LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Sunday 30th March 2008

Crime: Labour tough on paper, not in fact

Labour is pinning its hopes on stemming the ebbing of their support in the May 1st council elections on frightening the electorate with anti-social behaviour. Some points need to be answered: "Remove licences or close down shops that persistently sell alcohol to under eighteens" Will this include the major supermarkets, which Labour nationally has refused to challenge "Introduce local crime fighting strategies so that every area is kept safe [...] Work closely with neighbourhood policing teams to deal quickly with local hotspots for crime and anti-social behaviour" We thought this was just what LibDem-led Swansea was doing "The Liberal Democrats ...

A bit of exercise!

My Sponsored Slim ends tomorrow evening (The big weigh in is on Tuesday morning - watch this space!) so I decided a bit of execise was required today! Walking boots and cagoule on and off over the Plott, down to the canal and along the tow path to Wedgwood. Many people have spoken to me about the state of the towpath at Meaford but I never realised just how atrocious it is. It is barely passable even in proper walking gear. I’ve walked and ran this towpath for over fifty years and it’s always been a problem - but never as ...

Separated at birth

Alix Mortimer - top Lib Dem blogger: Minnie Driver - top award-winning actress:

Race across London

I don't normally do this, but I just found myself watching Top Gear. It was pretty cool, though. They arranged a race from Kew Bridge to the London City Airport. Richard Hammond cycled, James May drove a 4x4, The Stig took public transport (bus, underground, and light railway), Jeremy Clarkson took a power boat down the Thames. The boat was restricted to 9mph for part of the journey, but finished the journey at 70mph - there's no speed limit below Wandsworth Bridge. Nevertheless, Richard Hammond won the race on his bike, and the car came dead last! You can watch ...

The BNP have moved Big Ben

One of my colleagues on Gateshead Council got his hands on a copy today of a glossy mailing posted out by the BNP to people who, it can only be summised, were regarded by the BNP as supporters. Complete with begging letter was a magazine, issue 1 of "Hope and Glory". When I looked at it, something did not appear to be quite right on the front page which was filled by a hugh picture of the Houses

Modern World - Or is it

Here I am sitting at my PC having just spent two hours finishing off my report to the federal conference commitee and I was thinking how things have changed over the past few years. Essentially with all the technology and gadgets available today can we really get anything right. Having read my fat friend and betting buddy Andrew Reeves' Blog (see below for address)earlier about Terminal 5 and

Campaigning in Wolverhampton

Today has mainly been a campaigning day in Wolverhampton. I have been delivering and canvassing in both Park and St Peters wards.

Kate Bush: The Man with the Child in his Eyes

Back in the 1970s a secondhand bookshop appeared in the back streets of Market Harborough and I got a Saturday job there when I was in the sixth form. There are worse ways of making money than serving customers and cataloguing books.The shop was run by a couple and the woman - now a Famous Author - bought Kate Bush's first LP The Kick Inside when it came out and played in continually while I worked there. If you hear a record that often you either love it or hate it, and I loved it.Kate Bush was 19 when the ...

Old and new media

A few months ago I a gave presentation on old and new media to a group of people from around the world who run tax bodies. In discussing old and new media, I got to thinking that in fact you had to deal with both in the same way. I didn't really flesh out my thoughts enough to write about it here but it has been on my mind for a while. What I didn't know at the time is that Steve Rubel was making that argument on his blog for quite a while. His post - Three Internet Careers ...

New bus shelter for Cricketers Way

{Rhodes Square bus shelter} During the installation of raised kerbs for local bus stops the bus shelter at Rhodes Square was damaged and removed. Thanks to pressure from local councillors it has now been replaced. This bus stop is very exposed and it is unacceptable to expect passengers to wait there without a shelter. Although it has taken a long time to replace the shelter I am grateful to highways officers for pushing this project to the top of the agenda and to county councillor Robin Hughes for his help in ensuring the job was finished as soon as possible. ...

The Dirty Dozen 3

My selection of the best and worst in Tory and Labour blogging from the past month can be found on Liberal Democrat Voice.

An Urgent Appeal

This is an urgent appeal from the Society for the Prevention of Hideous Facial Expressions in Media. To: All media organisations, both print and online. Please, help us. Images of Wendy Alexander, Scottish Labour leader, that have appeared in the mainstream media have been causing a great deal of distress to both our members and members of [...]

Inspectors come calling

As today’s Observer reports: The UK government will this week face an unprecedented investigation by the powerful Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) over its failures to comply with international anti-corruption and bribery protocols. Over three days, starting on Tuesday, officials from the Foreign and Home Offices and the Ministry of Justice, together with the Attorney-General, senior Serious Fraud Office and police figures will be interrogated by French, Canadian and other OECD anti-corruption experts. The agenda, seen by The Observer, will focus on why the UK government has failed to pass a modern anti-corruption law despite promising to do ...

Southall Black Sisters and the unmasking of the real Tory Party

My pal Yasmin Whittaker Khan has an important article in today's Mail on Sunday about Tory Ealing's decision to cut funding for Southall Black Sisters. The article speaks for itself, but it certainly raised for me the specter of the reality of a possible future Tory Government and its presumed priorities. The warm and cuddly sheep's clothing that David Cameron is trying to wrap himself in is doing a reasonable job of hiding the wolf that is the reality of his party's values and priorities. Whilst the plaintiff cry of Neil Kinnock in 1983 anticipating a further Tory term - ...

Haringey's sporting talent

Having had V20 (volunteering for young people) come to see my at Parliament - I went to visit some of their volunteers in Haringey this weekend. In this instance - it was sports coaches who devote themselves to Friday night coaching younger children to run at the White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre. How fantastic they are! Loads of kids also turned up - as they do each week. For the coaches - who are all young and have come through the system themselves - it means they not only can give something back in return, but also it helps ...

Could a Tory be Antony Little's stalker

The controversy over a some allegations of stalking Conservative Councillor Antony Little seems to have excited Iain Dale and the hunt is on to discover whodunnit. As always in these cases, the Conservatives drop big hints without actually pointing the finger (due to, well, no evidence) .So, all-in-all, Antony Little looks like the innocent hard-working Councillor and Lib Dem Youth are left to look a bit shifty. And that's what started me thinking. Cases of harassment via the internet are not new or uncommon (sadly). If the Conservatives had left this alone, very few people would ever known or have ...

HARTS for Families

{Lynne Featherstone being filmed at HARTS} Visited HARTS for Families on Friday to take part in a film about the work they do. I was really impressed by them when I visited in 2006. They are a unique facility for those who are too vulnerable to get themselves out of the dreadful holes people can get into as life's problems and difficulties mount up. Without a helping hand to sort out things, they can spiral down and down - but with HARTS people are helped to turn things round instead and given assistance to get matters back under control to ...

Boris Johnson does a runner

Thursday saw a topical debate on policing in London in Parliament. I took the opportunity to raise with the Minister about the need to station Safer Neighbourhood teams in their own ward - i.e. Highgate! Of wider note was the brief appearance of the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London - Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson has famously only mentioned London once in his entire lifetime at Parliament prior to his current and somewhat sudden interest in being our Mayor. So - a debate on what the very heart of Londoners are concerned about - you would have thought he would ...

Tory Parking charges challenged.

The Liberal Democrat group on Bath & North East Somerset Council have launched a petition against the increased parking charges in the centre of Bath that are being pushed through by our conservative administration. You can also register your opposition by signing our petition at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/BathResidentsParkingCharg Comments received via the petition website may be...

Top of the Blogs: The Dirty Dozen #3

When I agreed to write this monthly round up of Labour and Tory blogging I said I would aim to keep a balance between pointing to interesting postings that we Lib Dems may have missed and laughing at the folly of our opponents. So here goes. Labour March began with Margaret Hodge attacking the Proms for being elitist. [...]

Blogging and Stuff Part 2

I've been pondering the "why don't Lib Dems campaign on their blogs more" question. I'd hazard a guess that there is a big difference in the roots of the Lib Dem blog community on the one hand and the American conservative and liberal blog communities on the other. The USA has a big and vociferous conservative movement outside (or at least in the wings of) the Republican party. It also has a large, vociferous liberal movement which stands in similar relation to the Democrats. The main interests of each of these groups is castigating the other one. An important secondary ...

Where in the World is Mark Thatcher

Today’s Observer continues to delight. Their Good Week / Bad Week column carries the following snippet, under the Bad Week heading: Mark ThatcherThe whereabouts of Lady Thatcher’s son are apparently unclear after a new attempts to extradite him to Equatorial Guinea over his alleged involvement in the failed coup. Mind you, he does have a habit [...]

Measles or vaccination - the Egyptian view of islamist politics

Have had fascinating talks with a colleague from Egypt this afternoon. It was one of those lunchtime discussions which just ran on and on until we suddenly looked at our watches and saw it was 5pm. In essence, he likens the threat posed in his country by radical islamist parties (and how to deal with them) as being like a choice between measles and vaccination. In deciding how to handle the threat posed, he says that the dilemma for the mainstream parties - and he includes the Government and main opposition - is whether to engage with the islamists or ...

Government out of touch says local Labour MP Ivan Lewis

Bury South’s Labour MP Ivan Lewis, fresh from voting to support the government’s plans to close local post offices, has today launched a stinging attack on his own party just weeks before the local elections. In an interview with the News of The World, Mr Lewis said that he believes that the Labour party is “out of touch with ordinary people.” His interview has forced senior ministerial colleagues into desperate efforts to hold the party together. Mr Lewis said that, after 11 years in power, Labour was often “too often silent on the daily realities facing hardworking families.” Perhaps in his ...

Day 2642: France One; England Nil

Wednesday: A nice slap-up dinner for Mrs the Queen when French President Monsieur Sarcastic [A: Surely he has now become Monsieur So-Cosy] came along to visit telling us how he wants to be our bestest friends now. But then Mr Frown gets lost somewhere in the castle. I believe this is called a Win-Win situation. PS: It is no wonder that Mr Frown and M So-Cosy got along so well after all they are both THATCHERITES, aren't they.

Day 2640: On Expenses

Monday: The House of Commons continues to do itself NO FAVOURS over the business of MPs' expenses. Even as we learn that MPs can spend £23,000 on a second home (or £700,000 if you happen to be Mr Speaker Housemartin), the Speaker's committee are off to the High Court (more expense) to prevent Freedom of Information being told about the expenses of 14 top MPs including Mr Frown, Mr Balloon, Sir Mr the Merciless and, er, Mr Mark Oatcake. The STICKING point is, apparently, revealing the addresses of these MPs' second homes but surely the AMOUNTS involved would be okay ...

Guest Post Three of the Second Preference Bids - 'Boris'

This is the third of three guest articles in which supporters of Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Siân Berry are invited to argue why Lib Dems should give 2nd preference to their candidate. Today's article is written by Sean Fear [definitely not pictured]. Sean is a Conservative activist and pens Sean Fear's Friday Slot on politicalbetting.com Brian Paddick has been an effective candidate in the London Mayoral election. But it is clear from polling that he has little or no chance of finishing first or second. The candidates in the top two places are very likely to be Boris Johnson ...

Redefining Terrorism

Via the Observer, comes this classically misguided insight from Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert: ‘The government is trying to give the impression that it has put a stop to the early release of terrorists. … The public is deceived into believing that people who have threatened our country will serve a certain jail term, when [...]

Gore for President

The Telegraph reports that Al Gore - who isn't actually running for President - has a "sporting chance" of beating both Clinton and Obama to the Democratic nomination. The battle between the two remaining declared candidates is turning more bitter by the day, with accusations, smears and attack ads being launched in both directions - to the point where Democrat chief Howard Dean has had to tell Hillary and Barack to cool down their rhetoric for fear of them damaging the party as a whole. And he has good reason: a sizeable chunk of Democrats from each camp are saying ...

Parking progress

I am pleased to see the imminent start of survey work by City Council consultants, looking at ways of improving parking for residents in various parts of the City, but particularly those adjacent to the City Centre, including the West End. This follows on from approval of a report to the Planning & Transport Committee last autumn (click on headline to view) that gave authority for the City Council to ensure there was a serious investigation of options to improve residents parking, consult with communities about the options and report back to committee on the views of residents, the options ...

Brian Paddick Nominated

Brian Paddick has been formally nominated for Mayor of London. He is a very strong candidate as an individual. The supplementary vote system is interesting here. He could easily beat either Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnson in a straight fight. The challenge is to get sufficient first preferences to end up in the run off.

Food crisis What food crisis

Like Jo A, I must stress that I only have access to a copy of Delia’s new How to Cheat at Cooking through A Friend. Nowt to do wiv us, guv. Here are some of the handy hints from the introduction: For instance, why not cut out grating cheese altogether when you’re busy There are now some [...]

Life, Research & Ethics

There's been a fair bit of coverage in the media recently of the proposals going before Parliament on embryo research. Those in favour of allowing such moves claim that we need to do this in order to find cures for diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. I have loads of sympathy with the sufferers of such diseases and their families. My own father suffered from both, living out his final

Losing weight AGAIN

Dear All, Its that thime again when I need all the support I can get, got to lose that weight again, as you can see from my Lib Dem colleague and fat friend Andrew Reeves (http://andrewrunning.blogspot.com/) we have a little side bet for September Lib Dem Federal Conference, that 3 stone has got to go again. Yo Yo diet I here you shout, well you are spot on I feel like a yo yo round and on a

Texts and twitters

12:03 waking up and getting ready to go to Leeds. Not sure what the plan is after that but Leeds is a good start. # 14:03 scared by the huge crowd in Scarbrough, not queueing for pizza, but Whitelocks had a table, yay! Leeds very busy. # 18:09 wishing Inspector Sands would get his arse to Platform 7 so they turn the bloody message off # 22:49 watching The Mind Robber. Zoe really does have a fine arse. #Microblogging by SMS, using LoudTwitter and Twitter.

Blogging and campaigning: the more things change

As a moderately inactive Liberal Democrat blogger, I read Lynne Featherstones piece on are we making the most of blogging with some interest. Her key point was to compare blogging in our party (largely local, anecdotal, and inward-looking), with political blogging in the US (largely campaigning and outward-looking): What we seem to be mostly missing are [...]

Not quite passed away yet...!

Firstly, many thanks to all who have given me their best wishes following my recent minor hospital operation. I'm doing fine although won't be exactly tripping the light fantastic for a week or so yet! Rumours of my passing away back in 1993 are greatly exaggerated. It's been pointed out that if you enter "Fraser Macpherson" into the search engine of Spock, the people search engine that helps you find friends and colleagues on the web, the first two of five results have photos of me, but beside the rather out of date one (photo from Tay Bridges Ward by-election ...

Opinion Polls Trend Report March - Best Polls for the Lib Dems for a year

The latest Minimum, Average and Maximum figures for the Liberal Democrats are 16, 18.6 and 21. Whilst the low and high figures have not moved the average has risen by 1.2 % from February. This takes the Party to a rolling average that is the highest since April 2007. You Gov also recorded (at 17%) its highest rating for the Lib Dems since last April. March 18.6 (5 Polls - 16% YouGov, 21% ICM) February 17.4% (5 polls - 16% YouGov, 21% ICM) January 17.3% (9 - 14% Yougov, 21% ICM) December 15.6% (7 - 14% YouGov & Ipsos/Mori, 18% ...

In Beirut

I'm in Beirut for a meeting of the nascent Liberal Arab Network. There are people here from Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria and Lebanon. As with my work in Africa, these parties vary in their levels of electoral strength and experience, but there is a wonderful determination. Arrived last night wondering what sort of place I was flying in to. Turns out to be a wonderfully modern airport which is the gateway to a very modern city. Ok, so I've only been to the city centre so far, but it all looks typically mediterranean. Lots of coffee bars and ...

Keeping the flame alive

I had promised myself I would spend this morning reading but thunderstorms are forecast for the South West this afternoon and Ive already lost an hour upon waking so just time for another quick musing on the Olympic games before Im off out (hopefully avoiding electrocution!) The fact that Im blogging about the Olympic games means surely something has seriously gone wrong somewhere. Im certainly not interested in most of the sport apart from swimming and gymnastics. There should be no politics in the Olympic games, but then to think that shows a naivety not becoming in an aspiring political ...

Stealing hours and fixing roads

Well the clocks went forward last night. It was the first such shift in time since we moved house, and I have to say I was shocked by the number of clocks we have in the house. Fourteen, to be precise, not including my watch. I think that’s pretty unnecessary… Still, at least I remembered the correct direction in which to turn them all. A couple of years back I turned them back at this time of year, and was thus two hours behind the rest of Britain for most of a day, until it got dark in the middle ...

Paying the bill

As if consumers have not suffered enough, press reports today indicate that energy bills are set to rise yet again before the year is out. We already have a situation where Welsh householders pay on average 10 per cent more for power than their counterparts in England. Many are already being hit hard by rising food, transport and petrol costs amid widespread concern over the economy. Now we learn that we could be paying an extra £100 a year on top of the £140 increase that has come in since last December, at around the same time that we are ...

Heathrow and the case of the missing luggage

The BBC are now reporting that there are 15,000 bags stranded at Heathrow Airport Terminal Five. A total of 208 flights were cancelled during the Terminals first three days. Has anybody told the Guinness Book of Records I think they need to open a new category especially for this fiasco, starting with 'biggest private sector cock-up'.

Opinion: To boycott or not to boycott

I am sure I speak for everybody reading this when I express disgust at the recent actions of the Chinese government in Tibet; however what to do in response is far from a given. Calls for an outright boycott of the 2008 games, hosted by Beijing, remain relatively few and far between at the present [...]

Life in the balance

By lunchtime yesterday Mark and I were on our way to Ashford as I was due to speak at the South East Region Lib Dem conference. It was a rather subdued journey, as poor Mark had just had to take the decision every pet owner dreads, about the point where the suffering of an animal shouldn't be prolonged. One of his cats, Victoria, had major surgery for a cancerous tumour last autumn but sadly, the cancer has returned. I'm sure he made the right choice to put an end to her suffering, but it isn't an easy choice, and after ...

Child Labour

Figures published today show that there are over 120,000 children aged betwen five and thirteen working in the Brazilian state of Ceará. That’s about 8 percent of kids in that age group. The situation in nearby Maranhãu is even worse. Most of the children are labouring unpaid in the agricultural sector, though quite a lot [...]

Sunday 30th March 2008

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