Brian Paddick led a walkabout along Kensington’s Portobello Road this afternoon, with a party of local activists, the GLA candidate for London West Central, Merlene Toh Emerson, and the three top London Euro-candidates: Sarah Ludford, myself and Dinti Wakefield. It was interesting to see how passionately so many of the market stallholders there feel about [...] 
I’ve commented before on the at times bizarre group-think mentality that seems to be gripping many in Labour circles over any criticism of Ken Livingstone. Their response is either to say: Hey, you are a left-winger, you treacherous scum, how dare you criticise beloved Ken!, or Hey, you are right-wing scum and part of a nasty conspiracy, [...]
{Buckingham Palace} Following my taking up the cudgels on behalf of women in the line of succession to the throne - by calling for the current rules which discriminate in favour of men to be axed - I've put down an early day motion (EDM) in Parliament in order to supplement my referral of the matter to the Equalities Commission. EDM number 710 has 25 signatories so far - including MPs from all the main parties. (Apologies to Conservative Brian Coleman, who seems to get terribly excited when I raise this issue - but yes, Brian, supporters include MPs from ...
Ken Clarke is right to highlight Cameron's obsession with the fluff of sound bites. Every time he speaks it is as if he had five of them to say and he shoe horns them in in an almost corny way. His sad attempt to emulate Vince Cable's Mr Bean line about Gordon Brown by referring to Gordon Brown "turning from Prudence to Del Boy without touching the ground" was enough to make you groan it was so lame. Ken Clarke highlights the fact that there is a mass of the electorate who despite being fed up with labour, are not ...
Hampshire News brings us the glad tidings: The Conservatives lost overall control of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council last night after the Liberal Democrats won the Baughurst by-election. Liberal Democrat Michael Bound secured 428 votes to beat Tory Zoe Wheddon, who polled 368 votes. The turnout was 41 per cent. The by-election was called after the death of [...]
When i was at the gym earlier watching MTV on one of the screens a song came on by someone called Mickey Modelle (yes, I am sure that is her real name) which to me showed to futility of government and drinks industry campaigns to ensure a policy of sensible drinking. The whole video appears to centre around drinking lots and lots of alcohol at a bar, and the more you drink the better it gets. Indeed later on in the video there are several acts of wanton vandalism which don't bother anyone as well as a lot of anti ...
There are times when I find it almost impossible to listen to the news from Gaza. This has been one such week - I find myself feeling so impotent, so easily distracted by other cares, so weak and powerless. I want to shout and scream and jump on the next plane to Ben Gurion - but what would that achieve So, tomorrow, those of us who give a xxxx can at least join others in Whitehall to make our views and our voices heard. Anyone who can make it - 4pm opposite Downing Street. I hope to see you there. ...
My old English teacher, a wonderful man called Mr Phelps, used to say "Give that man a chocolate mouse", when someone came up with a clever answer in class. The chocolate mouse was never forthcoming, but we were nonetheless delighted with the accolade if it was directed at us. Well, this week's theoretical chocolate mouse deserves to go to Richard Gadsden who wrote this remarkably perceptive
I know Legoland. Been there. I know those "whirly teacup things". They're in the photo above. But they are for tiny kids. It is an exaggeration to say that they "subject the human body to the most extraordinary stresses and shears". We're not talking about Oblivion or Nemesis at Alton Towers here. They go at about one m.p.h so as not to upset a three year old who's just eaten an ice cream! So
The Liberal Democrats’ Federal Policy Committee is inviting members to put themselves forward to sit on the policy working groups which draft policy for consideration by FPC and then Conference. Party members have been asked to send in their names by 28th January so this is your last chance to do it by then! [...]
People, we have more power than we think. We can engage in direct political action every time we purchase or don't purchase something. If we disagree with a company then don't buy their stuff. If you disagree with battery farming, don't buy that meat. If you want businesses to be more environmentally friendly then support those that are and not those who aren't. Pretty simple really, isn't Regardless of your political views you can democratise the market if you actually consume in line with your beliefs and values. I'm going to make a conscious effort to do so and I'll ...
Well done, Chattergoon of the West Indies.
Friday My dinner guest at the Hall this evening is none other than the noted popular musician Mr Shane McGowan. Do you know him He is an Old Boy of Westminster and his stage act involves his playing a drunken Irish folk musician. He goes to great lengths to make this impersonation convincing, dressing in a tramps clothes and even blacking his teeth. Away from the concert hall he is a very different character: after dinner he eschews my proffered Auld Johnston (that most prized of all Scottish malts) and asks instead for a pot of Orange Pekoe. In an ...
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. Fairy tales The great nineteenth-century radical journalist William Cobbett wrote that it was typical of Britain to have the National Debt but the Crown Jewels. As Vince Cable pointed out in his question to the Alistair Darling on Monday, something similar is now the case with Northern Rock. Under the his plans the risk stays with the taxpayer but any profits will go to private investors. Vince said the BBCs political correspondent had described Richard Branson as looking like the "cat what got the cream". Which is hardly surprising. He appears ...
Apparently, amongst all the Hain-ery, the Government quietly let it be known they are against reforming the method by which we elect representatives to the House of Commons*. I have to confess to not being 100% behind proportional representation as an alternative method of electing MPs, chiefly because under some forms the "constituency link" (all MPs [...]
Well - today's Evening Standard has brought the news that Ken Livingstone is going to be sued for libel by Brenda Stern. She's the whistleblower who highlighted a series of concerns over financial management during Ken's reign and was sacked, raising the obvious question of whether she was sacked because she'd raised those concerns. Mayor Livingstone has laid into her, saying, "we had to get rid of after complaints she was intimidatory to the staff working for her." But as the Evening Standard reports: A complaint of bullying was made against her but in a letter seen by the Standard, ...
On my bus journey home this afternoon, I ended up sitting next to a neighbour. It just so happens this neighbour is a member of the Countryside Alliance. And, knowing me to be a Lib Dem he asked me why it was the Lib Dems were against hunting. Do you know what, for an instant I was stuck for an answer. Of course I recovered my composure and quickly rattled off all the usual reasons; cruel, barbaric etc etc etc. But then I got to thinking; why are Liberal Democrats against hunting After all, when you stop and think about ...
With the government having recently announced a goldplated handout to the directors and shareholders of Northern Rock to ensure the bank is a tempting, subsidised going concern ready for takeover, I thought I would take a look at what Labour MPs had to say on nationalising it. When I looked at what David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon (where I live) had to say, I was left scratching my head and 
{Lynne Featherstone asking the Prime Minister a question in Parliament} It's a while since I've mentioned www.hearfromyourmp.com - one of the excellent services run by Tom Steinberg and co from www.mysociety.org. Its basic idea is to make it much easier for members of the public to find out what their MP has been doing - so whether you are a constituent of mine or not, I do encourage you to sign up in order to, as it says on the tin, hear from your MP at www.hearfromyourmp.com One of the other sites that team runs is www.theyworkforyou.com - a now ...
I think that's what he was on about. Shaken not stirred, and all that.
Apparently, the haggis, which is traditionally consumed tonight, is under threat. But Scottish Liberal Democrats are alert, and have put down an early day motion in the House of Commons, BBC News reports. I shall restrict myself to the liquid part of the commemoration of the bard, but wish all participants in Burns' Suppers a braw nicht. Frank Little
What should we make of the resignation of Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, following his coalition’s defeat in a vote of confidence in the upper house of parliament, the Senate British commentators might reassure themselves but that was Italy, assuming that anything as colourful as punches flying around the woolsack couldnt happen here. Not in [...]
Some time ago, following my request after speaking with residents here, the City Council installed a useful handrail on the southern end of the pavement here, near to Perth Road. Pennycook Lane runs downhill to Perth Road and the elderly residents in the sheltered housing found it a hazard to walk down in icy/snowy and wet conditions. Although the handrail has proved a boon, it only covered the southern end of the pavement as the northern end (the sheltered houses nearest to Blackness Primary School) has a more gradual gradient and doesn't meet the usual criteria for a handrail. I ...
Hugh Muir reports: And while we are continuing police inquiries, what do we know following their famous march on London The event itself was peaceful; the least we could expect, but why was Richard Barnbrook, the BNP mayoral candidate for London and “visionary artist” allowed to take a prominent place at the front Many forces ban their officers from membership of the BNP, as does the Association of Chief Police Officers. Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate and former deputy assistant commissioner at the Met, raised the issue with the organisers, who proceeded - in an orderly fashion - to ...
I really enjoyed meeting pupils of many of our Junior Schools toady who arrived at the Guildhall for sessions of the youth parliament when they were able to learn how local democracy works. It was a great pleasure to be able to welcome them to the Mayors Parlour before giving the opening address and opening the Parliament in the Council Chamber. I have posted a picture of...
Fast approaching its 60th birthday, the NHS is at a crossroads. We have seen 10 years of heavy investment under Labour desperately needed after years of chronic Conservative neglect. However, the money came with a merry go round of reform, throwing the service into disarray as staff and patients struggled to cope with [...]
I had great pleasure in attending the presentation evening for Culverhay Boys School on Tuesday 22nd in the Banqueting room at the Guildhall. It was really good to see how well the local boys had done in their GCSE exams and to be able to present them with their certificates. As a sister whose three brothers all attended Culverhay in the past I feel that I have a close link with the...
The Spotlight Team all year round and not just at election time is a mantra we know and love in Fortune Green and West Hampstead. The main reason it is so good is that it is true - for 32 years the Liberal Democrats (and the predecessor parties) have produced and delivered the Spotlight newsletter month after month, year after year. And it's not a propaganda piece - it deals with real street and resident issues. Over the years it has dealt with virtually every possible topic. So, with the by-election date set for 21st February Nancy Jirira is putting ... 
I've blogged before about some of the great things local communities, such as residents and businesses in Crouch End, are doing to help tackle over-use of plastic bags - with all the litter and environmental problems that flow from them. So it's really disappointing that this week Labour councillors in Haringey blocked moves to support more of these schemes in our borough. It's like walking back into the worst excesses of the 1970s when a Labour councillor objects to schemes to reduce usage of plastic bags because ... "unions weren't consulted"! It's not as if we're talking about cuts some ...
Here’s a challenge for you. What was the problem to which Boris Johnson thinks this is the solution: I have an infallible solution. You go to Legoland. To be exact, you go to those deceptively simple whirly teacup things, and you subject the human body to the most extraordinary stresses and shears. Your teacup rotates in [...]
Last week I was telling a friend of mine that if it werent for the fact that Italy is a democracy, there would be a revolution. The issues facing the country are deep and permeate the whole of society. They reach far back in history and cannot be summarised easily. There is the crisis of refuse collection in southern Italy which reaches far back to the re-creation of the mafia near the end of
Congratulations to Michael Bound, his agent Jo Slimin and the team who fought and won the Baughurst by-election. There was a 21.5% swing from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems - giving Michael a majority of 60 - and meaning that the Conservatives no longer have a majority on Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council! A great result - and particularly encouraging given recent by-election results in Romsey, Wickham and Whitchurch! Michael Bound - Liberal Democrats 428 53.8% +21.5% Conservatives 368 46.2% -21.5%
Well, it has finally happened. After more to-ing and fro-ing between estate agents, solicitors and the most bitter recesses of my brain than I care to remember, I am finally a home-owner. At midday, the solicitors rang to inform me that I now owe the Nationwide a staggering sum of money. And then a minute later the estate agents rang to offer me two sets of keys in return for my soul. It seemed a fair deal to me, and Ill be picking them up at 4. This evening Tamsin and I are going to sit on the floor of ...
Smiles all round in Cowley Street Towers as the party’s WordPress plugin competition is taking off with several very interesting submissions so far. Remember: you have until 29 February to submit your own plugin(s) for the chance to win £200.
The Italian Senate yesterday effectively sacked Romano Prodi as Italian Prime Minster yesterday by voting down a confidence motion in his government by 161 votes to 156 with one abstention.
Last night the Liberal Democrats lost in a by-election in Newton Ward in Sandwell, a Ward that had been held by the Liberals and Liberal Democrats since 1980.
Conseravtivehome has announced that Bob Neill has been appointed the Conservative Shadow Minister for Local Government. And my, the comments make interesting reading! As the first comment says "Presumably the yellow peril will now be calling him Five Jobs Bob", I am loathe to disappoint.
Basingstoke and Deane DC, Baughurst LD Michael John Bound 428 (53.8; +20.3), Con 368 (46.2; -20.3). Majority 60. Turnout 40.6%. LD gain from Con. Last fought 2004. Gainsborough TC, Gainsborough East LD Roger Plastow elected unopposed. LD gain from Ind. Sandwell MBC, Newton Lab 844 (36.9; +2.6), LD Kay Allcock 809 (35.4; -6.9), Con 587 (25.7; +2.3), Green 45 (2.0; +2.0). Majority 35. Turnout
On Wednesday afternoon I attended a drop-in consultation session at Heaton Park County Primary school on Cuckoo Lane. There are proposals to create some children’s play areas along the front of the school (on the Cuckoo Lane side) and we wanted to make sure that local residents had the chance to let us know what they thought. An earlier proposal for a “ball zone” for older children has already been dropped as being too much for the area. There were a number of very valid concerns raised about the proposals: - that the facilities would attract unwelcome groups of young ...
Wednesday night was the regular meeting of Bury Council’s Executive Committee which I sit on as one of the two Opposition Group Leaders. This week saw a very short agenda: Anti-Social Behavioral Policy for use by 6 Town Housing This saw the adaptation of Bury’s existing anti-social behavior policy, for use by “6 Town Housing” (the agency that looks after the borough’s council housing). I know 6 Town Housing already have a very active anti-social behavior unit, and I’m sure this extended policy will help them in their work. Establishment of a Home Improvement Agency By accepting this report the ...
Yesterday I posted a story on Hillary Clintons Hidden past. Today its the turn of Barack Obama. The anomous email had asked me to forward this story onto my contacts. But as most of my contacts wouldnt know who Barack Obama was, let alone understand the significance of this story, I thought Id pass it on to people who might appreciate it. Namely you bunch! Having read it, I can see why I was sent it, it does make for very scary reading. The email, entitled Who is Obama said; Probable US presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, was born in ...
Ken Livingstone supporters moving into the clothes peg business. Remember Polly Toynbee’s exhortation in the run up to the general election that people should vote Labour not because they were any good but because the Tories were worse Well, it seems that Livingstone supporters have started a similar tactic. Seumus Milne, acknowledging that there is “a strong left critique of Livingstone,” nonetheless insists that “the choice [between Livingstone and Johnson] could hardly be starker. No other candidate is in with a shout.” Meanwhile, a bunch of Labour MPs have written a letter to the Guardian demanding that “the real issues ...
Various versions of this poster have been bouncing around in recent months, but this one probably hits the nail squarest on the head (following on from Guido’s assertions): Hat-tip: Mike Rouse.
When I was on holiday in Jamaica last year I visited some of the schools in their Kingston which are linked to schools in our Kingston - this was a project of mine supported by the British Council in Jamaica and Kingston Council over here. I was struck by how the teachers were having to struggle with extremely limited resources, and they particularly regretted the shortage of reading...
All current Redcar and Cleveland pass holders, and those who qualify and want a new bus pass, can register at special sessions in Redcar and Guisborough libraries next month for the new National Bus Pass issued for April 1. Already, nearly 20,000 people have applied for new passes after a series of registration sessions in November. If you attend these extra sessions, you will need to bring proof of residence within the Borough, such as a recent bill showing your address and your current bus pass.
Tuesday: Mr Clogg has announced exciting new Health policies for the Liberal Democrats. The aim is to enable people to take charge of their own health needs, rather than having some remote minister dictate to them what they will get. The Health Service is a BRILLIANT thing: looking after the poorly is truly a mark of being civilised. But too often the bureaucracy put in place by the Labour leaves doctors and nurses struggling to meet Whitehall's targets instead of the needs of their patients. It is time to put a stop to that by putting people back in change. ...
News reached the Voice yesterday that nine Lib Dem MPs have signed an EDM supporting haggis, which brings over £1m into the Scottish economy, particularly in the run up to Burns Night. The future of the haggis has been jeopardised by the withdrawal of funding currently used to train workers in the meat industry. Leading [...]
TheyWorkForYou.com sends me a daily email update on the oral and written activity of my local MP, James Clappison (he of the Guantanamo Bay support), and I’ve noticed a certain trend developing. Not to put too fine a point on it, but all his written questions to ministers appear to revolve around one subject: Immigration [...]
Network Rail staff have worked all night and cleared the 2000 tons of soil off the line at Chipping Sodbury. Delays of about 30 minutes still apply because of the temporary signalling arrangements, but trains are now travelling at 40 mph through the affected area instead of 20 mph. Off-peak services are still every hour instead of every half hour. Hopefully full services will be resumed by Monday (just in time for the fare strike!) The BBC update is here, Evening Post here and First Great Western give details of service changes here. Apparently this section of line was due ...
I am glad to see that our leader is talking about reinventing the NHS. As it is presently organised about 10% of the money thrown at it is wasted simply because of the the inefficiencies built into the present organisation. That is, spend £10 000 000 on the NHS and £1 000 000 is automatically wasted.
The government is thinking of making healthy eating compulsory in packed school lunches by suggesting that teachers should 'police' the contents...(I guess that's one way to make a generatio...
If an MP signs an EDM opposing something and then that very something comes up for vote in Parliament, what do you think they should do I think it’s safe to say your answer to that is different from the answer you’d get from Labour MP David Anderson. Note: EDMs are “early day motions”, a form of [...]
Adam Buxton puts a few of his David Miliband impressions(!) on his blog from the R4 show Listen Against. Well worth a listen!
Couldn't we draw a line at 11 years old and at least ignore what politicians are doing with their children, regarding schooling, before that age I squirmed as Nick Clegg felt compelled by David Dimbleby (on Question Time during the leadership election) to describe the schooling of his very small children. It sounded awful, the poor fellow having to say to what sort of establishment these little
The Government were determined to get their own way over MPs' pay.
Julian Glover writes a small article on CiF today about a project that I am involved in. Our group works on creating interfaces between the brain and external machines with the hope of developing workable artificial limbs for amputees or SCI patients that can be controlled directly from motor areas of the brain, allowing them to use these neuroprosthetics in a similar manner to real limbs. He seems to miss the point though and think we want to turn everyone into cyborgs which is a shame as he could have written a good article about it but instead went down ...
It is good to see that LDYS have come out against the government's nefarious plans to force students into showing an ID card to get both a student loan and a bank account to deposit it into. Needless to say, this is horrific and LDYS deserves all the credit in the world for making a big song and dance about it.
It seems that here in the West Country the cost of policing football and rugby games is put at £328.500 per annum. Football; 163,000 to police Bristol City's home fixtures (club contribution £95,800) £98,000 to police Bristol Rover's home fixtures (club contribution £30,000) Cheltenham Town FC paid £31,000 for police services, Swindon Town FC paid £18,000 and Yeovil Town FC are believed to have paid £13,000. Rugby; Bath and Bristol rugby clubs have no police presence within their grounds and therefore paid nothing. Gloucester RFC paid £5,500. Two questions; 1) why do football matches require a greater police presence than ...
Another good snippet from popbitch: >> New Year’s hell << There’s never a suicide bomber around when you need one… At one New Year’s Eve party in the Cotswolds guests included Rebekah Wade, The Camerons, Bob Geldof, AA Gill and Jeremy Clarkson. Dave the Rave Cameron spent much of the evening on the dancefloor, telling people his tunes of the night were Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and rare groove classic Funky Nassau’s Beginning of the End. His missus Samantha asked the DJ to play Blue Boy’s Remember Me. Jeremy Clarkson brought an unusual Christmas gift for the host - a ...
We tend not to be too poll-obsessed here at LDV - of course we look at them, as do all other politico-geeks, but viewed in isolation no one poll will tell you very much beyond what you want to read into it. Looked at over a reasonable time-span and, if there are enough polls, you [...]
The Presiding Officer has gone on the offensive today to defend the mechanisms contained within the Government of Wales Act and to rubbish those who say that the process of accumulating new powers is not fit for purpose and is not working: Lord Elis-Thomas denied that a crisis broke out this week when the Assembly Government agreed to redraft legislation concerning vulnerable children at the request of London. It will make it clear it will not use new powers in this area to seek a smacking ban. Speaking in his Assembly office, the Presiding Officer said debate between Cardiff and ...
More and more recently I hear or read people saying that Tony Blair's ten years in power has generated in them a deep distrust and even loathing of politics and politicians. Through sleaze, spin, wars, a vast growth in the reach and size of the state - most of which appears to many to have gone straight into the pockets of corporate bosses and shareholders, he has produced a far more powerful advertisement for the possible benefits of a minimal state than many who have tried to explain it academically through their writings. {Primeministers, Guns & Greenbacks} Even now, in ...
The Gladstone Club took the adventurous decision to have the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, MP — aka Doris Karloff (pace the Daily Mirror)– as guest speaker at its annual dinner at the National Liberal Club last night. The place was pretty packed, as we had all come along hoping to be challenged, and duly were. Her [...]
{Martin Tod collects a signature from Audrey Bayes on the Lib Dem 'Bad Timing' petition} Good news! The Conservatives have finally given in to popular pressure on the start time for over-60s bus passes in the Winchester District. Current bus passes allow free travel from 9 a.m. Back in September, the Conservatives announced that they intended to move the start time to 9.30 a.m. We objected to the plan at the time, increased the pressure at the Council Meeting on January 9th, launched a petition against it last Thursday, January 17th (see photo left), launched the ‘Bad Timing’ website as ...
Monday: In THEORY the stock market works like this: extremely clever (and highly-paid) City chaps study a company, decide what future income they might get, work out how risky it is and then set a price based on how much money they would need to have now to get the same sort of interest. Other chaps guesstimate that it's worth a bit more, so they will buy. The market averages out the estimates of value and works out the right sort of price. In PRACTICE it works like this: "Ooh look a fluffity little kitten!" "Arrrgh, arrgh; sell, Sell, SELL!" ... | < | January 2008 | > | ||||
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