In traditional Liberal Democrat leaflet style, the team at The Voice has three things for you to remember: 1. Don’t stop getting people out to vote until 10pm 2. Make sure our team is on the ball at the count 3. And once it’s all over, this lady would like your assistance 
How rules are made and applied depends on who you are. I am angry. In February an Asylum seeker friend was preparing for a judicial review and an appeal to stay in this Country because it was dangerous to go back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was getting evidence together. An appeal was being made about a test case as to whether the DRC was a safe place to be returned to,...
Thinking back a few years to my active political involvement (I have not been involved in elections for two years), it has just occurred to me that this time always used to be a really good time for me. The time I write about it late evening on the eve of poll. By this stage of a campaign, you usually know if you have done enough, and given that I have never lost an election as an agent or campaign manager, I always tended to know it we were okay. But it was still all dependent on making sure polling ...
Anyone watching Traffic Cops on the BBC tonight will have been sickened to see the pathetic punishment dished out to a 13 year old boy who stole car and speeded in it before crashing it whilst the police pursued him. The boy was given a small fine, and this is the comical bit, had points added to his driving license (note he is 13 years old) and was banned from driving for one year (again, note his age). What an absolute joke our criminal justice system is.
Braeview Academy's recent HMIE report has been greatly cheering news and of great credit to Brenda Hadcroft, the Head Teacher, all other staff and the pupils, parents and wider school community. Obviously, Braeview is not in my ward area, so why this comment? Back in 2003/4 when I was the Convener of the Education Committee, I paid several visits to Braeview around the time of the previous - and critical HMIE report - and I was impressed - thoroughly impressed - by the determination of all at the school (including the then acting Head Teacher David May, a long standing ... 
I won't exactly have time tomorrow to blog - but maybe afterwards I'll explain a bit about what political activists get up to on polling day..... Just three messages for tomorrow... Don't forget that you can give a first and second preference for Mayor. There is no need to use your first vote tactically, so vote for Brian Paddick. Let's get Stephen Knight elected...
At the Bath Abbey there was Climate change debate and also what the aspect of religion has to do with climate change there was some interesting aspects to it although as Mayor you have to stay neutral about these things we both had a point of view but couldn't express it this year or next year. but never mind we live in interesting times with all different views from everyone.
On Tuesday 29th April I awarded four more 40 year awards two each to Rotorks and two to Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors and they were Mr Geoff Beeho 40+ and Mr Paul Kennedy 40+ years from Rotork Controls where we also Goodbye to the chief executive Mr Bill Whiteley who has been there in the firm for 30 years Mr Peter France takes over from May 2nd after the annual meeting and Mr Guy Woodward 46...
Annual Special Constables Event Although my Birthday I still enjoyed meeting the Special Constables And I was to go around and say hello and I also asked some questions they have served our community over many years they are an extended bit of our police force. Some are recognised for doing 10 years of service although some have done more. Well done to all of...
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 [...] 
My piece for Our Kingdom making the democratic case for Brian can be found here. It looks like Boris is not the only Tory that can't count, 'cos I swear I was asked to do a piece 300 words long!!
Monday 28th April At 2.30 I was presenting three 40 year awards the first was to Mr Robert Copp of Horstmans Defence Systems and also wished him Happy Birthday for the 30th April, he had done 40+yrs, Mr John Gregory from Sainsbury's who has done 40+ and then Mr Anthony Nash Mogers Solicitors who has done 44years and it gave me great pleasure to present them as Mayor I think it is...
I would like to wish all the Lib Dems fighting elections tomorrow best wishes and I hope that you all have a good day. Although our area does not have elections this year I have been across the water to help in the Welsh elections where from what I have seen we may see a few surprises by tomorrow night. What am I doing well I have been told by my Children that for once in my...
I picked the latest Tory rag (sorry newspaper) from our rather apologetic postman who said that it was part of his delivery work. I have read it and find that there is again no substance apart from cheap pot shots at the Lib Dems. It is a timely reminder for residents that Wansdyke Tories run Bath & North East Somerset Council and the increased charges for parking and home...
The Morality panel at BBC Radio Berkshire was on my diary, and that of my good lady wife, today. Nicki Whiteman, who hosts the 1pm-4pm show on our local Oracle, is an exquisite broadcaster who ought to have a show on Radio 2 (Cheques payable to P.Walter....). The questions which came up were, as usual, quixotic: Should prisoners get a pay rise ? ....Er.... yes. Should Page Three continue ?
The whole fiasco about Labour abolishing the 10% tax rate is only the tip of the iceberg in Gordon Brown’s attempt to dictate an economy based on doing what he wants, rather than having the freedoms that we are entitled to. If you’ve been on another planet the last fortnight, or having a ’sanity break’ from [...]
The latest of my monthly selections of the worst and best in Labour and Tory blogging has just gone up at Lib Dem Voice.
The Britblog Roundup - a selection of the best in British blogging from the past week - was founded by Tim Worstall in February 2005 and appeared on his blog each week for two years. For the past year or so it has been on its travels, appearing on a different blog each week. On Sunday (4 May) I shall be hosting the Roundup here on Liberal England. If you see a posting on a British blog this week that you think should appear, please send the link to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com before Sunday lunchtime. And the reason ...
Karma police, arrest this girl, her Hitler hairdo, is making me feel ill And we have crashed her party This is what you get, this is what you get This is what you get, when you mess with us Radiohead, Karma police For reasons that may (or may not) become clear, the Daily Mail made me think of these lyrics today. As it has done through the years, thankfully a mite more critically this time, the paper has done a piece on the fascist du jour Richard “Dick” Barnbrook. The main revelation which I did not know was that he ...
During the Lib Dem leadership campaign (under the guise of The Willow Man) and more recently in my post Why do Lib Dems love shooting themselves in the foot I made the suggestion that at times, we are our own worst enemy. It seems, as a party, we love nothing better than beating ourselves up in public. It seems that barely a day goes by when we are not attacking our own candidates, our own PPC's or even our own leader. Why is that? Have we forgotten and learnt nothing from the fall out following the great fcuk up by ...
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 Disloyalty is common in politics, so its refreshing to come across [...]
A dry evening yesterday gave the opportunity for Alan, John and I to go out and survey a couple of streets in the ward. We do this from time to time because it's a good way to speak to residents who don't usually contact us, to find out what their concerns are and their views on a number of issues. Last night we covered Hindhead, Holywell Green and part of Monmouth Drive. We also spoke to
Guido predicting win for Boris... Meanwhile - in other shocking breaking news Brian reveals he's gay...
The last Prime Minister’s Questions before the 1st May elections was always likely to prove a rowdy affair: and so it proved. Yet the pattern was wearily familiar. Gordon Brown and David Cameron slug it out, with Gordon looking embattled but resilient, and Dave looking smart but insubstantial. Then Nick gets up, gets shouted down [...]
The party’s Chief Executive, Chris Rennard, writes: The party's website www.libdems.org.uk will be regularly updated during Thursday night and Friday day time with the latest election results from around the country. You can also sign up for highlights to be sent direct to your mobile phone by texting follow resultsservice to 07624 801 423. Our results service makes use of [...]
I recently interviewed Norman Baker MP and the full interview will feature online soon, so check back soon to read about Norman’s insight into national and global politics, and the Lib Dems..
Following reports of the following graffiti incident at Little London Playing Fields the Police have told me that they believe they know who the "tagger" is and close to making an arrest! Good news. The Police and Test Valley are also investigating another matter we have reported to them re: flytipping and arson but we cannot divulge the full nature just yet.
It seems one of our poli-blogging contingent may be in a slight spot of bother. Mr Paul Staines aka ‘Guido Fawkes’ of the high moral ground was caught earlier this month (I think after the ASI blogging evening as there were rumours of someone waking up as a guest of Her Majesty’s Constabulary) driving whilst twice over the drink-drive limit and with no insurance. tut tut. This apparently isn’t his first offence. For the story in the Independent go here, for schadenfreude go here, here, here or here, for no comment go here or here.
David Steel is on good form today with his article about why the 1967 Abortion Act should not be altered. I have blogged before about Steel's views on possible changes to the act which he piloted through Parliament. Despite the siren voices urging a ban on abortion after 22 weeks or even earlier, Steel is right to point out that there has been no advance in neonatal science which would justify such a change. Those who argue for a reduction usually oppose abortion altogether and would be better off being honest about making their case. And he is also right ...
Looks like we will have somewhat wet periods on Polling Day. Years ago we used to wind up Tory tellers at poll stations by calling this 'Tory Weather'. General seeping misery for most which the wealthy could avoid. Back when car owners were disproportionally Tories, really wet weather on polling day was reconed to be worth an extra 150 votes difference at least per ward in the Tories favour because of differential impact on the turnouts. The gallows humour of those awaiting the counts afer a rainy pollday included muttering the doggerel: The rain falls down upon the Just As ...
The BBC’s Nick Robinson, not usually known for major howlers, has dropped the ball somewhat on the Government’s proposals to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days: "Unlike on the 10p tax, the PM knows that the public is, largely, on his side on this one." Err… is this the same public that said in a recent opinion [...]
Tomorrow is May day, not the public holiday but Beltane. Out and about today and I couldn't help noticing all the new green leaves on the trees, the bank of cowslips bursting into flower and the swirling petals of pink blossom, dislodged by the rain, a change in the air with the promise of summer soon. Let's hope voting tomorrow brings a change too. (Someone pointed out that I write my posts in the small hours of the morning - in fact, they are written during the day - it's the clock that's wrong, I'll try and change it!)
Friends Reunited finally grows up Ok, they've gone for an ad model like the rest of the web rather than sort the subscription system into something worthwhile, but the first UK SN is now trying to play catchup. Sounds familiar really... (tags: friends+reunited social+networks ITV web2.0) Saying what we mean « Lords of the Blog Lord Soley has roped a bunch of friends in to contributing to a group blog about the House of Lords and how it works. This is a more jokey \"translation\" post, worth a read (via webofevil) (tags: house+of+lords Blogs Humour) Get a Load of These ...
All English final in Ruskii? I smell another diplomatic dispute. Many know how difficult it can be to get a Russian visa. It takes an age, it costs a lot. A fair few know how difficult things can get if you don't get one and go to Russia. Employ smarm and bribery or sit in a jail cell until you've honed these illustrious skills. We all know how hundreds of footy fans pay £thousands for last minute tickets and voyages to Champions League finals when only one premiership team is in attendance. Oh well at least we're good buddies with ...
I caught the Wales Labour Party political broadcast on BBC2 last night. I was just finishing off some work when it came on so I paused to watch it. In many ways it was predictable stuff but I believe that it also marked a new low in negative campaigning. If Labour are to be believed the Welsh Liberal Democrats have emptied all the local prisons in an effort to find candidates. Utter tosh, but it was insulting to the electorate and failed to recognise the huge amount of good work being carried out by Welsh Liberal Democrat Councils as well ...
The Burma Campaign is extremely concerned for the safety of leading democracy activist Min Ko Naing, who is being held in Rangoon¹s notorious Insein Prison. He is suffering from a serious eye infection and may go blind because he is being denied medical treatment. It is reported that his eye condition has deteriorated to the point that he is unable to sleep or eat because of the pain the infection has caused. Min Ko Naing has been in prison since August last year. He was arrested for leading protests in Rangoon. The protests triggered the biggest demonstrations in Burma since ...
Amnesty are getting quite good at this video malarkey. Hot on the heels of their fantastic and disturbing waterboarding cinema advert, comes this: (Hat-tip: Pickled Politics) Find out more here.
Tesco’s has a love-hate relationship with the Liberal Democrats that is symptomatic of the ambiguous intercourse the company enjoys with both the public and the media. On several occasions, Tesco’s has generously sponsored receptions at LibDem Party conferences, a gesture much appreciated by those attending. And I’m sure I am only one of hundreds of thousands [...]
Well done to Norman Lamb for securing a parliamentary debate on Zimbabwe yesterday. I would like to associate myself with, and unreservedly commend, the following views expressed in the debate by my member of Parliament, Richard Benyon (enjoy that sentence, you'll not often see it on this blog!): I shall contribute briefly to this debate. We are all running out of adjectives with which to
There are important local elections around the UK tomorrow of course, but for us locally it's the GLA and Mayoral votes. My colleague and flatmate Cllr Monica Whyte is our Lib Dem GLA candidate for Enfield & Haringey, Brian Paddick would make an excellent Mayor (head and shoulders above the comedy show that is Boris and Ken) and our Lib Dem GLA team can grow even stronger with a big vote for us on the list. So, if you're asking, I would recommend Londoners - and especially fellow Enfield & Haringey residents - to use all three votes for your ...
I doubt I have very many pro-Berlusconi fans reading this blog. The latest moves are really worrying. The rise of this new right, often not-even-that-post fascist movement, in Italy is thoroughly disturbing. It appears that many voters, disgruntled with the nation's lack of direction, lack of glory, and lack of economic dynamism are turning to very ugly solutions. This may be, and I hope but doubt it is, just a Guardian flip out, but read this seriously disturbing article about the new Mayor-elect of Rome. The Falange, threats of civil war, fascist salutes: it's just not cool.
Sitting in Mumbai airport departure lounge, after 5 days here in India for my university friend Vivek's wedding. This is just about the first moment I've had to stop and think in the last couple of weeks. The campaigning carried on until the day I left and picks up again in the morning, with the usual ridiculously early start to deliver leaflets. In fact, as the main events for the wedding were yesterday, I am actually missing the second day of celebrations to fly back to London in time for polling day. A very short trip for my first visit ...
Tuesday: BP and Shell have announced record profits but bless the poor little lambs, they say that it's all down to sky-high oil prices and their refining business is barely breaking even! This is the sort of DISCONNECT from reality at the boardroom level that leads to people thinking: "Hmmm, I could earn even more money if I didn't have to pay this pension for my workers!" Yes, and you might think that you could save even more if you just paid for the GUARDS with WHIPS and didn't pay the workers at all... but it DOESN'T WORK that way. ...
Commenting on a written statement to the House yesterday that put forward new plans to send a British battalion of 600 soldiers to Kosovo as part of a NATO mission, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary Nick Harvey MP expressed his concerns: With our troops already overstretched by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, this further deployment will push the Army to its limits. (more…)
Briefed on local elections as will be covering one of the BBC slots on results shows for Thursday's elections. Now there are some folk in each party who can name every constituency in the country and give you the general and local election results there since the dawn of time. However, I'm not one of them! Which means I have to study and retain what any particular result will mean for the prospects up or down for each of the parties. Being that we (Lib Dems) started with such great results four years ago in the national local elections for ...
One of my biggest transport bug bears over the last few years has been the inability to use Oyster Card on over ground rail in South East London (you know, the bit where there's no tube). This means that unless you have a weekly or monthly travel card season ticket you cannot use your Oyster Card to pay for your travel from say, Sydenham to London Bridge. This is a pain in the neck for people like me (as we have to remember to buy our travelcard at London Bridge tube) but devastatingly expensive for infrequent train travellers who don't ...
The new edition of Politalks, your weekly satirical news roundup, is here. This week we rip into Labour’s latest worst week, as the Tories and Lib Dems utterly fail to capitalise on the Government’s bad fortune: Feel free to share and share alike, and for those who are interested, here's the transcript: It was David versus Goliath [...]
Have had bad bad news this morning. In a desperate attempt not to think about it, I present some random stuff. You know the Bible 79%! Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive! Ultimate Bible Quiz Create MySpace Quizzes Looks like I know more about the bible than these guys... {[info]} rowanberries is awesome about feminism:Guys... um, girls... don't think all feminists are crazy and out to get all men, while making all ...
The problem is he’s often quite perceptive, but has a way with words which provokes outrage and backlash. Take his ‘pioccaninny’ comment: It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies. That is actually quite perceptive. I read it as a criticism of [...]
The local newspaper reports: ‘Mayor-Elect', [Labour] Councillor Robin Parker, will be investigated after trying to use his influence as a Councillor to get [Liberal Democrat councillor] Jean Ashworth sacked from her job at Rochdale Infirmary. The complaint to the Standards Board related to a series of emails that Councillor Parker sent to health bosses demanding that [...]
So says Tim Given the domination of UK politics by a political elite who are almost all ‘on message’ and rather opposed to letting people actually have a say I don’t see it as likely that Londoners will be given a chance to actually have a say (perhaps there’ll be some sort of rigged ’survey’, that’s [...]
A number of residents have contacted me regarding the plans to move or remove the memorial trees from the open space at the north end of the village. I know that these have been an issue with residents since the Trust announced its plans to redevelop the village last year. Many of you contacted me then and on your behalf I asked the borough's tree officer last May to undertake a tree survey in the parish to identify trees which might benefit from tree preservation orders That survey is now complete and some (but not all) of the memorial trees ...
Wolverhampton South West Labour MP Rob Marris today entered a plea of not guilty. Mr Marris had been accused of causing £349.55 worth of damage.
Local residents in the area of the Hollow are briefing a sigh of relief as Somer Housing has withdrawn their planning application to build 30 Houses on Land above Cotswold View. The amount of work that local residents have put in is a credit to them in resisting this planning application that would have destroyed a piece of important Hillside. Let us all now ensure that this...
As another of these occasional lists of the heroes of different countries, I move now to Ukraine. Ihor Sikorsky - Inventor of the helicopter. Milla Jovovic- Model and Actress Serhei Bondarchuk- Film Director Taras Shevchenko- First national poet in Ukrainian Ivan Franko- Poet Bohdan Khmelnytsky - National Hetman Andriy Shevchenko- outstanding footballer Stepan Bandera- defender of Ukrainian state murdered by the KGB Serhei Bubka- Legendary Olympic pole vaulter Serhei Korolyov- Rocket designer
Oh dear. You may remember me writing that I thought we’d solved the problem of the clash of dates on June 7th - Carnival Parade and Farmers’ Market. I did explain that the proposed route was subject to approval by Highways and the police - but I never expected any objection from either. It seemed to me that the proposal we’d come up with would actually keep the traffic flowing more easily. Wrong! Sadly the authorities were not in favour of the route down Crown Street and the parade will therefore have to go down the least preferred option - ...
The former Lakes Service Station site on Roseberry Road (pictured above) has become a real eyesore. We had been expecting work to start any time on the provision of elderly persons accommodation. That was the position when the Lib Dem led Coalition left office in May last year. With the new financial year underway and no sign of work commencing on the site we raised the issue at the last Wednesday's meeting of the Redcar Area Committee and were promised an update. This we have now received as follows: The Council owns the land and has granted BP a long ...
The link is to the Tax Credit Casualties website. They are a group of people whose lives have been messed up by the rules on Tax Credit repayments.
From the Art of the Possible blog comes an amusing piece on the battle between Hilary and Barack.
Excellent piece from across the pond on the Hannah Montana 'scandal'. If you don't know who she is or what it is all about simply read on...
When we shared viral vids from Paddick’s campaign with you yesterday, you weren’t impressed. Our readers thought they were a worrying sign that American style attack ads were crossing the Atlantic. And some simply pointed out they couldn’t sustain a joke for long enough. Not a patch on Armando Ianucci. There are however some signs that [...]
It seems, under new government proposals, schools are to be made to keep records of their teenage pregnancy rates, pupils' drug problems, criminal records and obesity levels. Why? Well, apparently it's so parents can have a true picture of their children's lives. How stupid an idea is that? I'll tell you - it's bloody stupid! If parents are worried about their children may I suggest that they take an interest in their childrens life rather than want leaving it up to teachers. It seems to me that we can lay the blame for alot of our problems at the door ...
The opposition parties in Zimbabwe have appealed to the UN Security Council for help. It calls amidst calls by Zimbabwe human rights groups that in rural areas violence is being used on behlaf of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party in an attempt to rig the re-run of the Presidential election. The UN's Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe fears Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst
Just thought I'd bring this little article to your attention: apparently the Tories would have chosen the excellent Brian Paddick as their Mayoral Candidate as well. "Mr Paddick, a former senior Metropolitan Police officer, sent David Cameron an email asking if speculation that the Tories wanted him to be their man was true. The Tory leader quickly dispatched Francis Maude, a Shadow Cabinet member, for talks."They promised me the Earth, all the money I could spend and professional back-up," said Mr Pad dick" Just one little problem he was already a Liberal Democrat! Ha! This goes to prove that the ...
Well having taken a look over a quiet Grangemouth on Sunday from the Bathgate Hills it appears that the day after the dispute ended may have been productive. The company that owns the plant had planned to close the final pension scheme to new employees and phase in a contribution scheme instead. The talks that were called off well before the eleventh hour last week had a good resumption when
My daily digest of texts, tweets and status updates.00:17 is chuckling that I knew who the other person would be on my "saved by X others" delicious report before clicking... #Microblogging using LoudTwitter and Twitter. {[info]} matgb_twitter is there if you're mad enough.
Liked this article in the Guardian. Anticipating disastrous results in the local elections, Gordon Brown apparently wants to return to letting the grass roots of the Labour Party have a say on policies. In other words doing precisely what is done by the Liberal Democrats. This report has prompted an angry response from some, that last years party conference ruled all motions on the abolition of the 10p rate out, as not being 'contemporary enough' One member retorts, 'well it is contemporary now!'
Often in the political fray, one gets pulled into debates and gets overly worked up. I know I do. Last year was such an example and on a local forum, in which I no longer indulge, I made a hurtful comment about Leah Darbyshire. I want to say sorry to Leah for that remark. I also made a supportive comment about her on another web site at about the time, but I am sorry for the remark on the local
It was good to join Zimbabwean friends and Bristol Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams at the free Zimbabwe Demo in Bristol on Saturday the 26th of April. Good news also came on Monday the 28th with the news that the opposition is to re-unite to take on Mugabe and Zanu PF in the Zimbabwean Parliament. How long will it be before the old man goes? The people of Zimbabwe have been incredibly tolerant, now things really need to change and change soon. The international NGO Human Rights Watch have reported a horrific situation with roving bands of Mugabe's thugs beating people and government camps ...
I thought I’d put up a photo of the house of the election agent in Withington (south Manchester) for the Labour candidate (I live in the same house). Liberal Democrats winning here! {Lib Dems winning here!}
BUS USERS FORUM HOLD UP I've stopped being patient about the need for a "Bus Users Forum" for local people to be able to go along and raise issues, ideas and problems to make our bus services more useable. See my press release below (ok it is late and I'm tired!). I put my name down to be part of a steering group - but going precisely nowhere. BUS USERS FORUM HOLD...
Don't worry, I am not going to revisit the Liberal Democrats' recent traumas over the subject. But there is going to be referendum on Lisbon in the Irish Republic. And according to the Sunday Business Post the Yes side of the question may be in trouble: Public opinion has moved sharply against the Lisbon Treaty, with the Yes side now enjoying only a slender lead, according to the latest Sunday Business Post/Red C monthly tracking poll.Support for the treaty has fallen from 43 per cent in February to 35 per cent today among those entitled to vote in the referendum. ...
Monday: Clearly unable keep up the pretence of being a "LIBERAL Conservatory" any longer, Mr Balloon has turned his predatory - preda-Conserva-tory, even - gaze on the Labour's softening support. "We'll be there for you," that was Mr Balloon's new message to the working poor. "The Labour have let you down badly, but we'll be there. Gideon needs some people to pick up the apples on his estate, and Mr Vague knows a couple of half-decent gang masters. And goodness knows I'm finding it hell getting a nanny these days, especially now the NHS is paying nurses a decent living..." ... | < | April 2008 | > | ||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
