An interesting and eye-poppingly enlightening thingy in the Indie today about regulation of so-called, "Nicotine Replacement Therapy" products like patches, gum and inhalers. I say, "so called" because they are far more 'therapy' than they are 'nicotine replacement'. Government frowns upon products designed for long term use as an alternative delivery mechanism for Nicotine - meaning a viable alternative to cigarettes for people who have no desire to break their addition. They are called, "therapy" because they're designed to 'wean' people off Nicotine, as if smoking is a medical problem to be cured. The dose is low and based on ...
[In The corridors of Westminster Palace (smoking allowed)] "Ah, Hail Comrade! How goes the democratic socalist cause today, Brother?" " Democratic What?!" [pause] "Oh! I see. Ah, well, 'it' is fine... er.. Comrade." "Hey, listen, I was wondering..." "Oh?" "Yes. A little matter, really, but now that we're democratic socialists, I was hoping, you know, perhaps to see if we can.. er... elect a new leader... Comrade." "Hmm. I'm afraid that's quite impossible.. er.. Brother." "But.. we are a democratic party are we not? We do have democratic rights, don't we?" "Of course, Comrade. Democracy is at the heart of ...
I've just heard that the Post Office will definitely be closing Goswell Road post office. The closure could come as soon as next month, now that Post Office bosses have rejected the strong objections made by local campaigners and the hundreds of petition signatures we collected. This is the 13th post office in Islington to close [...]
Dear Editor, I hope that the Observer will be taking up the important issue of the failure of our MP and the Labour Government to improve road and rail access to Hastings from the north. It is clear that a key part of a successful regeneration programme for our constituency must be the improvement of our links [...]
Tue 16th
22:53
The European campaign is going to need a lot more fizz than the enervated policy paper provides
Well done to those who attempted to engender a bit of passion into this afternoon's debate on the Europe policy paper. I say well done because they had little to work with given the nature of the paper best described as was worthy but dull. (I can't really see myself campaigning along the lines of: [...]
Tavish's speech to the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference - good stuff!
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage The final in our series of Q&A podcasts, this addresses economic issues, with Our Vince on the panel along with Lord Newby, Jeremy Browne and Prof Paul Ekins. Yesterday's environment Q&A was asked whether economic [...]
... but who could resist the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator?if you were born to Sarah Palin, your name would be: Blaster Commando PalinYou can all call me Blaster for short, if you like ;) And thank Will Howells for the link.
Have just been to the stewards' reception with Charles Kennedy. It was nice to be about two metres away from Chuckie K as he told us all what a fantastic job we'd been doing, even if we are, at this point, too poor to afford a drink to toast him with (lunch today left us with a total of three quid). Paddy Ashdown was also kicking about and Andrew Neil was filming stuff. I chickened out of thrusting an I'm 4 Ros badge at Andrew Neil because I am a colossal chicken; even if Matt from politics.co.uk reckons he saw ...
A superb programme for Fest 'n' Furious 2008 including : Session A9 The Young Trad Tour Koshka Concerto Caledonia Duo Lisme Mick West Trio You can read more by clicking on the headline above.
In Highgate, our local hospital, the Whittington, is in the news for all the wrong reasons today. A computer disc with the personal details of 18,000 NHS staff has gone missing. More proof, though none is needed, of the perils of surrendering more of our personal details to anyone. Public bodies of any sort cannot be trusted with any more personal data. You might wonder if we're in a hot spot for these cock-ups, as it's the third such incident in the area in recent months. In February, Haringey Council left a load of housing benefit files, some with bank ...
Someone told me today that Gordon Brown has ordered his speech writing team not to mention the economy in his conference speech next week. I have no idea where my informant got the news - is it running on another blog? - and I can't believe it is true. Even the Lib Dems, the masters of using their Party conference to talk about the most tedious and boring issues on earth, have been talking about the economy this week. There is not much else to talk about. If there is any hint of truth in the story though, and I ...
Another day and another Government resignation. It is difficult to see how Labour's internal bickering can end without a leadership contest to clear the air. Even if Labour manage to unite around conference (which looks increasingly unlikely), it won't take much to kick start the next round of discontentment - the Glenrothes byelection? The pre-budget report? The first death of a pensioner unable to pay the extortionate fuel costs this winter? Now it may be odd to advise a sitting prime minister to do a John Major but I can't see what else Brown can do. And unlike Major, such ...
Yesterday was the big Make it Happen debate. But as The Yorkshire Guidon asks: Where were all the women? As Jeremy pointed out in one of his blogs ahead of conference chairs are supposed to take great care to ensure a balanced debate. In fact they are trained in such issues. But yesterday, on the big debate only one women was called to speak on the platform, with only two women allowed interventions, and one of those an MP. Well, I hear you cry! If women will continue not to put in cards for debates then what can they expect? ...
Just earlier this year at Spring Conference, we got a confused email from a member trying to follow conference who didn't understand feeds in the internet sense, and thought Lib Dem Voice was offering live video coverage of the conf. That, regrettably, is a little beyond our budget and capabilities - although I hope [...]
Much has changed in my life over the two years and 101 posts of this blog's history, but my pleas of poverty when faced with the possibility of conference remain constant. And yet, while last year I enthusiastically abused BBC Parliament, this week I've found myself pretty apathetic to the whole experience. You might conclude that this is because I, as an avowed left-winger, am unhappy about
To lose four people in a handful of days would be bad at the best of times, but the chaos surrounding the departures only deepens the mess Labour is in. We've already had the And then today brought us not only the departure of a minister, but a departure in rather chaotic circumstances. The story starts [...]
I was walking past the Bournmouth International Centre when I met Ben Davies, the editor of the New Statesman website, coming the other way. He is the man with whom I devised Calder's Comfort Farm. Naturally, we went for a beer and swapped the gossip of the day. The only problem is that I was carrying a copy of the Daily Mail at the time. Of course, I was able to explain that the newsagents had run out of all the broadsheets. Besides, it is possible to enjoy the Mail as a comic, much as one read the Sun in ...
So, global markets are in turmoil. AIG looks to be following Lehmann into the graveyard of financial institutions. Millions of innocent people are suffering real financial hardship and there's more to come as a result of inanely stupid and irresponsible management practices by banks over many years. If you ask me, the very last thing we need right now is the markets going even more nuts than they are already 'cos they're panicking at the thought of political instability. A leadership election in the Labour Party now is a luxury that as a country we couldn't afford. If they change ...
I have two confessions to make. (1) I am a dabbling transport nerd (favourite London bus route: the 91/N91, and did you know that when the Piccadilly Line was extended in the thirties a public board was put up on the site of the now-Arnos Grove station inviting the public to make suggestions for the name [...]
Today's speech was about fighting crime - again. This time it was at a Local Government Association event, with a particular focus on young people. Three kids wearing hoodies walking down the street towards you. What do you see? Three people about to mug you? Just another three people passing on the pavement? Or three kids whose birthdays you know? And who do they see in you? A suspicious stranger who doesn't like them? Or a neighbour they say hello to? It's in that range of different actions and reactions that sits so many of the issues around youth crime ...
According to Mark Littlewood, the most illiberal Lib Dem MP is John Leech MP with 22%, who signed an EDM calling for the reclassification of cannabis. Although as Malcolm Bruce explained at this afternoons conference fringe event How Liberal are the Liberal Democrats? "reading EDM's is sometimes the biggest waste of all." Vince Cable, man of the match at the moment, was scored as joint second as the most illiberal MP. Mark, who yesterday became involved in an 'incident' following his publishing of another controversial list, which highlighted Lib Dem MP's vulnerable to a resurgent Conservative Party, stated that "Lib ...
Alix has already blogged about Chris Huhne's speech as Shadow Home Secretary, and you can now watch it in full right here on LDV thanks to the party's YouTube feed:
It's alarming to see the company I work for make headline news. How do I feel? Stressed. Anxious. I find myself concentrating on immediate, short term activities and have put all long term plans on hold. I do not relish going to work, and the constant scrutiny of the share price by "my colleagues" internally is becoming highly distracting. I am restricted in terms of what I can and cannot say. I have to be careful not to bring disrupt to the company. Needless to say this is my own person opinion and does not reflect any kind of official ...
A barnstormer of a speech from Chris Huhne this morning as he dealt with his own portfolio and then segued into a full-out attack on the Tories. He was so impressive I have even forgiven him for backing into me in full Chris-gesture mode causing me to spill coffee all down myself. Worth a good long [...]
Want to know what you'd be called if Sarah Palin was your mother? Then try the Sarah Palin Name Generator I'm Spackle Camshaft Palin. (Hattip: Nunc Scio)
A very effective ad from the Obama campaign.
I have blogged a fair bit about the role of the President of the Liberal Democrats and I do have a particular stance on what the job should be about. So it isn't surprising that I haven't taken an interest in the campaign for the election of a new President to take over from Simon Hughes MP. My original intention was to remain neutral, publicly at least, until the last minute so that I could use
...that the current US elections have all been seen before. A 'rouge' freshly elected Democrat VS a almost liberal, old guard Republican Senator. Yes the sixth and seventh series of the fictional TV show, the West Wing seem to be playing out once again before eyes, only this time the ending isn't scripted. The similarities are all to apparent, in the primary process on the show, the Democratic race saw, a fictional congressman called Matt Santos, who had little legislative experience, entered the race against the person who everyone assumed was going to win (in the shows case Vice President ...
We weren't mentioned at all on the 6 O'Clock news! Is the conference still on? (rhetorical question)
Some are like this! I snapped our colleagues from sister-party D66 at the party conference on Sunday. If we Lib Dems went for a chronologically-inspired name, we'd be LD88, which doesn't work so well, I feel. They're doing very well in the polls, so good luck to 'em. I hope the pics meet their campaigning needs.
Tue 16th
18:18
ooooooh! glued to two tonight - Horizon and Later... (eco towns and transport earlier)
Tonight a couple of new series start on BBC Two - Horizon is back with what sounds like a corker of a show called 'The President's Guide to Science' in which leading scientists give words of advice to the future US President. Then at ten pm 'Later ...with Jools Holland' is back with stonking line-up including Metallica, Kings 0f Leon, Carla Bruni, Nicole Atkins and Sway. TV has never been so entertaining! I almost forgive the BBC for not having live coverage of the US Open tennis semis and final. Talking of coverage I've managed to grab a few half ...
For as long as I have been going to conferences (over more years than I care to admit) the same guy has been out the front of the conference centre with his homemade banners calling for a smoking ban in public places. He is here at this conference, as you would expect. But now that there is smoking ban in place in public places, he really doesn't have much to protest about. So he has turned
The camera keeps snapping so here are the latest pics from the Bournemouth conference. Meanwhile, I was thinking of becoming a war photographer and going off to photograph the latest war, in the Labour Party.....
I am going to be rather critical of Lembit Opik MP later, but because it is not personal, I happen to like Lembit, I thought I'd "big him up" a bit first. Praising Caesar before burying him if you like. Lembit is often criticised within the Party, mainly over his celebrity profile. An awful lot of that criticism is unfair. He is one of the few Liberal Democrats, lets face it one of the few
Compare and contrast: title of policy: Cutting Crime by Catching Criminals. Headline in Telegraph: Chris Huhne: Jailing criminals is not the answer Well done Telegraph for engaging in the debate in such a rational and mature way.
This afternoon the Liberal Democrats had a panel debate on the Economy featuring Dr Vincent Cable MP (Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer), Professor Paul Ekins (Professor of Energy and Environment Policy, King's College London) and Liam Halligan (Economics Columnist, Sunday Telegraph)
According to what I have read over at Guido's Blog "Michael White speculates that the numbers could be as many as sixty." If you are thinking what 60 that is, Its not the number of Labour Party Members, I'm afraid actually its the amount of MP's who have asked for nomination forms for a Leadership Election. Iain Dale thinks its gonna be Blackburn MP Jack Straw who is " to wear a grey suit and walk into Gordon Brown's office and utter the words: "Gordon, it's over". When will we see this happening, Will it be After the Labour Party ...
First it was MP's and now its one of Brown's own people who are asking him to go. Everyone knows sooner or later he is going to go, he even knows it himself but he is so stupid that he rather cock up the future of the Labour Party before he goes. All these low Blows by Party Members to Brown are going to effect the Behaviour of Voters and this is gonna leave the Labour party in Ruins. Even dragging behind the Lib Dems is possible, with the current status of the Labour Party. You can read the News ...
Having gone on about the Bones Report so much on this blog I wasn't going to miss the conference session on the topic. It was a consultation session and not a full debate so there was no vote. But it was an opportunity for members to raise concerns and issues with the report authors. For an early morning session the hall was busy and apparently quite a few people put in cards to speak. The tone
I have had a more relaxed morning today. Conference can get a bit intense at times. So I strolled through the park that runs through Bournemouth to a little cafe for breakfast. Bournemouth is a great place; it has elements of a European city with its open spaces and some of its art deco buildings, a little like Barcelona on some ways, then it has the elegance of a Victorian city and sea side town. I took a walk along the shoreline, the firm wet line of sand right by the water. Bournemouth has some of the best beaches in ...
David Cairns, Scotland Office minister, has resigned, saying The issue of leadership and direction are being discussed and argued over, and to go on denying it is hardly credible. To that end I believe that the time has come to take the bull by the horns and allow a leadership debate to run its course. I know that [...]
News breaks slowly in the conference centre when you're away from your traditional sources of information and listening closely to Vince on the platform But every now and again real life intrudes. The falling stock exchange has broken through from the outside world, and then so to did the announcement of David Cairn's resignation. [...]
When it comes to attempted coups within parties the standing orders are key. Generally things have been tightened up in all parties to make challenging the leader harder. It was recently explained to me, but I have not confirmed this, that Labour's standing orders effectively permit the Cabinet to remove the leader. Hence it would be surprising for any cabinet minister to call for this
I have been spending today wandering around the exhibition at conference talking to all the people who have come to conference to talk to Lib Dems. Dozens of them. We have been promoting Lib Dem Voice - the logic is if people are prepared to fork out thousands of pounds to come to conference they'd be interested in either advertising on our website or occasionally penning an article. As we're new every morning, as the song goes, we're always
Remember the good old days when John Major faced a vote of confidence in the House of Commons. Well it looks like not even confidence these days is a matter for the House to hear about. Heaven only knows who Gordon would get to whip a vote of confidence, or vote for him in one especially now that David Cairns is the first Minister to resign on the issue of his continued leadership. Although last I heard my MP Michael Connarty was still backing his man even saying he should get himself to Glenrothes, so with Miliband standing firm, although ...
Over on Lib Dem Voice, yesterday's debate on Make It Happen has led to some discussion about the desirability of cutting taxes and how this should be done. Much of the discussion has centred around just how any tax cuts should be carried out. Some people have assumed that the party would want to cut income tax rates even further than we already are, ie we'd want to cut the rate from 20p to 15p rather than the 16p basic rate we're currently proposing. Others have suggested that raising the personal allowance would be the way forward. Well, in a ...
I was up and in the hall early on Monday morning for the consultative session on party reform, the debate on the Bones Commission report. I was pleased to be called to speak in one of the intervention slots. I will report on this in a separate post. Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP's speech was a masterly example of speech writing and delivery. Vince really has developed into a brilliant
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage The Eco Towns motion passed at the Liberal Democrat conference was flawed: in seeking to oppose centrally imposed Eco-Towns the policy centrally imposed a rigid policy across the country, with no regard for local [...]
I was very frustrated not to get called in the Conference debate on Transport today; my speech, which I've published below, was a good few hours of effort, not to mention the effort putting into looking presentable for the conference goers. I even put my contact lenses in! I was arguing in favour of the WLD amendment to take into account the experiences of women and vulnerable people when creating transport policy. Two people spoke against the amendment but only the mover and summator got to speak for. It was pretty frustrating, as the vote was close enough for the ...
It has come to my attention here in Bournemouth that there have been examples of discrimination by members of the Liberal Democrats that I have found quite shocking. Despite our avowed commitment to equality and non-discrimination it appears that some Liberal Democrats continue to hold views and attitudes that can only be described as prejudice. I have heard evidence that blonde-ism is alive and
It sounds like it's a very bad time for Gordon Brown at the moment, just like it's a rocky period for the British economy. From what I hear of the latest budget details for Salford Council, and from rumours of dark mutterings in the local Labour party, it would seem that Salford represents a microcosmic [...]
This afternoon the Liberal Democrats discussed Europe. They noted that whilst the EU has achieved a great deal in the last 50 years it needs to do more to put its own house in order to focus better on its core objectives and realise its full potential.
New think-tank-stroke-consultancy Liberal Vision launched their first report at a fringe meeting yesterday lunchtime. Julian H, of Orange by Name was there... 12:55pm on Monday and liberals, lots of them, streamed into the subterranean Harry's Bar in the Highcliff Hotel, drawn by the brilliant orange fliers around Conference that asked: HOW DANGEROUS IS THIS MAN? Which man? Harry? [...]
Crime hurts some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society, who are least able to withstand its effects. All the political parties want to cut crime. The only question is how. Our approach, as Liberal Democrats, is fundamentally different to that of Labour and the Conservatives. We favour what works. Criminal justice policy has been buffeted by tabloid opinion for too...
Chris Huhne's speech to the Lib Dem federal conference this morning was a cracker and got him a deserved standing ovation. Much of the speech was outlining the Lib Dem approach to cutting crime. He attacked the Tories and Labour for their willingness to go for gimmicks which are either ineffective or counter-productive, and instead called for solutions based on evidence of what really works in cutting crime. He also highlighted what he called the 'punishment posturing' which both Tories and Labour indulge in, in which they compete with each other to come up with ever greater punishments for crime. ...
Although I am still at Conference news reaches me that Councillors David and Carol Bourne have now resigned from Wolverhampton City Council after allegations in the Sunday Mirror the weekend before last.
Wolverhampton South West Liberal Democrats have won the national Liberal Democrat Penhaligon Award for membership.
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage The Electoral Reform Society, in association with Lib Dem Voice, hosted a conference fringe asking party members to suggest big ideas to improve democracy in this country. Joe Otten reports back... Ideas to revitalise democracy [...]
Or at least he should have been. Magistrates were today forced to defer sentencing for a further 4 weeks, as the psychiatrist has not had long enough! So it's back again on Monday 13th October to find out what the law will do with Watford's former Conservative candidate. At least the Tory mafia didn't turn up for [...]
Radio 4's World at One programme ran a fringe on Sunday evening looking at the attitudes of those who vote for the Liberal Democrats and the consequences of these for the Party. Chaired by Martha Kearney the fringe was presented with data on voter attitudes from Ipsos MORI. Then Chief Executive of the RSA and former New Labour insider Mathew Taylor and Chris Huhne MP discussed the findings. The
Mark Littlewood , former Head of Press for the Party, knows how to create a story. His new venture, the think tank Liberal Vision, has produced two reports recently. Yesterday saw the launch of 'The Cameron Effect' which looked at how many MPs might be under threat from the resurgent Conservative Party. This apparently provoked and altercation in the bar last night between Mark and Torbay MP Adrian Sanders. It resulted in Mark ending up on his back in a bush. Today, the organisation released the results of a report looking at how liberal the Lib Dem MPs are. Also ...
Iain Dale's list of influential Lib Dems has been continuing in the Telegraph today and so far I don't think we've published the link. Today - 21 to 30, from Lord Lester to Lynne Featherstone.
A couple of months ago I blogged about Caffe Nero flouting planning regulations when it opened its new shop on Horsemarket. Well, someone has just left a comment on that post, and you'll all miss it because who's going to scroll back two months just in case someone else has posted something? The comment was from Annabel Townsend, and she's got a blog called "Doctor Coffee". Always keen to
Congratulations to Colin Ross and all at Wolverhampton South West local party who won the Penhaligon Award for increasing and looking after membership. The Penhaligon Award is named after the late David Penhaligon, MP for Truro and the man who inspired me to join the Party.
This morning Nick went to visit the Bournemouth and Poole College and met catering students on their first day in the kitchen. Offered the chance to chop an onion, he perhaps wisely declined and opted instead for a stick of celery before chatting to the students and chef Dave Boland.
It's just the kind of radical thinking that the Party needs according the Lembit.
I have very mixed feelings about yesterday's setpiece debate on 'Make It Happen'. The movers of the amendment had every right to seek to steer (note, not commit) the Party towards the fight against poverty and inequality. Indeed, there are few in the Party who would disagree. Those defending the language of the original document, likewise, had every right to seek to highlight the possibility (
I was shocked to read Julian's account of the tussle between Adrian Sanders and Mark Littlewood at conference yesterday. Quite frankly, I'm disappointed that an LibDem MP would behave in this fashion and that it looks like the party sought to keep it quiet with little consequence for the MP. Personally I got the impression quite a [...]
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage Well, it's been in all the newspapers by now: but Julian H's Orange By Name blog has the exclusive eye-witness account.
Sunday started slowly and with a screw up. I wanted to see the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Tavish Scott MSP, give his speech, but because I mixed up the time I missed it. Something to catch up with online. At lunchtime I was being an uber-geek. Sitting in for the AGM of Liberal Democrats Online. This was a really positive meeting but one which made what some would think of as a
I have spent the obligatory 3 days at conference and found it once more a fairly rewarding experience, largely because it has been held this year in Bournemouth, which is a beguiling town with one of the most gorgeous seafronts in England. The only downside is that it lacks a decent set of local shops but that's a minor gripe. I still managed to find some rock to take home for the kids. The most striking impression I have taken from this year's conference has been the very high calibre of our MPs, whom I have heard speak on a ...
Looking around the blogosphere Tavish's call for tax cut such has really got their hackles up. Whether it's calling him a Tumshy and an eejit, asking him to stop havering or just to urge care. Even Alex Neil seems unwilling to admit that the government as like the people should find ways to tighten their belt in difficult financial times. While their Westminster business and energy spokesman Mike Wier thinks it's irresponsible and and stupid. So the Nats who attacked Brown and Darling over the removal of the 10p tax rate are not even prepared to look at relieving the ...
Here at Lib Dem Voice, we will of course be maintaining strict neutrality during the forthcoming contest to decide who should be the next president of the party, when Simon Hughes' four-year tenure ends in a couple of months. Baroness Ros Scott's well-oiled campaign launched earlier this month on the day nominations opened. And it [...]
Nick got the Paxman treatment last night. For some reason, it is no longer possible to embed Newsnight (cheeky, I know) so we can bring you only ye link. A good, strong, calm performance on the whole - never wise to try and outPax the Paxman. Another success in clearly separating our pre-existing tax package from [...]
At the party conference in Bournemouth yesterday, the Liberal Democrats voted overwhelmingly to cut taxes. This means now that we are the only mainstream party who'd help the lower and middle income earners by cutting their overal level of tax. The Tories would only cut taxes for the well off; while Labour want to take an ever increasing amount. In my opinion, it is about time that the Lib Dems became a tax cutting party, helping those on the lower income bands. Closing those loopholes exploited by the rich to pay less tax is probably the best way to ease ...
Walking up the hill past the Bournemouth International Centre to the Highcliffe after appearing in the Liberal Revue last night, I was reminded of a couple of incidents from the history of that short, steep stretch of road. In 1999 John Prescott was driven down it. When it was suggested this wasn't a very environmentally friendly thing to do and he should have walked instead, his defence was that he had taken the limo: "Because of the security reasons for one thing and, second, my wife doesn't like to have her hair blown about." And if you watch The Body ...
An Australian politician has used his first speech to parliament to call for unemployed idlers to be stung with a cattle prod to get them to work. Is he sure they wouldn't just enjoy the attention?
With the world facing its greatest financial crisis since 9/11, the Labour party are squabbling about nomination papers. Excellent.
If this account from Julian at Orange by Name is true, and I see no reason why it isn't given that a Lib Dem is telling the press there are being lenient, then what action should be taken against Adrian Sanders MP for Torbay? The some of the press this morning called it a Prescott-like moment there was one exception there was no unidentified projectile aimed at Mr Sanders before he hit out at another human. The only thing that Mark Littlewood had done was earmark the Torbay seat as being vulnerable to a Conservative bounce under Cameron. As the ...
Heresy Corner, one of my favourite blogs, thinks so. Mind you, if anything can make you feel warmer towards Brown it is the prospect of Reid returning from the political dead. Here is a reminder of Reid's career.
With yesterday's news from Zimbabwe still in the front of our minds, it seems ironic that if Morgan Tsvangirai had been a Labour MP and had wanted to stand for the top job, he would have been unable to get his hands o the necessary paperwork to do so. The Labour Party are still refusing to send out [...]
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage For all that Bournemouth 08 is Nick Clegg's first Lib Dem conference as leader, this has been Vince Cable's week. Spontaneous cheers break out at the very mention of his name, lengthy queues form [...]
As the impact of the financial storm in the US sinks in, there may be some surprising losers. Not so much the "masters of the Universe", since they know full well that with high rewards come high risks, but some who arrogantly believed themselves immune to the storms of the financial markets. Six weeks ago, Russia was basking in the warm economic climes caused by a massive surge in the price of oil and other commodities. Though their balance sheet was relatively small, they believed that the biggest problem that they had to face was the inflationary risks of so ...
The Liberal Democrats seem to be having a fairly harmonious conference. Alas, for the first time in several years, I will not be able to attend, since I have had to stay in Tallinn for the rest of the week. It is particularly galling, since several of my friends who are somewhat irregular attenders will in fact be going.. ah well, there is always next year.
Yesterday morning Adrian Sanders, Lib Dem MP for Torbay, violently assaulted someone outside the Bournemouth International Centre. Along with several other witnesses, I was present at the scene. At the time we thought the story would break in the media (à la Prescott's punch) and feared that it could drown out any positive messages emanating from the party's big votes. Somehow, though, it stayed under wraps until later in the day, although is now covered in The Sun, Grauniad, Times, Torygraph, Indie, Mail and so on. However, there are inaccuracies in some of these texts that I'd like to correct. ...
Well - for the younger ones anyway - after the summer break, cubs and beavers are back this week. Boys and girls aged 8-10 can join Gatley Cubs, which meets at the Scout Hut, Gatley Hill, on Monday evenings. Children aged 6-8 can join Beavers, which meets on Thursday evenings at the Scout Hut. Unfortunately, Gatley is currently without a Scout troupe, due to a lack of someone to run it rather than a lack of young people wanting to be in it. Anyone wanted to join Scouts may be able to find a place in Cheadle or Heald Green. ...
This morning the Liberal Democrats debated the motion Fast Track Britain: Building a Transport System for the 21st Century. The Liberal Democrats are committed to providing a transport system for the UK which meets the twin challenges of reducing the use of carbon and increasing capacity. Wolverhampton Liberal Democrats are committed to campaign to safeguarding and improve public transport locally; an example of this is the Liberal Democrats commitment to retaining the Wolverhampton-Walsall rail link.
The idea that people in the constituency with the lowest household incomes in the UK would be better off if we cut the taxes paid by bank and utility chief executives would find very little support ev...
The MP for Hampstead has been forced to repay part of her parliamentary allowance used to gather canvassing data for the Labour Party.
Well I've managed better than last time with a burst of activity on Saturday, but I am struggling to find the time to blog properly. But it is Tuesday morning and I have decided to miss the delights of the transport debate and catch up. So thinking back to what seems like an age ago but was only Saturday evening and the well attended East of England reception. I rather got the impression that a
So many are focusing on the thought of Palin being VP or even President. Why? The thought of McCain, a man who thinks singing 'Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran' is funny, whose nationalism makes Gordon Brown sound like a liberal in comparison and who seems to think that war is a jolly old game which [...]
A quick piece of breaking news: I'd blogged before about the way in which a taxpayer-funded magazine from Labour MP Glenda Jackson was being used to gather canvassing data for the Labour Party. She has now agreed to pay back in full the costs of the magazine, including postage.
"Can I ask James Graham to stand by?" said the chair at the start of this morning's first debate. Do I detect the approaching rumble of intergenerational equity? We shall see, but for now Julia Goldsworthy introduces the motion. The history is well rehearsed, the need for action obvious - Northern Rock, repossessions, over-lending by banks [...]
The West made a serious mistake in humiliating the Soviet Union following the collapse of Communism, rubbing Moscow's nose in its failure rather as the Allies did to Germany after the First World War. That was the gist of some of the remarks by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord (Paddy) Ashdown at the Chinese Liberal Democrats' second birthday [...]
All Liberal Democrat policy is decided by its members; that, indeed, is the main purpose of conference. In the Main Auditorium most of the programme consists of debates on policy motions, and some of these can get pretty intense (although managed in a civil way). Every local party sends delegates to conference, and the number they can send is determined by the size of the local...
I spent much of yesterday in the conference hall, where the consultative session on the Party Reform (Bones) Commission report took place in the morning. Changes to the way the Party is run tend to attract the interest of those who have toiled away behind the scenes, members of committees, Local Party Officers and the like, plus those who take the view that Party structure should reflect our political principles. However, if you hope to be Party President, the position at the apex of the Party's internal organisation, it is important that you take such an opportunity to find out ...
The first of yesterday's speeches from members of the party's front bench team was by Norman Lamb, our Shadow Health Secretary. And, by the magic of teh internets, here it is: You can also read Norman Lamb's speech on the party website.
This morning the Liberal Democrats discussed a response to the housing and mortgage crisis. The motion was moved by: Dr Vincent Cable MP - Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
We are in the middle of a great difficulty - the credit crunch which has accounted so far for one bank, and may well account for more. But I wonder how much media coverage tells the story right, and how much it exaggerates what is going on. If you read or listen long enough, most commentators get round to saying it's going to be manageable. But the language routinely used does make it seem almost apocalyptic. According to the newspaper you read, share prices have crashed, tumbled, collapsed, or plunged..... by 4%. That means if you had £1,000,000 in shares ...
No I am not encouraging Gordon Brown to go faster but to take the decision to resign as Prime Minister and take his wretched broken Labour Government with him. It seems that Labour are now in the death throws as a party and the longer that they remain in Government the more damage they will do their cause and become unelectable in the future as their divisions will only get...
The management at Manchester's Longley Lane tip are making progress in dealing with the unpleasant odours that waft over parts of Gatley from time to time. The Gatley Carrs Conservation Group have had a visit to the tip and then tip managers came to their meeting to explain the latest plans. Viridor Waste Management are soon to take over the tip, and they'll keep the same management in place. The plan is to introduce air scrubbing to reduce smells from the tip. I haven't heard of air scrubbing before - it appears to refer to various ways of removing particles ...
At last the Conservative administration on Bath & North East Somerset Council has woken up and have produced a discussion paper with recommendations that the council will contribute £200,000 over a two year period to the Two Tunnels Greenway project, with the potential of similar sums being awarded in the two years after that. Liberal Democrat Councillors have for along time supported this...
Look at the Premiership table. Look at the bottom. See the name 'Tottenham Hotspur' printed there. I sprung out of bed this morning when 5 Live announced that 'Spurs are firmly rooted to the bottom of the Premiership, two points behind Stoke'. Put down some roots, Mr. Ramos. It may not last, but it's great [...]
The Times reports on an altercation between Torbay MP, Adrian Sanders and former Liberal Democrat press guru and chair of Liberal Vision, Mark Littlewood. The paper tells us that: Mr Littlewood shouted an encouraging remark at Mr Sanders who, in the words of one startled witness, "just flipped", launching himself at his psephological nemesis. "It was extraordinary - a kind of Prescott moment, in a very Lib Dem sort of way," said the onlooker. Stewards have declined to take any further action, but a party spokesman said: "There was a bit of an argument and Mr Littlewood may have fallen ...
Listening to Nick's interview this morning on the Today programme, I can see a potential narrative danger arising. Firstly, I think Nick mixed up his millions and billions a few times (at least I think he did, better watch that). But more worryingly, the interview left me with an impression that we were just saying tax cuts were a good idea but we didn't have any costed (typical wooly LibDems). Whereas the position is that the 4p cut in income tax is fixed and it's just further tax haven't been costed yet (due to state of country's finances etc.). I ...
Yet more data disasters in the news, and these two both affect people in Islington. The Whittington Hospital has lost details of 18,000 health workers in the post. And a former Barclays bank worker has been jailed for stealing £500,000 from Islington residents, using stolen account details. One cockup, one conspiracy; one public sector, one [...]
Thursday Dinner with Paris Stilton, the Leicestershire cheese heiress. People who like This Sort of Thing should now read: Monday: Expelled from ChinaTuesday: Brain Cotter fails to catch fireWednesday: The enthronement of Tavish Scott
So what precisely was more popular in Victorian England - religion or factionalism. The population was smaller, more people numerically and therefore proportionately went to church then, virtually all of the current churches in NW3 are at least Victorian pedigree... and then I realised that I was coming across places of worship that had been decommissioned and converted to other uses - in this instance accommodation. Now when I was growing up in rural Lincolnshire there was a real sense that chapels were closing and being turned into the most attractive private homes... But I just got to a stage ...
Since 1918 Labour have had 18 MPs in Scotland's capital but it all that time only one woman, Lynda Clark, for eight years 1997-2005 has been representative for them in Edinburgh Pentlands. She of course then chose not to stand in the Edinburgh South West seat to allow Alistair Darling to find a seat after Edinburgh Central was wiped off the Westminster map. However, with Gavin Strang stepping down in Edinburgh East at the next general election Labour are considering making some amends for that by considering having a women only shortlist for his replacement. A similar tactic is being ...
From Bournemouth the Liberal Democrats are echoing to the Country their plans. Looking at these plans let me tell you the Lib Dems really are on Fire. Like I have said in the past, people of our Country are used to the old Liberal Democrats but now the party has had a breath of Fresh air, Nick Clegg! The Party will make cuts on income tax for the low earning and middle class people. You Can read the News Release Courtesy of the BBC HERE. At least at the Lib Dem Conference they are doing some work, Most of the ...
Really pleased that the radical shift to the left in taxation policy was passed at today's Lib Dem conference--couldn't make it into the hall to hear the debate unfortunately, but a genuinely redistributive policy that will genuinely help those earning the least in society has to be a bloody good thing. Shift to the right?For some reason there are a bunch of people convinced that it's some sort of shift to the right, and I haven't yet seen a decent explanation as to what definition of 'right' they're using. Admittedly, I've been utterly swamped on the registration desk and attending ...
I don't know about you - but after watching this the thought that Sarah Palin could be the second most important person in the free world is scaring the `bejesus` out of me. We have to ask `who asked for the removal of the video from Youtube?`. http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/13/1538/09770 To note from the text: (If Sarah Palin may hold apocalyptic [...]
Blaisdon residents, including Cllr Mandy Sainsbury, are protesting about a proposed mobile phone mast in an area which will shortly be crowded with them. This small area of Yate already has one O2 phone mast built (you can see it in the background on the right), plus approval for a "3" mast as well. Now Vodaphone wants to erect a third mast within only a few yards - you can see on the aerial photo just how close together they would be. Click here to see detailed map from Google Maps. What's more, there's yet another approved "3" site at ...
A superb documentary yesterday deserves a mention. A climate change documentary that shows the planet really is warming. A battle of ideas. Or guys called 'Sceptics' who challenged the hockey stick model of climate change any way they could. Not guys off the street who were more interested in superbowl but qualified Environmental scientists. The sceptics looked at history. Climate going through cycles. A medieval warm period was proposed looking at some dendrochrenology samples where tree rings were excessively fat. Other sceptics looked at Solar winds and sun spots. When there are more sun spots the planet is getting more ...
The full winners of the Liberal Democrat gongs are here.
