Thanks to the BBC for the tag cloud. That page also has the full text of the speech and a video of Nick giving it. I watched Nick Clegg's speech on television in the Lib Dem News office at Bournemouth, having just helped write this Friday's front page story about it. From a purely professional point of view, I was pleased that all the passages we picked out to quote received resounding applause. My first reaction was that it was a pleasing change that there was so little angst before the speech. With Ming and, latterly, Charles Kennedy there was ...
So, I was looking at the 'Daley Dozen' and noticed that number 7 is an anonymous attack blog with exactly 2 posts - with the intention of rubbishing Nick Clegg's speech. One wonders why Dale attributes such authority to this, or, in fact, how he managed to find this blog at all. Cheap and nasty. Dale, you bring dishonour upon yourself.
Forceful and Moderate has a rather good introduction to the current financial crisis for the economically challenged like myself (E in the subject at AS Level). Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
We all have, I suppose, a sense of who we are. Over years of growing up, through exposure to outside influences, we develop a sense of what we are capable of, a sense of how we are perceived by those about us. It may not be wholly shared, but it is ours. To then be confronted with an image that is unfamiliar can be disconcerting, especially if that image is unfavourable. And so it is with
Catching up with emails after returning from conference I found myself listening to City to City by Gerry Rafferty. Out of curiosity I check on Wikipedia to see what he is up to these days, and was surprised to read that he is missing, having checked out of St Thomas's Hospital on 11 August leaving his belongings behind. Strangely, though there is hardly anything on the major news websites about it. This seems odd, since although Rafferty is hardly an A-list celebrity these days, both 'Baker Street' and 'Stuck in the middle with you' are very famous songs, so you ...
We're home from Conference, and utterly knackered, especially poor Richard who did the driving. Among the things we learned today: there's apparently a standard point at which Liberal Democrat bladders hit the danger mark. At least, that's what we assumed when we drove into a particular service station off the M3 and saw two prominent Lib Dem bloggers in front of us. And an MP to one side. And a member of party staff to the other. And some Liberal Youth in the café. And... You get the picture. It was like the conference reconvening to dash for the loos. ...
Whoever said Welsh Politics is dull! Carmarthen Journal article this week shows Adam Price M.P. and Alun Davies A.M. slinging insults at each other. They both have offices in Ammanford. Would you believe next door to one another! Take all the Glass mugs away so to stop any listening through the walls! It all stemmed from Adam Price declaring that he would throw his cap into the ring if Peter Hain decided to stand instead of Gwenda Thomas in Neath. Alun didnay like that very much and thought Adam was betraying the people of carmarthen East. He said 'Most people ...
Leader's Speech: barnstorming, although not without some tiny nits to pick (bloody "ordinary families"). Lunch with Hilary and Mat at the goat and Tricycle: delicious. Lounging on the beach with Jon and Mat all afternoon while the exodus occurred: great fun. Especially attempting to bury Jon in the sand, although there is a LOT of Jon and not enough sand within reach and I couldn't be bothered standing up... Nick Robinson's analysis of Nick Clegg's speech: incomprehensibly bad, and contained some downright lies - people yelling out "HURRAH" are not politely bemused IMHO. Me: knackered, and giving the computer over ...
Apart from a whole load of 'day job' activities today, I had the pleasure of attending the fascinating guided walk at Western Cemetery, ably led by Ann Prescott of the Western Cemetery Association and Iain Flett, Dundee City Council Archivist. An excellent turnout - here's a couple of photos (above). Later I attended the City Council Housing Working Group, of which I am a member. Good presentations and discussion on tenant participation and housing investment. Tonight, I attended the Harris Academy Parent Council - both interesting and informative. And ... now home to recordings of 'Coronation Street' and 'The Restaurant'! ...
I went to a meeting organised by the needy 'Liberal Vision' which featured a couple of good speakers nonetheless. One of them came out with a very good phrase which resonated with me as perhaps the 'silver bullet' to throw 'Blue Labour' completely. The next time Dave or Gideon appears on a platform with a LD to empathise with 'hard-working families', the Georgians, the environment or any other pet headline, the response needs to be, purely and simply: "Yes, but what would you do?"
I've just returned from five busy days at Liberal Democrat Conference. This year we are the only one of the three main parties to use a traditional seaside venue, and we were rewarded with sunshine at the weekend! There is so much going on, and as usual the fringe was the most interesting part, its now so large it almost overshadows the business in the main hall. On Monday I chaired a debate on 'Welfare: who provides with Cardiff MP Jenny Willott, and John McInally, the Vice President of the Public and Commercial Services Union. This was the most successful ...
"According to Electoral Calculus, this would give the Tories 493 seats, Labour 121 and leave the Lib Dems on 8 seats" According to the above comment from Guido, I have to disagree with Guido. The Poll's have no connection with what will be the overall result at the end of the next general Election. Margret Thatcher had all the Poll's against her, she still made it to the top. The Liberal Democrats will not come out with 8 seats I can without a doubt tell the General Public that. The Liberal Democrats will most Likely upon my forecast get more ...
[My speech to the 2008 Liberal Democrat Conference, summing up the Urgent Issue debate: Polar Ice Caps: Accelerating Climate Change, Sunday 14 September 2008] Last year, we Liberal Democrats became the first political party to commit to creating a zero carbon Britain by 2050. We understand that Britain, like all developed countries, has to take a lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making the shift to a low carbon economy. We produced a plan to make it happen - at the international, EU and national levels. And unlike the other parties, we have made the climate crisis a priority ...
A short summary of where we're at The economy depends on people thinking their money is safe in banks, and bankers thinking their money is safe outside banks. No one thinks their money is safe in banks and bankers don't trust each other anymore. Therefore, we are f****d, because no one can get access to money when they need it - including banks. The reason why no one thinks their money is safe
To recap If you remember back to Part 1, our current state of f****dness has three components: Banks have been lending to all kinds of people who can't pay, not just sub-prime mortgage borrowers;Investment banks and insurance companies have been doing naughty things with derivatives and;Organisations that are not banks have been acting in bank-like ways without a banking licence.We have covered
You'll remember from parts 1 and 2 that we've covered banks lending to people who can't pay and insurance companies encouraging them. In part 3, we're going to talk about banks that aren't banks trying to do bank-ish things. This hasn't caused any big banks to go bust, but does explain why no one trusts them. Which is why, if you remember, we are all f****d. No one down, but many scared One of
I have just arrived back in London from Bournemouth and I am currently waiting at Waterloo for the commuter service to leave. It could have been so different. I got the South West Train service at 5pm from Bournemouth having used the afternoon to load more photos onto the party's website. Listed amongst the stations at which the train was due to stop was Clapham Junction. Ideal for me as it is on
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage There's a paradox about party leaders' conference speeches (akin to Prime Minister's Questions): they are dissected by supporters, opponents and journalists, while in reality the 'real people' in the country might perhaps catch a [...]
Ever since the first rumblings of unhappiness within the labour party towards Gordon Brown, the media have been out in force looking for the plotters who wish to oust the prime minster, in the vain hope that Labour won't loose the next general election. And then they started to untangle the 'plot'. First they found the Lancashire Plot and now they've found its bigger more powerful brother, and slowly but surely they helped to out the MPs who had, had enough with Gordon. So, the media have found one 'plot', and now they're at it again. So what do The ...
Simon Heffer thinks Nick Clegg is competent. I had to pinch myself. I had to check the date - no, not April 1st. Simon Heffer thinks Nick Clegg is "the only prominent politician even heading towards the right set of economic values" to deal with the financial crisis we're facing. Wow.
Positive coverage from PinkNews for a fringe held the other night, with amongst others, party CX Lord Rennard, Baroness Ludford and Lynne Featherstone MP (who incidentally, has been blogging her speeches at conference.) But it is heartening to hear that the gay rights are not just relegated to the fringe - but front and centre in [...]
Some good news today for the many hundreds of Bury Council staff adversely affected by the job evaluation process that's going on at the moment. Intervention by Bury Liberal Democrats has led to concessions by the Conservative Council, with the news that council staff set to lose money after job evaluation will be allowed to attend their appeals in person. Prior to the meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 10th September, the Conservative Executive had been clear that no personal hearings would be granted. However, at the meeting last Wednesday I asked for this policy to be reconsidered, the Council's ...
I've uploaded a selection of my pictures from Nick's speech to the Lib Dem Flickr account. These are free for activists and local parties to use in literature, on websites and in general to promote the party. You can find the Lib Dem Flickr photostream here. These pictures are stored in the Conference folder. I'll upload more photos of conference to the stream over the next few days but please be patient as there a few (thousand) to go through.
Nick Clegg's speech was excellent but who were all those Colonels and QCs that have been appearing on the platform all week?
The Avon and Somerset Police website says: Police are appealing for witnesses following an incident that occurred at Rodford Way, Yate, on Tuesday 16th September 2008 at 2.15 pm. The incident occurred when a yellow Iveco truck cut up a cyclist who was dressed in a bright yellow cycling top. The cyclist banged on the side of the truck with his hand. The truck driver then stopped his vehicle in Rodford Way and pushed the cyclist off of his bike as he cycled past. This caused the cyclist to fall off and fracture his shoulder. The incident blocked the road ...
The Avon and Somerset Police website says: Police in South Gloucestershire are appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted in Yate Shopping Centre. At around 2.30am on Sunday, September 14, 2008, the 22-year-old victim was walking through the shopping centre when he was set upon by four or five men. The victim was head butted and suffered a cut lip as a result. Police would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the assault as it is known that there were a number of people in and around the shopping centre at the time. Anyone who can ...
An ARG poll shows Montana and West Virginia, previously regarded as Republican shoe-ins, as closer that they ought to be. It also shows New Mexico shifting towards Obama. Political Wire reports: Three of the four major daily tracking polls now show Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain. As Gallup notes, "from a broad perspective, the race remains a statistical tie. But there has been a
{Nick Coombes meets Nick Clegg} Nick Clegg really is a very good public speaker. I'm sorry that I couldn't be at conference this year, but I was able to watch his closing speech on TV (possibly the first time I have found a use for BBC parliament). It's now at I strongly recommend watching it if you are interested in values and society. You should be able to recognise our own Don Foster in the audience and possibly my colleague Cllr Roger Symmonds who also has a moment of fame.
Poll out in the morning: Con 52% Lab 24% LD 12% Hopefully they will be better at the weekend...
There was something rather different about Conference this year. It was something to do with the people. There were far fewer bearded sandal-wearers (although they were about), and rather more people who, to not put too fine a point on it, looked rather like Nick Clegg. It was odd. Omnipresent was the dark brown hair, the hint of a quiff, the slightly inelegant suit, and the conviction that the last thirty years hadn't happened and that this was still the Liberal party. This was forceably rammed home at a debate on Re-inventing the State, the old SDP members' response to ...
Hastings & Rye Lib Dems have been in Bournemouth this week to hear from their Leader, Nick Clegg, on new tax proposals. The Lib Dems have agreed tax cuts for low and middle income families, paid for by increases in green taxation and on the wealthy. Parliamentary campaigner Nick Perry said, "Lib Dem tax plans are a clear [...]
The US Government now owns 80% of AIG. AIG sponsor Man United. Does this make them the Red, White and Blue Devils?
One distinct disadvantage which Obama had in the US presidential election campaign was that Democrat voters weren't as solidly behind him, while many more Republicans backed McCain. In August, Reuters/Zogby showed only 74% of Democrats backing Obama, with 81% of Republicans backing McCain. Sarah Palin has changed all that. Yes, she has swung more Republicans behind McCain - so that 89% of them
I'm a Disciple of this guy's DEFINITELY!
Nick Clegg made a tremendous Speech today winning me and loads of others. This Guy really caused a Storm. Iain Dale the Conservative was quick to comment on Nick Clegg but we will see what Cameron can do. I have ran the Speech by Nick through Wordle and I have a Word Cloud. Which can be seen Below: You Can read the Full Speech by Party Leader Nick Clegg over at his Website http://www.nickclegg.com/.
The 30 second US campaign ad is rather restricting in terms of what can be communicated. Just a quick message and that's that. Barack Obama's latest TV ad is remarkable in that it is two minutes long and features just him talking to the camera about his economic plan. Needless to say, he approves this message.
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's Household Waste Recycling Centres at Warrenby and Dunsdale will be reverting back to their winter timetables from the 1st October until 31st March 2009. The winter timetables are as follows: Warrenby Weekdays: 1pm - 5pm Weekends: 8am - 5pm Dunsdale Weekdays: 8am - 12.30pm Weekends: 8am - 5pm Items accepted at the two sites include asbestos, brick/rubble, car batteries, electrical goods, gas bottles, mattresses, waste oil, scrap metal, soil, textiles, tyres and wood.
Photos from today's conference. I was in the rugby scrum at the front of the hall for Nick's speech. Great fun! The plastic bags pic was from a photo op I ran for campaigners. Newcastle also gave a presentation on what they are achieving on the Council.
Another Leaflet from the Conservatives has gone out in Pendle. Andrew Stephenson who hasn't really hit it with Cllr Iqbal and many others is sending out leaflets Left Right and Centre. Despite all the Crap he chats on the Leaflet they is a few points that I think I should Comment on. One of these being that Andrew says that "we will stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity and GP Surgeries". This Andrew is all well and good but you have actually lied as your Party did nothing in Pendle or Burnley when the A&E was getting shut ...
Okay, most of them were okay but: "Zombie government" Excellent, excellent soundbite for for news... "a cross between Shaun of the Dead and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" Oh dear a clunkly, forced, unfunny joke that relies on a reference to a Radio 4 programme! Worse than that it was said directly after the zombie soundbite without a gap so it has to be featured in the news along with the good zombie soundbite. Who writes this stuff? Also, I'm not sure this reliance on "real people" stories really works apart from the disabled kid which , I think, ...
I'm not sure it was really necessary to say we were heading for government (however cleverly couched). It just allows for headlines like: "Clegg tells Lib-Dems: We're on our way to power" which at a first glance just makes us sound delusional and allows people to just read the headline and not the article by dismissing it as a typical, they're all the same, substance-less leaders speech. I don't think conference would have minded had it not been said (it didn't look like they were expecting it!).
The issue of the robocalling of 250,000 people was bothering me and I'm sure this will be something the other parties will be pressing the media to make the story like so. Let's hope it doesn't spread!
As if to prove my point about a direct, honest, piece to camera this latest Obama ad (over on Liberal Burblings) is excellent!
It seems I'm not the only one who thinks those "real life" stories of hardship don't work. Julian Glover in the Guardian says : "This sort of thing is tiresome and a bit fake". Unfortunately, having watched out new party conference broadcast, this is exactly what we are doing more of. Except this time, each person had to be shown with "Actor" emblazoned across the screen, just so everyone knows that we're just another all style and no substance party! I really had to force myself to listen to what they were then (hamilly) saying. Again, with the awful music. ...
The BBC is now covering Nick's speech as Lib Dems 'headed for government' as I worried about in my previous post. This just makes us look delusional or just another bunch of faker politicians who will say anything regardless of the what people know to be truth. More importantly it obscures the important messages that we were trying to put out. Yes, I know it wasn't meant in that way but we should know by now how these things pan out in the media (I'm sure they've picked up on something similar and used it as the main message in ...
Is something changing for the better for us? I ask this question having just finished reading the analysis of Nickers' speech on the BBC website by Reeta Chakrabarti. Her observations were measured, sensible and, crucially, demonstrated that she had actually listened to (or read in full) the speech before committing digits to keyboard. She also omitted the usual cliches about the third party, beards and sandals, Tory/Labour wannabees etc etc ad nauseaum. I also read a report in the Independent on Monday by the usually dismissive Simon Carr in which he also seems to have betrayed an uncanny ability to, ...
See previous post for details about NaNoWriMo. Novel: Writer's Bloke Genre: Chick Lit 'Back cover' blurb: Aspiring feature writer Astrin Ghent is out of ideas. She's also out of cash, just moved to the big city and trying to kick off a freelance career. In short, writer's block couldn't have struck at a worse time. So when housemate, old friend and political apparatnik Terry suggests a party
A couple of reminders for those who care for or support people with Autism - the NAS has their conference in London this weekend on 19th/20th Sept and there is a chance to have your say on the reform of adult social services as the government are consulting with the public until the 28th November on their directgov website. Full details of both can be found at http://www.nas.org.uk/ To go to the goverment consultation site directly go to: http://www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/
Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam arrive at the Conference Hall for his speech to conference. Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable was described by Nick as being the only one who could steer the UK economy out of recession. Nick described the Labour Party as the Zombie Party - a cross between Shaun of the Dead and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Nick said that children in the UK were among the world's most unhappiest and that we needed to give them hope for the future. Nick said that David Cameron was like the puppy in the Andrex adverts - ...
The Liberal Democrats' latest party political broadcast will go out on TV across the country tonight to mark the end of conference, but you can watch it first right here. Its themes link in with Nick's conference speech: listening to people and tackling the economic pressures households are now under. Here it is:
Fantastic to see the GB team do so brilliantly in Beijing, coming second overall with 102 medals. http://www.paralympics.org.uk/default.asp http://www.parasport.org.uk/
Make Votes Count have started a new campaign. There is a deadline of 26th September.
Attitude magazine have come up with a genius way for everyone (even those of a heterosexual persuasion) to get involved in supporting Stonewall's Education for All campaign. Apart from featuring Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Carr, Dan Gillespie Sells from The Feeling and Mark Feehily from Westlife on this months cover that is. As editor Matthew Todd mentions in this article you can write to the headteacher of your old school and let them know in a friendly way how you feel about homophobic bullying, either from personal experience or as a concerned relative or friend. After all as most gay ...
At least according to former oil industry insider and head of the Royal Society of Chemistry Dr Richard Pike. Current fears are based on misunderstanding of probability and the figures behind companies reports of remaining reserves. Also, he backs up my view that as oil prices rise more sources become economic, extending supply even further. It is interesting [...]
Today saw a great speech from Nick Clegg at the Lib Dem conference, arguing for tax cuts for low and middle income earners to help meet rising food and fuel costs. The left don't like this because it doesn't involve veneration of the state, and the right don't because they focus their occasional tax cutting efforts at the better off - which is not to suggest that they cut taxes overall in the
Iain Dale says the following about Nick Clegg's automated call outs this evening: "They [the Lib Dems] highlight people who are on TPS and are supposed to be excluded from phone lists. But I would bet quite a lot of money that the LibDem phone calls this evening will reach thousands of people who simply do not want them. "Perhaps the LibDems would like to explain what measures they have taken to ensure that anyone registered with TPS does not get any of their phone calls." Well I expect it is the same as any other piece of telephone canvassing ...
Well, I'm, content with that speech. Nickers pushed the right buttons for me and he's upset my 'closet Tory' brother, so that must be good. He was a bit nervous and he fluffed one or two lines but the jokes were good, if perhaps a little wooden. I also have some doubts about the value of his personalising the speech to include constituents with problems. I'm sure it's all genuine but it was perhaps a little too 'down home', folksy American for me. Comparing the Tories to a Toilet Duck was a high point, as was the clear, unequivocal opposition ...
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage The full text of the speech can now be found on NickClegg.com
Well, despite my flippancy earlier on, Nick certainly didn't let us down with his speech. It was absolutely stunning. He talked passionately about how both Labour and the Tories had let the country down, saying that Labour was now a 'zombie government', while attacking the Tories for assuming they could just inherit power without saying what they stand for. He had excellent sections on individual liberty, greening our society and transforming our political system. I particularly liked his insistence on having 'people-sized' public services. But the bulk of the speech was about how we can cope with the current economic ...
Finance is collapsing before our eyes. Confidence hangs on a thread. GEORGE BUSH made a comprehensive statement on MONDAY. WHERE ARE GORDON BROWN AND ALISTAIR DARLING? Those in Labour who say a change of leadership would hurt the country at this time are kidding themselves. I never thought I'd say this, but Tony Blair would have been in front of cameras, making a statement, assuring the city and quelling panic beyond its confines. Britain doesn't always need strong leadership but it needs it now. I fear Brown's weakness could be the source of a terrible legacy. P.S. Nick Clegg just ...
Tremendous - his best performance yet. BBC Parliament will be repeating it this afternoon and evening.
I've been waiting years for that.
A group of residents on Ruskin Road and St Ann's Gardens have been in touch with all three St Mary's Councillors. The ends of their gardens were once a public footpath, but 70 years ago the land was given over to the occupants of the time to cultivate for vegetables to help the war effort. The land was never formally re-claimed, and now the Council have woken from their decades-long slumbers and announced to the current occupants that they might have to pay to keep hold of the ends of their gardens, or pay the Council to take them off ...
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage Auspicious start to speech as they bath the stage in, er, blue light. The audience sits enthralled through Clegg's Greatest Hits at PMQs. Dark clothed men are removing the robopodium reader for Clegg's walkabout. Applause [...]
I watched the editor of Debretts on TV this morning arguing that political correctness has meant the end of politeness. I forebore from using the various expletives that came to my mind, but I do think he is talking rot. What he is talking about, of course, is the fact that men no longer lift their hats to women, open doors for them, or offer them their seats on trains. And there was the predictable woman interviewee who is very disappointed that that no longer happens, because she doesn't feel the slightest bit belittled when it does. And the man ...
The Lib Dem plan to contact more than 250,000 voters by telephone with a recorded message from Nick Clegg does not impress Patrick Goss. He writes on his editor's blog for TechRadar UK: I'll lay it on the line - I normally vote Liberal Democrat; I hate ID cards, I didn't think we should have got into Iraq and even as I get older and set in my ways I still find more often than not that I agree with Britain's third party. But when a party is so utterly out of touch with the voting populace that they start ...
This morning the Liberal Democrats discussed personal data and the Government's attitude to people's data and how it is stored.
In 2005, a friend joined 60,000 people worldwide all trying to write a 50,000 novel (or part of one) in only a month. This ordeal, the condition for 'winning' National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) was long forgotten until I discovered NaNoWriMo was still tweeting away in cyberspace. Far from being an isolated event, NaNoWriMo has apparently grown year-on-year until, last year, more than
Very pleased to see that Channel 4 are buying into the whole hashtag taxonomy thang. They're also liveblogging the conference speech - including cutting and pasting entire stories from LDV into their posts.
W T F ? Seriously! What F**king gives here ? Cold calls are viewed as nuisence calls by almost everybody, automated (i.e. wardialling) calls with a recorded message have been sensibly outlawed in the US and are the one of the biggest causes of co... Read and post comments | Send to a friend
Iain Dale's list continues in the Telegraph, and the Voice team, variously drunk, hungover and sleep deprived have reacted most waspishly to nos 11-20: "Former Lib Dem MP? Don't they mean 'Lib Dem Peer'?" "Norman Baker is more influential than Ed Davey?!" "Graham Watson is no longer the Leader of the Lib Dem MEPs - he's leader [...]
Over at Lib Dem Voice, they have launched a campaign against the - well, what to call it? - well, the simply untrue nonsense written about Lib Dem conference by newspapers and broadcasters. I'm very glad that they've taken this up and I hope it has an impact. I still remember vividly my genuine confusion at going home after my first party conference to read the newspapers of it that my parents had kept, and not recognising the event that I'd been at. It felt completely bizarre. Had I really been at a different event? Quite soon, though, and for ...
You'll be pleased to hear we are able to draw a veil over most of Glee Club because we were, happily, not there. But one little vignette has come our way. While the crowd were waiting, all agog, for Lembit and his Magic Harmonica, a couple of Ros Scott acolytes began light-heartedly chanting "I'm 4 Ros, [...]
Liberal International British Group (LIBG) maintained its tradition of stimulating lively political debate by holding a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrats' Bournemouth Conference last night on the question of whether a two-state solution in the Middle East is still viable. This is a taboo subject in some quarters — indeed, I am not aware [...]
At last there is some indication that there will be a contest for Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader. Both Jenny Randerson and Kirsty Williams have put their names down for a members' pool tournament in Swansea on October 25th. Will this be the first head-to-head in the battle to succeed Mike German?
Here's an hilarious piece in the FT from Alex Barker: Two people have already asked me why on earth I'm at the Liberal Democrat conference while the markets are in crisis. But it's becoming more and more clear that I'm in exactly the right place. Bring more than 100 Liberal Democrat delegates together on a seaside resort and — with frightening regularity — capitalism seems to shudder. Yesterday
So it's here, the speech we have all been waiting for ( with the possible execption of the guys who managed to wake the whole hotel 3.3am with thier singing, and whom i suspect aren't entirely with us this Morning!)........... it's the leaders speech. now i have to tell you this is mebe my 10th conference and possibly the first time that i will hear the speech without a dull thud banging away in my overlly tired head. it's not to say that i didn't stay up late, it just wasn't to late... oh good grief i am getting old! ...
Here is your handy cut out and keep guide to points or phrases which Nick Clegg is likely to use during his leader's speech to conference today. The first person to shout out 'Bingo' as Nick reaches his peroration wins an all-expenses paid trip to Siberia in the company of Evan Harris (return flights not included). Here are the points or phrases to look out for: Make It Happen Hard-working families Struggling families "A child born in the poorest parts of Sheffield will on average die 14 years before a child born in the richest parts" A comparison of the ...
I bought a modest number of shares in HBOS early on this morning, just out of sheer bloody-mindedness. It's not going to go anywhere, (except perhaps ***BREAKING NEWS*** by way of a merger with LloydsTSB!) and I suspect a lot of the trading is caused by some smart-alecs trying to make a killing. Mind you, it would be nice if, when they need to put a spokesperson up for the telly in dire times,
I agree with our local MP Don Foster when he Commented on Gordon Brown's announcement of measures to tackle fuel poverty, Bath MP Don Foster said, "These measures will not do nearly enough to help the numerous residents of Bath who will struggle to heat their homes this winter. "While these measures are baby steps in the right direction, the Government should...
Ye gods, Ike really has done a number on Texas. That's a large set of full screen pictures there, #11 is particularly shocking but the whole lot is scary.
One of the best parts of being a local councillor is when you can honour those many unsung local residents who do so much to keep things going in the community. People don't ask for recognition, but it's great when their efforts are recognised and applauded. It's one of the reasons that I introduced local awards [...]
Am packing all our stuff and not sending cheeky emails to This Week:I have been volunteering as a steward at the Lib Dem party conference this week, which has mostly involved standing at the door of the conference hotel smiling at people. I'd like to thank Andrew Neil for smiling pleasantly back. It warms a fangirl's heart. While you guys are here, do you fancy picking up a membership form for Michael? There's several party members who would welcome him with open arms, and it'd certainly generate amusing news. And, you know, it's a good gag for the first show ...
The Times devotes a whole page this morning to the race for the Party Presidency and in particular, the irrepressible Lembit Öpik. According to their Chief Political Correspondent, Sam Coates, Nick Clegg's closest allies have agreed to mount a high-risk "stop Lembit Öpik" campaign to prevent him from being elected to the Party Presidency this autumn: A succession of senior figures around Mr Clegg, including Vince Cable, Danny Alexander and Chris Huhne, plan to come out after the conference in support of Mr Öpik's main opponent, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, former leader of Suffolk County Council. Privately they say ...
I find it rather ironic that our Council claim it is a success that the Gull population has only grown by 6% this year, that means that we will have 6% more breeding pairs next year than we had this year. It is claimed that the growth of the gull population in Bath slowed in 2008 according to the latest survey revealed by Bath and North East Somerset Council. Between 2001 and 2007 the Bath gull...
Even in Bournemouth, there's still bits of casework to do. An email arrived from a woman, drawing my attention to the end of the bus Saver tickets. These were the pre-pay single journey tickets (the equivalent for buses of the tube 'carnet'). They were particularly useful if you had a bus pass, or latterly an [...]
Friday My unfortunate experiences in Peking notwithstanding, I have to admit that the Olympics were great fun. The important thing now is to continue to interest our young people in all these new events we have discovered. With this in mind, I have agreed to act as a consultant to the British Yngling Board. You must know yngling: it's the sport that is sweeping the nation. I would go so far as to say that, at a party, if you wish to mingle, a good opening gambit is "Do you yngle?" I intend to build upon this with a poster ...
250,000 people will be polled by the party to seek opinion on current policies. Great idea to get our message and Nick's voice out? Or more centralisation and mistrust of activists from a centralising Lib Dem HQ? At the rally on Saturday night, Tim Farron MP told us how much he disliked American style politics and how much the other two parties loved it. Someone clearly didn't pass this information on to him. The idea apparently was picked up, following the parties delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Just in case you were looking for a new way to waste a minute or two on the internet, with thanks to the Yorksher Gob and Will Howells who gave the link to her, I present the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Given the rather obscure names she has given to her children, Track, Bristol (for a girl!) and Trig - in that context, Willow and Piper are almost conventional - this gives a suggestion of your name, should you have been unfortunate enough to have her as your mother. I came out as Plank Castle Palin. Have fun!
Apart from the one bout of not-fisticuffs-honest it seems everyone else is getting along with each other all terribly well. Chris Huhne is not, as you may have seen reported casting a shadow over anything. Our Make it Happen debate was not a case of of the party's lefties battling it out with right-winger Clegg, but rather [...]
Microsoft have provided this helpful, animated guide to how mortgage bond trading triggered the current economic mess. It's very cute - it has big, red arrows and everything!
Unlike certain members of the political leadership Scottish student leaders are showing sense in targeting the real issues of our binge drinking culture. It isn't the age that is the problem it is the promotions, CARDAS (the Campaign Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland) are slamming promoters who organise booze tours etc. Seeing as these events would be happening in clubs or Union Bars the SNP's proposals to ban off sales to under 21s would not curb these promotions of irresponsible drinking. It is these sort of promotions and excessive drinking spree's that young people once they start on ...
I can still clearly recall sitting in the Conference Centre in Harrogate on Wednesday 16th September 1992 as interest rates soared into double figures. I was a lowly civil servant and had just remortgaged to the extent that my finances were stretched to the very limit. I went into the hall to listen to the debate and pretended that it was not happening. Sixteen years later we are facing another difficult financial situation though of an altogether different nature. Not only are thousands of people facing negative equity situations but large numbers are coming off fixed rate mortgages and facing ...
Nick Clegg will today make his major speech as Party Leader. This Speech is meant to be the one that boosts everything and the media and the Party members should go crazy on whilst listening to it. This Speech is meant to be the one that gives the media and the people all talk come Wednesday Evening. I don't know how much of an effect this will have on the Public but we will soon find out. More about this speech that Nick is going to make can be read HERE. Will Nick Clegg cause a Storm and continue with ...
Don't get me wrong, I think Palin is a cynical and potentially disastrous VP pick. McCain has run some shameful adverts (comprehensive sex ed for kindergarteners springs to mind). He positively foamed at the mouth over Georgia. However, he still stands up for free trade and immigration. You gotta respect that. Watch his "immigrants are symbols of hope" advert below. I like it.
She first of all said that she would co-operate with all troopergate investigation. Now she's hiding behind lawyers. What a lying coward! Oh, sorry, i guess that's sexist.
I wonder when the MSM will get a hold of this.
Wed 17th
01:26
The Littlewood Effect: Why wishful thinking won't win the argument for tax cuts for the rich
The new ginger group Liberal Vision - which to all intents and purposes appear to be an entryist brand of the libertarian pressure group Progressive Vision - published a pamphlet this week called 'The Cameron Effect' (pdf). As regular readers of Guido Fawkes will know by now, this report makes the startling claim that two in three Lib Dem MPs 'could' lose their seats at the next election unless the party introduces a policy of cutting tax cuts, including cuts aimed at high-earners. Rumour has it that the reaction of at least one MP to this report was to push ...
For Obama? No not just for him but for US! By that i mean the Liberal Democrats. Looks like Gordon Brown is going to go around like a blue-arsed fly trying to `reform` the system. This is at a time when people are queuing up for nomination papers that he won't give out. Let's say it clearly - [...]
