' material distributed over the internet, and an argument over whether some kinds of speech should be illegal. It's my view that, in this case the answer is a resounding 'no', and that in years to come we will look back on this case with bafflement. Let's get one thing straight: I find Samina Malik's poetry pretty distasteful, even offensive, and I like to think that I'm a fairly broad-minded and easy-going kind of person. But ... 10:26 pm
House Points: The real Queen's Speech
My column from today's Liberal Democrat News. Regal reflections My Lords and members of the House of Commons. My government will take forward policies to respond to the rising aspirations of the people of the United Kingdom; to ensure security for all; and to entrust more power… My first prime minister was Sir Winston Churchill. He had taken part in the British Army’s last ever cavalry charge at Omdurman. Mr Brown bites his nails. …is committed to raising educational standards and giving everyone the chance to reach their full potential… Mr Blair always made me read out a lot of ... 10:13 pm
Have my views changed?
Some time in January 2006, the OKCupid Politics Test was temporarily popular in the Lib Dem blogosphere. I took the test then, and was given a rating of 78% 'Social Liberal' and 76% 'Economic Conservative', combining to form a designation of 'libertarian'. Curious to see if my results had changed, I've just taken the test again, with the following result: Your true political self: You are a Social Liberal (80% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (73% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian (73e/80s) You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. ... 9:16 pm
Breaking news: No Lincoln Eye
The BBC are saying the City’s Christmas wheel scrapped, which may mean that the Pudsey Party in Lincolnshire might want to rename it’s location. Hopefully BIG can find either a new wheel, or something else to fill the City Square this Christmas. 8:38 pm
S154
Ruffles and Oliver are really enjoying S154. Oliver is particularly fascinated by ionic bonding. He thinks he might be a scientist when he grows up. 8:38 pm
Another example of the government's lack of care for service personnel
It has been known for some years that there are serious safety concerns about the RAF's fleet of Nimrod aircraft. Based on the old (now very old) Comet passenger jets, which themselves were beset by safety problems, one has already crashed on active service, killing all 14 of the crew. But despite assurances from minsters, further evidence has emerged of fuel leaks in the aircraft. The BBC reports that the log of one aircraft has been leaked to them, with the log book showing that at least one other aircraft in the fleet has sever fuel leaks, leading the plane ... 8:33 pm
Leeds fail to tame the Bulls at windy Edgar Street
A windy Edgar Street was the scene of Leeds United's first ever first round FA Cup tie and their first ever match against Hereford United. The Bulls started well and probably should have had a penalty early on. Leeds withstood the pressure and seemed to take control of the game towards the end of the first half, with a patient short passing game, marshalled by Seb Carole who showed excellent skills. In the second half it was Hereford who had the most chances and earn a first ever trip to Elland Road for the replay. Hereford United 0 Leeds United ... 8:29 pm
The Informer gets it wrong
The Kingston Informer's front page story this week was just plain wrong. It claimed that three smaller libraries in the Borough - Tudor Drive, Old Malden and Tolworth - are to be axed. This is thoroughly irresponsible reporting. It was based on a report to Executive last Tuesday on the review of Libraries. You can read the report here. I was on the working party that drew up this... 7:54 pm
Apparently, I'm an Orange Booker
According to Liberal Conspiracy, anyway. This is a bit frustrating since I was one of the people who tried not to get dragged into one camp or another when people started forming battle lines over the Orange Book back in 2004. And I certainly was neither in Liberal Future nor particularly sympathetic to it... Perhaps I should have done a political version of the Johari window... If you think I'm particularly right-wing (or left-wing) for a Lib Dem, please do drop me an email or post a comment! 7:53 pm
European Selection - Thank God, it's nearly over
And so another European selection reaches its 'climax' tomorrow. Whilst Antony Hook has enjoyed it, his Returning Officer hasn't. Up to the point that my Selection Committee and I concluded the interview phase and drew up a shortlist for the membership, it was fine and I was enjoying myself. Since then though, it has been pretty much downhill all the way. I'm a fairly relaxed Returning Officer, 
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Exclusive Vince Cable news
The Voice will be publishing an exclusive piece from acting party leader Vince Cable at 10:30am on Sunday. From the whispers we hear, it will contain some exciting news that will get many people debating… 7:24 pm
One of the best blog postings on the leadership election
Jonathan Calder's got a very insightful piece over on his Liberal England blog about how the Nick-Chris dynamics are playing out through the Liberal Democrat leadership election. Well worth a read! 6:50 pm
Tommorrow
Tommorrow, Saturday 10 November, I will get some news that’s been a long time coming. The past few months has really been an invigorating personal experience. I have travelled and met Liberal Democrats from the Chiltern Hills to the White Cliffs of my old stamping ground in Dover, from the Solent towns, through the New Forest, the [...] 6:37 pm
SFO/BAe arms decision: what it means
Vince cable has welcomed the grant of permission for judicial review (JR) of the SFO’s decision to discontinue the inviestigation of alleged fraud or bribery in deals between BAe and Saudi Arabia. It’s reported here by the BBC. This doen not mean that an investigation will take place, and absolutely not that the High Court will not conduct an [...] 6:18 pm
Hatches, matches and despatches
In days gone by, the printed indexes of births, marriages and deaths (BMD) were housed at Somerset House. Then they resided at the Family Records Centre in Islington, an excellent resource in its own right. Sadly, the FRC is closing down. The upstairs National Archives resources (censuses etc.) are moving to Kew from early next year. The paper BMD indexes - owned by the General Register Office - have moved to Christchurch as detailed on the GRO site. Microfiche versions of the BMD indexes have for a long time been available in local libraries and record offices, but the FRC ... 6:11 pm
New Gmail Problems
{Gmail Logo} It’s seems that Gmail has gone through some small changes, extra divs showing background ajax commands, my email address inside the <title> tags, whilst writing emails the Firefox status/loading bar flashes like a disco and some other stuff. I know it’s changed as I’ve got an Older Version link, however on the What’s New page I can’t see anything and the same goes for the blog. The problem, I’ve now had Firefox crash on my three times (over two machines) when I’ve clicked on the Spam link (not everytime), and for some reason it doesn’t want to remember ... 5:50 pm
Well done Vince
Vince Cable received a unanimous thumbs up from the This Week presenters, Andrew Neill, Diane Abbott and Michael Portillo. He is doing a great job. His speech after the Queen's speech, his refusal to attend the Saudi banquet and the Party Political broadcast are all examples of this. 5:28 pm
The puerile debate about who thought of IHT change first
I really do think that David Cameron is unwise and silly to use House of Commons time on the subject of "We thought of the Inheritance Tax change first". It's like a school kids' "My dad's bigger than yours" debate. Nick Robinson has followed up the issue of Treasury minutes about the subject being considered. But, you can find government minutes to cover discussion of any subject under the sun 5:27 pm
Not all rosy for Cameron in the polls
David Cowling on BBC Online makes some interesting reflections on the October opinion polls. He observes that Gordon Brown is still well ahead of David Cameron on strong leadership and managing the economy. He also notes that most people still think the Tory party hasn't changed under Cameron: ICM/Guardian (sampled 3 to 4 October) found 54% taking the view that the Conservatives are the same 5:22 pm
Hide from all except admin
I wanted to put a WP-Admin link on my blog, but one which only showed to me whilst I was logged in. So hunting through the WordPress Codex I tried to find something like is_admin(), but couldn’t find it. Then going through all the PHP files I found this function current_user_can(capability) which returns true or false if the logged in user can do that capability. Next I had to work out a capability which only admin could do, but a quick look at the source code showed that it should be possible to enter an integer which related to a ... 5:02 pm
NW Region: Will all hell break loose tomorrow?
The ballots will be counted at the ERS tomorrow afternoon for the NW Region. So far 7% of the potential electorate haven’t received ballots! These include two of the candidates, Saj Karim and Flo Clucas. With local knowledge it doesn’t take a political genius to work out that the two front runners are Chris Davies and Saj Karim. Should Chris Davies come top of the [...] 4:28 pm
Have you heard the one about the ex-Prime Minister who rakes it in for duff speeches?
Tony Blair is under fire in China for being paid £237,000 for a twenty minute speech which did not impress. It's reported that the speech offered "nothing new". It contained pleasantries and clichés without any insight. This comes after Blair was criticised for recycling the same old jokes several times during a trip to North America. 4:04 pm
Preview of Clegg’s interview with GMTV
Nick Clegg has been interviewed by Steve Richards for this Sunday’s GMTV, as Chris Huhne was last week. I’ve been sent the full transcript, and it looks, on first reading, like the first real stumble by Nick in his campaign so far. Judge for yourselves below, as I’ve filleted some of the key passages. Of [...] 3:59 pm
Georgia, Georgia...
Cicero has a very good post on the situation in, and importance of, Georgia. To add a little bit to his post, it is also worth mentioning that Russia has been frustrating Georgia's attempt to establish its territorial integrity. It has given quite a lot of help to the South Ossetian authorities, and has stationed troops within Georgia itself. Cicero is always worth checking out, and while I can't be as enthused as he is about the Huhne campaign, his critique of the Clegg campaign so far is bang on. 3:27 pm
Cable welcomes court victory for Al Yamamah campaigners
Commenting on the decision today to grant a judicial review of the dropping of the Serious Fraud Office investigation into the Al-Yamamah arms deal, Liberal Democrat Acting Leader, Vince Cable MP said: “I am delighted that this is going to get a full hearing in the High Court. “It is in the public interest to fully investigate [...] 3:11 pm
Friday Funny:
Every week, Hit & Run runs a cartoon. This week’s captures the situation in Pakistan all too well… 3:09 pm
The thing that gives me the most pleasure as an MP
Am really cross that despite best efforts cannot find time to meet up with Jenny Gillies. She's the South African women that I met when I went to look at AIDS projects in South Africa. Jenny left a message on my phone - and as good as her word - the roof of the terrible shack I visited has an interim replacement which will keep the rain off of him during the rainy season and will be replaced with a proper roof thereafter - and going that extra mile - the walls are to be built of brick! Thanks Jenny ... 2:54 pm
Nick Clegg will need to do better
I have refrained from commenting on the Lib Dem leadership election, partly because I am genuinely undecided and have been examining both candidates ideas. My initial reaction was to favour Nick Clegg. I had listened to his speech at Brighton and felt that he had put forward a genuinely modern, intellectually coherent and above all Liberal policy on Home affairs. Indeed on 18 Doughty St, I more or less said I would be supporting Nick Clegg. Nevertheless, I have also seen Chris Huhne put forward some genuinely radical policies- including taking the idea of Land tax seriously- which I think ... 2:44 pm
Leadership hustings in Edinburgh
Just a wee reminder that the only hustings which is being held in Scotland during the Leadership campaign is taking place in Edinburgh tomorrow (10th November). The event is being held in The General Assembly Hall, Mound Place, Edinburgh. It starts at 11am and will finish by 2pm at the latest. I've decided not to go as I know that I'm voting for Chris Huhne and, probably more importantly, Catherine & I haven't set eyes on each other for over a fortnight! 2:29 pm
East Sussex County Council - incinerator update
Having watched the web cast of the planning committee of the County Council ‘discuss’ the incinerator proposal - all I can say is that I had always thought we elected these people to represent what we (’the people’) wanted - not to second-guess us and completely act against what the majority want. It seems that the Tories at ESCC have been learning from the Blair book of politics! I think personally that it’s quite disgusting that in this, the 21st century they can act in such a cavalier way without real transparency or accountability (its obvious the result of yesterday ... 2:29 pm
Court will hear challenge to halting of BAE fraud inquiry
Three cheers for Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Irwin, who have given two pressure groups - Corner House Research and the Campaign Against the Arms Trade - permission to seek a judicial review of whether the Serious Fraud Office's decision to stop its inquiry into the BAE Al-Yamamah arms deal was lawful. The decision to be reviewed was taken last year when the Government made the SFO drop its investigation into the huge deal to provide military aircraft and equipment to Saudi Arabia in 1985. Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, said that the investigation was threatening the UK's national ... 2:10 pm
Aida at the English National Opera
In a word: awesome. Go see. 2:08 pm
Perfected: The Ann Coulter Song
Thank you so very very much Adam for pointing me towards this: 1:47 pm
Remembrance weekend
This weekend is of course Remembrance weekend, and I have the privilege of joining the parade on Sunday from the church to the war memorial to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of our ward. Last year I joined the parade as well to lay a wreath for St Mary’s Lib Dems, and it was a genuine honour to join the other local people in remembering the incredible sacrifice of those who have fought for our country. It was brilliant to see so many young people join the parade and stand to remember, and of course this year ... 1:36 pm
Immigration TV debate -anyone got a review?
Annoyingly, I discovered a debate on progress on TV featuring Nick Clegg just when I didn't have time to follow it. So does anyone have notes on what happened on the TV programme where listeners to radio 5 Live phoned in comments on Immigration policy which got a televised answer (as well as a radio one??) from a panel of three. It would be good to get a feel of how our 'migrants policy' (as of last Conference, thanks to the excellent work of Nick Clegg developing his current brief) is faring in the rough real world. The other two ... 1:28 pm
Election Results: Thursday 8th November 2007.
Babergh DC, Hadleigh North LD Richard Whiting 446 (49.0; +25.5), Con 261 (28.6; +3.6), Ind 138 (15.1; -6.4), UKIP 66 (7.2; -3.7), [Lab (0.0; -19.1)]. Majority 185. Turnout 27.4%. LD hold. Last fought 2007. Guildford BC, Holy Trinity Con 1110 (50.9; +3.9), LD Vivienne Johnson 944 (43.3; -5.9), Lab 83 (3.8; 0.0), Peace Party 43 (2.0; +2.0). Majority 166. Turnout 37.0%. Con gain from LD. Last 1:15 pm
Respect Splits
With Galloway changing the locks on the office it appears that his faction has de facto control of the National HQ. (see link for Story in Independent). Officially the party is called "Respect - The Unity Coalition". It has a number of election names: Respect Respect (George Galloway) Respect - Homes For All Respect - Peace, Justice, Equality Respect - People Not Profit Respect - 1:07 pm
EXCLUSIVE - Nick Clegg on Tax: “er…”
Nick Clegg is going on the GMTV Sunday Programme this Sunday, following Chris Huhne’s appearance last weekend. I’ve been sent a transcript and, well… I kind of get what he’s doing but it’s just so woolly. He’s very keen to push the Pupil Premiums idea, but worryingly he appears all over the place about how to pay for it: Nick Clegg: £1.5 billion will come from taking above average families out of the tax credit system altogether. And we’ll take that £1.5 billion out of the tax credit system, or at least we’ll take families on above average income out ... 1:03 pm
Caption Competition
Having already made rather a fool of myself this morning why not continue in the same vain......Now the Euro ballot is closed I am allowed to post pix of myself with "known" Lib Dems.......this one, taken by Alex Folkes at the LGA reception at conference is crying out for a caption! Suitable prize for the winner........... 1:01 pm
Doubts about Nick Clegg? Whoops!
I have just stopped for lunch and noticed a posting "Doubts about Nick Clegg?" - that's funny think I, I was going to do a post with the same title! Then I click on it and find it is mine! Apologies - no - it was not intended to be ironic - I just started it at an ungodly hour and realised I didn't have time to finish, but accidentally posted...........so............where was I?! What I wanted to say was having read Charlotte Gore's post at that ungodly hour this morning (radio 5's fault coz they got the time wrong) I ... 12:58 pm
Chess memories - "Match of the Century" / The Wiggles rock! / A new phenomena - Route Rage!
The pleasure of seeing your child win somethingMemories: The Chess "Match of the Century"Australia's top earning entertainers - The Wiggles!The new phenomena - Route Rage! ...latest posts on my other blog here. 12:56 pm
Those emails
I recall a bit of fuss over the campaign emails getting spammed and things. To redress the balance, once I’d tracked them down (in amongst the increasing amounts of email I don’t have time to deal with) I found them both in my inbox. In a reversal of other trends though, Nick Clegg’s was flagged as a [...] 12:52 pm
BT Bloody Broadband
Yo Right I am at home doing coursework, using a wide variety of online journals to help finish my dissertation, and then the bloody internet goes down. I checked everything, wireless router to my own modem, and it's fine, I use the other computer in the house and the internet doesnt work on that one either. By this time you can probably imagine I am again quite peeved. Any way I just realised you can now get broadband over your phone, so a quick phone call to my network and I am now on my3 Broadband Lite. Yes it costs ... 12:43 pm
Congratulations Glasgow 2014
Well then Glasgow has won the chance to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as has been widely predicted. Glasgow won by 47 votes to 24 for Abuja. Due to the corruption, kidnappings, economic instability and povertyin Nigeria this was not the right time for the games to go to africa. I sincerely hope that the subsequent games will go to africa but to a more stable country. This is great news for Glasgow and Glaswegians and I look forward to going along to watch some of the events. Well done to all involved with the bid. 12:37 pm
Al Yamamah: excellent news from the courts
Hurrah! There is now going to be a judicial review into Labour's decision to pull the plug into the UK-Saudi Al Yamamah arms deal corruption investigation. For all Labour's talk about being tough on crime, they axed this investigation, they've tried to hinder the US's investigation, and there's no decent excuse for not taking corruption in international arms deals seriously. As I wrote previously: Imagine you’ve been burgled and (by a small miracle!) someone is up in court, charged with the burglary. How impressed would you be if the accused said, “OK, I did do it - but you have ... 12:36 pm
Al Yamamah campaigners win go ahead for legal action
The Government’s decision to drop the inquiry into corruption around the Al Yamamah arms deal is facing new scrutiny from the courts after campaigners won a request for a judicial review. Corner House Research and Campaign Against the Arms Trade won their request for a judicial review after the judges ruled that “the challenge cries out for a hearing” and raises “matters of concern and public importance”. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable comments: “I am delighted that this is going to get a full hearing in the High Court. “It is in the public interest to fully investigate the circumstances ... 12:06 pm
“Retreat” nears completion
Residents, shopkeepers and visitors will be glad to know that work on the “Retreat” water feature in Prestwich Village centre nears completion. The replacement granite wall is currently being constructed (See Picture) and final completion is expected early in December. 11:57 am
Performing Rights - should everyone be sued?
My office has just had a phone call from the Performing Rights Society (asking for a company that ceased to exist 10 years ago, natch) demanding that we take our a PRS license on the basis that some people in the office listen to personal MP3 players. Sounds like crap to me, but their leaflet is even more vague: By law under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, if you use copyright music in public (i.e. outside of the home), you must first obtain permission from every writer or composer whose music you intend to play. Essentially they are ... 11:47 am
Joke of the day:
Inspiration from Duncan’s post of a video of Miles Davis and John Coltrane: How do you tell when there’s a trombone player in the playground? He’s always on the slide and doesn’t know how to swing. 11:42 am
Online hustings with Nick Clegg: read the transcript
This morning PoliticalBetting.com held an online hustings with Nick Clegg, which you can read here. (One took place with Chris Huhne last Sunday - you can read it here). 11:30 am
Chipping Sodbury Victorian Day is back - Friday 7 December
Following a great demand, from the people and traders of Chipping Sodbury, a group has been formed to organise this year's event. The group is drawn from Sodbury and Dodington Councils, Chipping Sodbury Lions and Rotary Clubs, the Festival Society and traders within the town. The events start at 2.30pm when school choirs are expected to perform in the street. The evening events are being kicked off with the arrival of Father Christmas between 6.45 and 7.00pm when snow is guaranteed. The streets will be lined with stalls from local charities and organisations and old time amusements, including a Ferris ... 10:55 am
Boris Johnson, Lord Ashcroft and David Lee: Conservatives in trouble
Boris Johnson: “A senior source inside CCHQ has approached ConservativeHome to warn of “worrying drift” within the Boris Johnson [London Mayor] campaign.” (ConservativeHome) Lord Ashcroft: “Lord Ashcroft, the multimillionaire bank-rolling the Conservatives’ controversial campaign in marginal constituencies, was last night coming under increasing pressure to explain whether he has honoured pledges, made before he received his [...] 10:54 am
For The Record
Having seen the quotation regarding myself in the Folkestone Herald yesterday I would like to put the following on record: I did not disagree with the stance taken by Liberal Democrat and some Conservative Councillors in leaving the Council Chamber at the last full council meeting of Shepway District Council and my support for the Firefighters in this town is unequivocable. That should be patently obvious from my last post dated 2nd November. I strongly believe that our District Councillors of whatever political party are there to do a job - stand up for the interests of the people of ... 10:49 am
Limiting EU competences - not a “superstate”
Constitutional Treaty in blue Reform Treaty in red 15. It would guarantee that the Union will never be a centralised all-powerful ‘superstate’ by laying down: (a) the obligation to “respect the national identities of member states, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional”; (b) the principle of conferred powers (whereby the Union has only those competencies bestowed 10:47 am
iPhone Commemoration Oration
Something I wrote and never finished whilst very bored at the beginning of the year when there was a lot of hype about Apple's (then just announced) iPhone. Posting now as the iPhone is being released in the UK tonight at 6:02pm (on the 02 network, natch), it's based on the Mac vs. PC cinema adverts we all know and loathe: Mac: Hi, I'm Mac and I wanna tell you about the new iPhone, out summer ' 10:46 am
Increasing accountability and parliamentary scrutiny
Constitutional Treaty in blueReform Treaty in red 8. The adoption of all EU legislation would be subject to the prior scrutiny of national Parliaments and the double approval of both national governments (in the Council of Ministers) and directly elected MEPs – a level of scrutiny that exists in no other international structure. UNCHANGED 10:41 am
Making the EU more efficient
Constitutional Treaty in blue Reform Treaty in red 1. The EU’s foreign policy High Representative and the Commissioner for External Relations—two posts causing duplication and confusion—would be merged into a single EU ‘Foreign Minister’, able to speak for the Union on those subjects where EU countries agree a common line. CHANGED. The merger of the two posts is retained, but the job title “ 10:37 am
Peter Riddell on the Lib Dems
The Times’s leading political commentator analyses the Lib Dem leadership race to date here. Well worth reading in full here, but simply for the sake of shameless self-promotion, here’s the bit which name-checks Lib Dem Voice: Mr Huhne starts from having done well last year, though neither he nor Mr Clegg is well known among less-active [...] 10:37 am
The truth about those treaties
I fear that nobody is being very clear about the Constitutional Treaty and its replacement the Reform Treaty. Perhaps some of those who fear these treaties would like to know what they actually say. Perhaps they wouldn't and would prefer to rely upon the scare tactics of The Sun and it's American proprietor. Firstly, the EU like the UK (and unlike the USA) does not have one document which can 10:25 am
Empowerment and benefits reform
All the parties are talking about 'Empowerment and choice', shame none seem to walk the walk when it comes to actually reforming the benefits systems. As it stands the benefit systems only benefits two sets of people, neither of whom are supposed... Read and post comments | Send to a friend 10:23 am
Another sad death from child abuse in Essex
Lets be entirely clear. This mixed race child was known to the authorities and left with its parents who were crack addicts. This would be a logical consequences of a skewed gateway procedure that concentrates on taking into care the more adoptible children. The budgetary limits on care proceedings mean that this skews the threshold. This happened in Essex. 10:02 am
English Council – what is it good for? Absolutely nothing?
In those moments when I’ve run out of important things to do, such as playing Brick Breaker on my BlackBerry™, or dreaming of cheese (and I really like cheese), my mind turns to the Liberal Democrat equivalent of herding cats, i.e. whipping London’s English Council delegation. Now I freely admit that the notion of whipping is a bit of an alien concept but, for the purposes of the exercise, bear 9:58 am
Enough to Keep You Busy
Paul Evans runs the excellent 'Ginger and Dynamite' blog, and recently returned from a trip to Iran. A country much discussed, but it seems little known. Paul has written an excellent piece on what he discovered when he visited. A career in print journalism awaits, methinks! When you have finished that, you should ponder the endorsement of Rudy Guiliani by Pat Robertson. The evangelical vote is up for grabs- Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III have backed Mitt Romney; Huckabee is surging into second place in Iowa; and Sam Brownback has endorsed John McCain. Robertson's endorsement of Guiliani, renowned for ... 9:54 am
Georgia in the Russian cross hairs
The last few days have been difficult, even in the context of the tumultuous recent history of Georgia. Riots, and government demonstrations in Tbilisi, the declaration of a state of emergency. A familiar tale of instability in the Caucasus, would be most observers diagnosis. Except it is not. Georgia is a country of absolutely critical geo-strategic significance. Put simply the Baku-Tbilisi corridor is the only way that oil can get to the global markets from the vast fields of Kazakhstan and the Caspian without passing through Russia. For the West Georgia is a vital part of global energy security: for ... 9:00 am
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Chad Varah - one of those rare people
Not many people can say that they have actually done something which has made the world a better place. One person would could say that was the Reverend Chad Varah, the founder of the Samaritans, who has died. By setting up the Samaritans he has helped to save the lives of countless people and eased the anguish of many more. 7:50 am
Labour gain a seat in Tamworth
Last night Labour gained a seat in Tamworth from the Conservatives - the Conservatives are targeting Tamworth for the next General Election so this must be considered a set back for them. 7:48 am
Janus-faced Tories
The schizophrenia of the Welsh Tories was on full display earlier this week as the Assembly's first Legislative Competence Order reached the Welsh Affairs Select Committee for debate. The Order on additional learning needs will enable the Assembly to legislate so as to implement the three reports of the Education Lifelong Learning and Skills Committee on Additional Education Needs, drawn up over the four years of the last Assembly. It will need to be voted on by both Houses of Parliament before the power to pass laws in that area is given to the Assembly Government. Tory MPs however were ... 7:20 am
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Chris Huhne does the right thing
I do seem to have problems being allowed to leave comments (HELP!) so I was unable to leave a comment on Clarence Wilcock where Jo had suggested that supporters must be able to express their views independent of the candidate and that the candidate was not responsible for what they said, but that is not the point. The point is that by publishing such opinion on an official website that implicitly gives support to that view (as demonstrated over the past few days). So, credit where it is due, I am pleased to see that Chris Huhne has acted swiftly ... 3:12 am
Doubts About Clegg
I am beginning to share some of James Graham’s concerns about Nick Clegg. My initial enthusiasm has been dampened somewhat and I’m able to reflect and consider more than I have been. Clegg is not a magic bullet. Clegg’s vision is exactly that - a vision. He has managed to encapsulate almost every aspect of government under his 5 areas, Empowering people, extending opportunity, protecting freedom, mobilising public opinion to protect the environment and shaping the world around us. The impression is that Nick intends to provide frameworks around which the party can build its policies so that, taken together, ... 3:05 am
"Conservative Co-operative" - a confidence trick?
Just as we are trying to get to grips with whether the Liberal Conspiracy is actually Liberal, so now we have Dave the Chameleon saying the the Conservatives and the Co-operative Movement have always been natural bed-buddies: The co-op movement has generally been associated with the political left. I think that's a shame. First, because there have always been people on the centre-right concerned about the effects of capitalism on the social fabric. Men like Carlyle and Disraeli, following the tradition of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith himself, who recognised at the outset of the industrial revolution that profit was ... 1:47 am
even less EXCLUSIVE: Chris Huhne talks to Quaequam Blog! (part 2)
I meant to get this finished on Wednesday but I went to a meeting at the Telegraph offices to hear the usual suspects talk about political blogging instead - yet again I was the only Lib Dem in the village. The only one who didn’t seem enamoured with the Power Of The Blog was Alex Hilton who did a good presentation about what a blog through the medium of handing out newspapers in which he basically said that the best bloggers are infectious. Oh, and before I get any more comments, blog posts or emails, I do now know what ... 1:37 am
Who is the true Anti-Establishment candidate?
Linda Jack asks: "Who is the true Anti-Establishment candidate?" Here is a picture of Chris Huhne (foreground, looking at camera) using a bench to smash his way into the Indian Institute in support of students wanting a central student union for Oxford. 1:02 am
Forget who is the most electable.......who is the most kissable?!
I was amused to discover that my daughter had been getting her friends on Facebook to vote on who of her friends were the most kissable........it turned out to be Dwayne, Nick (yes that one), Tom, and Carl. I have to admit to being a tad disappointed to be left off the list, but I have to content myself that the electorate were predominantly Lara's 20 something girlfriends! 1:01 am
Miles
As regulars will have picked up I am into Rock and Indie. But I am also a huge fan of modern Jazz. My mum has been involved in Jazz for decades, and was friend of Ronnie Scott. You can find various references to her (Moira Mead) in the gig archive of the Perth Jazz Society. Mum recently got a new kitten, Miles. Sadly he was run over and killed just before she set off from Victoria (where she now 12:53 am
Rudd V Howard Election Rap by Axis of Awesome
Nothing more to say really except that this a frickin awesome tune. 12:38 am
Who is the true Anti-Establishment candidate?
In order to succeed post December 17th our new leader must be able to turn rhetoric into reality. So what will our "Anti-Establishment" leader look like, after all it's no good talking the talk if you can't walk the walk! I am delighted that whoever wins both candidates have promised to take on that role - something new to inject a bit of fizz into our political scene - I love it! And it is a place the other two leaders can hardly ever seek to occupy - for the Conservatives (the clue is in the name) it is part ... 12:35 am
Labour's answer to Manchester's problems - Gentrification
I had the misfortune to hear the Labour candidate for Manchester Withington on Radio Five live earlier, and what a prat she made of herself. They were talking about the run down nature of parts of Manchester, the fact that it is two cities in one, the low attainment in schools compared to other areas, and they spoke to locals who live in the more deprived and run down bits of Manchester. Then they spoke to the labour candidate, whose answer was to repeat that they were moving lots of people in, building expensive flats in the centre of town, ... 12:09 am
Fingers crossed for all my friends in North Norfolk
With bad floods expected in the morning along the Norfolk Coast, I am really keeping my fingers crossed for everyone I know in North Norfolk and further afield who may be affected by the imminent high tides. The government have, at least, given adequate warnings this time. However, the flooding is likely to highlight the inadequacies of the proposed Shoreline Management Plan, which suggests abandoning sea defences along most of the Norfolk Coast, leaving central Norfolk and the Broads much more susceptible to future flooding. We can only imagine what the problems might be tomorrow if the government had had ... 12:02 am
Obama Girl, Obama Girl vs Giuliani Girl and The Ann Coulter Song
Sometime ago on his blog Gavin Whenman mentioned Obama Girl and Debate '08: Obama Girl vs Giuliani Girl saying how there hadn't been much mention of it over here, I still haven't seen any mention of it in the media but this week another friend sent me a link to the Obama Girl video which also had a link to The Ann Coulter Song video. 
