Anyone who came to the photo op at Bournemouth conference last week about the need to cut down on plastic carrier bags can now go to the party's Flickr site where I have now posted a selection of them. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/libdems) Individual shots taken at the other photo ops will be emailed out this week. I have added a handful of photos to Flickr which I had previously added to the
From Anthony Hook: Gurkha Justice campaigner Lib Dem Peter Carroll has issued an plea for evidence to back up the legal team representing the Gurkhas in the current High Court hearing on the lawfulness of the 1997 'cut off' date for citizenship. The case received huge coverage earlier this week when Joanna Lumley and others gave their backing to the cause. The Gurkha's legal team urgently (by Wednesday 24th September) need to find an example case of a soldier recruited directly from a Commonwealth country to disprove statements being made by the Home Office. Peter Carroll says: "We need to ...
From the Telegraph website: Orphaned hare raised in woman's bra
Thi s afternoon we went to the stock car racing at United Downs near Redruth. We've been to a few meetings recently at a variety of tracks in Devon and Cornwall. This is by far the most professional set up with a permanent track (rather than simply half a field), banking all round so you get a decent view and enough drivers in each class that all the races are competitive, even towards the end of the day when some drivers have dropped out. Stock car racing at United Downs breaks down into four classes: There are the stock rods ...
Ok, so let's be honest; Gordon Brown doesn't cut the mustard. He missed his one chance at delivering a fourth term for Labour when he failed to call an election last autumn. Some of the things that have happened have been the governments fault; some haven't but none of that really matters now. People hate it and want it gone; they want new government. If they don't have specific grievance then the 'time for a change' mood is now the prevailing mood so they are opposed on those grounds. If an election was held tomorrow then Labour would be wiped ...
Another day, another poll showing a Lib Dem Conference bounce. Today its the Independent on Sunday, which has a survey from ComRes showing us up by a whopping 5%. Considering that both YouGov and ComRes, both pollsters who often have Lib Dem support a tad lower than their competitors, have both shown a 4-5% bump in support, our brief period in the spotlight has allowed our message to resonate. Now if we can only achieve this the rest of the year... Also published today was a survey by YouGov of 238 marginal seats, conducted over the last three months. Now, ...
What a fantastic weekend it has been! The weather couldn't have been better for Seafood & Wine 2008 in Hastings. It was great to see so many kids and parents enjoying themselves together, and the children proudly carrying their fabulous selection of prawn, jellyfish and shark banners! Thanks to all the exhibitors and stallholders, to our visitors and [...]
A long gap since my last blog, for which the only excuse is the summer holidays and party conference. The family trip to Italy was great, taking in Milan and Verona as well as Lakes Como and Garda. Conference was an enjoyable few days in Bournemouth where I heard interesting debates and speeches and attended some useful fringe meetings. When I got back the big news was that Vodafone have slapped
Last year I linked to Learning from Europe, the pamphlet Nick Clegg wrote on his pupil premium scheme with Richard Grayson. This policy idea was at the centre of Nick's campaign - if you were being unkind, you would say it was the only policy idea in his campaign. In that posting I praised Nick for his innovative thinking but commented that "Learning From Europe does not address the question of how you would sell the pupil premium to parents whose children would not benefit from it." During last week's Liberal Democrat Conference Nick gave an interview to the Guardian ...
Three weeks ago Heartbeat borrowed a plot from an old British film. Tonight it borrowed an actor. Hello to Michael Medwin (born 1923), who made his movie debut 1946 and is clearly still going strong. You may remember him as the radio station boss in Shoestring.
In Empowerment: the new political territory, Alan Milburn argues that the Labour party has to get in touch with its mutual roots. It's a fascinating article which appears to have been overlooked during the frenzy of the continuing debate over Brown's leadership and the financial crisis engulfing the City. Milburn says there are two traditions within the Labour party: the social democratic and the mutual. In his view, the social democratic one dominated but now it is time to rediscover the benefits and values of mutuality. He goes on to praise the governments of the 19th century for introducing laws ...
For someone who knows the square root of nothing about sport, it is ironic, I suppose, to be assisting a second local sports initiative in just a few months! The Riverside Boys' Under 10s Football Team is going from strength to strength - although we are looking for a second sponsor - many thanks to Barnetts Motors for sponsoring the team strips. We are now looking for a track suits sponsor. I was recently contacted by local resident Emilio Places-Rey, who is currently attempting to establish a local boxing club. I have managed to put Emilio in touch with City ...
Dreadful puns apart, I have finally got round to reading "The Cameron Effect", the controversial document published by new liberal thinktank "Liberal Vision" that prompted Adrian Sanders to push Mark Littlewood into a bush. To be honest, I don't blame him, as its a complete load of drivel. It basically tells us that of the 53 Lib Dem held, or notionally held seats in England, 41 are Lib-Con battles. Since Cameron is doing well, this means the Lib Dems will have a difficult battle to hold these seats. Oh, god, really? Didn't see that one coming. And money was spent ...
Aren't you Clever Mr Karim!
Over at Sky News Blogs, Jon Craig is reporting that Gordon Brown is considering an imminent reshuffle, possibly as early as the end of next week. Craig tips Des Browne for the chop at Defence, possibly to be replaced by John Hutton. This might be a smart move, since Browne is becoming increasingly ineffective, and Hutton isn't popular with the unions, so moving him from the business portfolio could be wise. Elsewhere, Craig tips Tony McNulty and Liam Byrne for promotions to the Cabinet, whilst he also believes that Junior Health Minister, and "best friend" of Greg Mulholland, Ivan Lewis ...
It's been a Western Counties weekend. Leaving Suffolk on Friday, a combination of logistics and the carriage of large quantities of leaflets, meant that I took the unusual step of driving. Friday evening's engagement was a cheese and wine party in Winterbourne Stoke, close to Stonehenge (the third World Heritage Site on this summer's campaign trail), at the home of Cllr Ian West, an old colleague from my days on the Local Government Association (LGA). Having taken the Parliamentary Orders through Committee, it was interesting to hear how local government reorganisation is working out in Wiltshire, where a unitary county ...
Following Tony Blair's appearance on Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has made his debut in clips of his successful conference speech. Nick appears 1m 20s into the clip: (For what it's worth, the Andrex puppy is the Charmin puppy in America). Update: For more US TV humour, this time on [...]
A trio of unexpected visitors popped over this afternoon. Chris & Ann Rennard, together with Ann's lovely mother, called in on their way back to London from Cornwall.We had a walk along Paig...
I am over the next couple of weeks going to bring the people Post that are against Saj Karim. Lets see how people feel about them! Another Coming soon!
Tales of tension and woe in the Labour campaign in Glenrothes have been appearing in several newspapers over the last few days. Frank Roy, the MP charged with running the campaign has gone running for the hills. Apparently they are too scared to let their candidate Lindsay Roy within a million miles of a journalist cos he's a political novice and might make a gaffe. Why on earth did they let him on the shortlist then? The last time the Labour Party had to defend a seat, they looked around and the only person who could be pressganged into being ...
On my way to help Linda Chung's campaign in the Hamsptead Town ward local by-election this morning, I was delighted to be accosted — in the friendliest way possible — by two activists from Democrats Abroad, who were encouraging US citizens resident in the area or merely passing through to register to vote in November's [...]
A sign of the financial crisis times: over the weekend, I took advantage of Open House London to visit various properties that are normally closed to the public (including the modern house on my street - hello neighours!). Chatting to a friend who also visited various properties, I discovered that the Bank of England had [...]
Honestly, all over the world, ordinary people are suffering because of the irresponsibility of banks. So what happens to the people who carried out these ridiculous practices of lending money to people who were never in a million years going to be able to pay it back just cos their bonuses depended on the amount of money they could lend out rather than the long term stability of the institution? Are these wealthy senior managers going to be sent away with their tails between their legs, out of work, just like the many thousands of others who have lost their ...
I was very early on in 'announcing that Michael Palin was in the race to be US President'. 29th August, to be precise. Well now he's got his own full-blown campaign website and video. Hat-tip: Nick Barlow.
A bit out of character you might think but Dizzy's piece seems to hit the nail on the head: Last week, the Tory Leader of the Opposition on the Council was stopped by Police and accused of being a terrorist whilst he took a photo of the local Police station for a ward by-election campaign [...]
After yet another calamitous defensive display by Everton in today's 2-2 draw with Hull, I now turn my anger towards the team's goalkeeper. Again, another who had a good season last year, Howard has consistently been a good shot-stopper for us. However, as well as being weak on lobs, and sometimes iffy on crosses, it has been apparent to me for some time that his communication is either abysmal or non-existent. The last three games have seen Everton concede an own-goal, all three of which could have been avoided. Howard could have shouted to Jagielka to leave the ball against ...
Just scan read this very interesting report. The good news is that Lib Dem MPs are by far the best. LibDem MPs are the most highly regarded by their constituents, in every aspect. (Never heard the media mention that) However there's a lot of bad news, we're not in a good shape. We'd loose two seats in Wales (1 to the tories, 1 to Plaid) and one seat in Scotland (to the SNP). We'd loose 9 seats to the tories in the south west and 7 seats to the tories elsewhere! Out of the Lab LibDem marginals, most of the ...
From Anthony Hook URGENT: Can you help the Ghurkas' legal team? Gurkha Justice campaigner Lib Dem Peter Carroll has issued an plea for evidence to back up the legal team representing the Gurkhas in the current High Court hearing on the lawfulness of the 1997 'cut off' date for citizenship. The case received huge coverage earlier this week when Joanna Lumley [...]
Via Charlie Stross: Join the campaign here.
Wait, come back! It's me, Helen, and I'm not going to blind you with science - just give you a guide to the craze that swept this year's Liberal Democrat Conference. Or at least among its Twitter users. By the final day of Conference it had gained national media coverage. Because [...]
In Sri Lanka thousands of Tamils fleeing the north and heading to Colombo are being registered. The Government are doing it due to the insurgency that has been hitting the capital recently. But this registration has the potential to cause more harm. If extremists took control in the Government they could do horrific things with that kind of data, there would be the potential for ethnic cleansing to take place. Even worse if Tamils were given identification cards showing they're Tamil, that could path the way for militas to commit ethnic cleansing in the wake of any new attacks.
If you've ever considered joining a choral society, then there's an opportunity to sample a rehearsal on Friday. Kingston Choral Society is holding an Open Rehearsal on Friday 26th September at 8pm at Kingston Grammar School. Just turn up if interested - no commitment to return! We are working on Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius', so bring the score along if you have it. Scores...
Gurkha Justice campaigner Lib Dem Peter Carroll has issued an plea for evidence to back up the legal team representing the Gurkhas in the current High Court hearing on the lawfulness of the 1997 'cut off' date for citizenship. The case received huge coverage earlier this week when Joanna Lumley and others gave their backing to the cause. The [...]
Janet & I would like to thank Jackie who e-mailed with her comments and is happy they appear on the blog, in response to the Elvis Presley video uploaded last night! To Janet, I am so sorry to disillusion you, my dear, but if you play them all side by side, there is no doubt that Michael Buble's voice, style, passion, phrasing and absolute love for the song he is singing cannot be outdone. Just hearing those velvet tones, much less watching him feel every note is what wins you over heart and soul. Truly, every fiber of his being ...
I have long been a supporter of Baroness Ros Scott's campaign to become President of the Liberal Democrats. I have been impressed by the tireless and enthusiastic way she has travelled the length and breadth of the UK, from Orkney to Cornwall and pretty much everywhere in between over the last two years. She was invaluable in her help during the Scottish elections last year. She is ideally placed to be a highly effective President. The job of the President is to represent the grassroots at the heart of the Party establishment. I feel that I can totally trust her ...
Looking for a photograph from Bournemouth conference for your local newsletters, leaflets or website? Look no further then than the party's Flickr photogallery, which contains many photographs not only from conference but also from Nick Clegg's regular campaign visits and public meetings around the country. Many of the photographs are from Alex Folkes, who prospective candidates [...]
Pendle Based MP Gordon Prentice has today received a email from me asking him to back the cross Party Campaign to have a Fixed Term in Parliament. We all wait and see what reply I get which I will share with readers.
I'm not quite getting why the Labour Party think it's a big deal that J K Rowling has given them a million. This admittedly generous gesture is hardly a surprise as Ms Rowling is a long time Labour supporter and pal of the Browns. She clearly doesn't meet many struggling low income families these days. In my office I see people who are really struggling with tax credit overpayments which arose through no fault of their own, yet the Government insists that they pay them back. I see people struggling to make ends meet who are just above the threshold ...
Rumours of the Lib Dems shifting to the right have been greatly exaggerated at least in Crusader House Markinch which as of yesterday was also the home of the Conservative's campaign office for the Glenrothes by election. When I reported once more for duty at the Lib Dem HQ I found at the top of the stairs the directions Conservatives to the right Lib Dems to the left. Also the weather held off yesterday and it was a dry day delivering, including at one point down Markinch High Street right past the SNP headquarters which are only at the other ...
Out of sheer perverse curosity I decided to take a look at Labour's conference. I feel... ill. They began giving out 'merit badges' which are, as you might expect, some kind of award for services rendered to the Labour Party. Then, suddenly, Gordon stood up to give a special award. Who would this special award go to? Well, it's non-other than fellow New Labour creator Philip Gould, pollster and general Labour wormtongue. Gordon praised his 20 years of blind support for the Labour Party, and remarked upon his courage and pluck during his recent fight with cancer. So Philip gets ...
Today's Observer has lots of polling info about Labour being wiped out. Most of it's not very interesting (mid-term polls + assuming uniform swings = nonsense results) but one part that caught my eye is the section on how voters rate their local MP. On this measure, Lib Dem MPs rate far above their Tory and Labour counterparts in being ordinary, approachable and independent. 37% of voters rate their local Lib Dem MP as ordinary compared to 14% for Labour and 11% for the Conservatives. On being approachable, the figures are 52% for Lib Dem MP, 28% Labour and 31% ...
I've just noticed this story (hat tip Crooked Timber) about the Royal Society sacking its director of education over remarks about creationism that were misinterpreted by the press. Was this fair? Most of the defences of Reiss get the wrong end of the stick by defending Reiss' views as a legitimate alternative viewpoint that shouldn't be shouted down by the voice of authority. This is bogus.
From the point of view of a politician I tend to have a mixed view of opinion polls. It is always nice of course to see one that predicts the Liberal Democrats doing well and even reinforcing one's perceptions of public opinion. On the other hand they can record support going down as well as up and it is at these times that one tries to distance oneself from them. Given that we cannot have our cake and eat it then as a general rule I maintain a healthy scepticism of any poll, no matter how favourable it is. It ...
I subscribe to the Democrats' activist email and today received the following - George Bush wants taxpayers to pay $700 billion to bail out Wall Street for its reckless investments in mortgage-backed securities. That's on top of $800 billion for other recent bailouts, including A.I.G., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns. The current financial disaster is the direct result of the Bush-Cheney Administration's 8-year policy of deregulation, corruption, and greed. The Bush-Cheney Administration cannot be trusted to solve the massive problems they created. Before Congress gives the Bush Administration one dime of taxpayer money for financial bailouts, Congress must ...
Inspired by precedent set by the US Government, I am announcing today the creation of "Bad Charlotte". Bad Charlotte will have all my liabilities and bad habits. This will let me become "Good Charlotte", which will retain nothing but assets and any positive attributes I might have. The plan is to just ignore Bad Charlotte - let her default on everything, but that won't matter - Good Charlotte will be protected from the consequences because, as of today, we are two entirely different legal identities. My greatest ever plan.
Last year I attended the Labour Party Conference for the first time. Gordy was riding high, a few good weeks, the party was visibly energised. This year??? I am getting ready to take the train this afternoon and find out. There is a part of me that thinks, yes, the Iraqi chickens are coming home to roost......... .....but, I can't deny that I have a feeling of a rising sense of panic contemplating the reality of another Tory government, above all it's the smugness I can't abide, even displayed by Andrew Mitchell (someone I actually have some respect for) yesterday ...
Lots of interesting details to digest in today's mammoth YouGov marginals poll (including, ahem, the importance which voters give to whether or not a candidate is local - in brief, it's very important), but one point I've not yet seen anyone make is how heavily it undermines the seat predictions for the Liberal Democrats which [...]
ConservativeHome has the story: A senior frontbencher has now told us that, as part of an ongoing review of economic policy, higher green taxation is very unlikely to feature in the next Conservative manifesto.
Despite what people say, the songs in the Liberator songbook do change from edition to edition. This year one of the new ones was "Nellie the Elephant", which was my favourite song when I was very young. I was therefore sorry to hear it massacred by the Glee Club audience. In the hope of encouraging a better show next year, I present here the definitive version of the song. It also reached the charts in 1984 in the hands of the Toy Dolls, but I find their version takes it too lightly. Is there a more moving lyric in any ...
I think this question really needs an answer, I have many times heard Brown say "Liberals" when referring to the Liberal Democrats, and now he said it again today on the Andrew Marr Show. He also was pledging in front of the Country that he can turn the economy around which made me go hmm... He accepted that he hadn't been a very good leader until now, and he would still be the Prime Minister come Christmas!
The Liberal Democrats By Election campaign in Kirkleatham Ward, Redcar, received a boost yesterday from an unlikely source - Labour MP Vera Baird. Lib Dem campaigners fell about laughing when they read a letter from the out of touch MP that was published in the Evening Gazette. Obviously miffed by an item in Focus she complains that we referred to her office as the 'Justice Department' and claims we need to do our homework better. We made the reference simply because it was clearer and shorter English than her official title Solicitor General in the Attorney General's office. Why would ...
I'm in the Mail on Sunday today:A telephone 'helpline' is charging parents up to £28 for child benefit information that is available from the Government for free. MPs and consumer groups last night branded the £1.50-a-minute service - run by a 24-year-old businessman - a rip-off and demanded that it be shut down immediately. Callers who ring the premium-rate line receive nothing more than a recorded message repeating details from official websites and Government leaflets. The tape runs on for nearly 19 minutes...Parents seeking information are encouraged to ring a non-geographical 0871 number for up-to-date advice on eligibility, application procedures ...
Brown has announced a 'major expansion' in childcare places by extending free places to two year olds. He is quoted on the BBC as saying 'This is not a government that walks away but a government that's on the side of hard-working families, helping them to climb the ladder.' Currently parents of three and four year olds get 15 hours a week of 'free childcare'. This was brought in a few...
Following the revelations in the Daily Mail about Keith Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East, there is news that the Labour MP for Lewisham, Bridget Prentice, may have misused part of her parliamentary allowance. The accusation concerns funds made available for constituency work, which Ms Prentice has used to promote herself to people living elsewhere.
There are many tales of Rock stars getting the name of the town they are visiting wrong. "Hello Manchester" going down a bomb in Prague, for example. It usually gets forgotten in the opening bars of the first tune. But when you are a politician, getting the name of the town/city, is a little bit more damaging: The opening was superbly choreographed. To the sound of thundering rock music blaring
Saturday Night Live do it again...
Bridget Prentice (Lewisham East, Labour) is to be investigated for using the funds made available for constituency work to promote herself to people living elsewhere. As the local newspaper reports: Lewisham Liberal Democrat councillor Cllr Mark Morris made the allegation in a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. It came after a report, containing an [...]
There have been some discussion in the Lib Dem blogosphere about some of the more doubtful supporters listed on Lembit's presidential website. One of those near the top of the list is former Southport MP - Lord Ronnie Fearn. Well, this is what Ronnie has to say about that claimed endorsement.
The Telegraph's Jonathan Isaby and Iain Dale point to an interview Lib Dem MP Steve Williams gave to the Times Educational Supplement a few days ago. In it, the Lib Dem Shadow Secretary for Innovation, Universities and Skills was asked about the party's commitment to abolishing tuition fees. The TES reports: Stephen Williams, Lib Dem Shadow Secretary [...]
"We will clean up the city" screamed the Labour Party this week. "We are taking decisive action," announced Chairman Brown. "We have found a cause we can use to try to save our skins," confirmed a Labour source. Okay, so no one in the Labour Party actually said the last one, but they might just have well have said it. Friday saw the use (indeed overuse) of Labour's new favourite word "decisive".
