You'll have noticed that I've got rather carried away with social bookmarking "vote" buttons (to the right if you are reading the blog at source). Why? Well, LibDig has been a small success but I'm keen to explore how to what extent I can use these things to widen my blogs' reach. I started experimenting with Politigg and I've brought that back. But I've also added buttons for Wikio and Digg. What's interesting with the other two is that although I've been aware of both for some time, I've never used them in the same way that I take LibDig ...
The Times reports that Lord Jacobs has quit the party to sit as a crossbencher on the grounds that the party's position on tax does not include tax cuts for the rich, paid for (if Lord Rennard is to be believed) by a 6p hike in NIC. Despite Sam Coates' best attempts to dress this story up into another typical Times piece of donor porn (I was half-expecting the piece to start going on about the quality of the soft-furnishings in his central London home and to coo erotically over the prospect of him owning a yacht), it hardly looks ...
"I demand some Colin Blunstone to follow" says the comment on last week's Argent. Blunstone, of course, was the lead singer of the Zombies and Rod Argent was also a member. The band's classic single She's Not There featured here a year ago. Although the Zombies are now revered, they enjoyed only limited success in the sixties. The result was that, while the group's songwriters Argent and Chris White, were doing nicely out of their royalties, the rest of them were making little money out of music. So much so that when the Zombies split in 1968 Blunstone took a ...
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, is right to call on the international community to force out Robert Mugabe, the butcher of Zimbabwe, and being of African origin himself, Archbishop Sentamu cannot be accused by Harare's propagandists of being part of a British neo-colonial conspiracy. Some other notable African churchmen have added their voices of condemnation [...]
Orange were no doubt in sef-congratulatory mood when they sent me the following text: Hi from Orange. We're pleased to tell you that we're passing on the 2.5% VAT cut to you. You'll see the reduction on your bill from 01 December. It gives a completely false impression that this is generosity by Orange. Of course, it [...]
I am sorry to see Anthony Jacobs - head of the British School of Motoring to baked potato business empire - leave the Liberal Democrats, and not just because we shall miss his financial contributions. He once phoned me to correct the finer points of a piece of gossip in Liberator and seemed amused that Lord Bonkers had recently claimed he was the mother of the broadcaster David Jacobs. According to Sam Coates, who broke the story for The Times on the Red Box blog: His beef is that he wants Clegg to go further on tax, taking the lowest ...
The last fortnight for me has been dominated by the sad loss of a friend and colleague. Politics by doom and gloom of various kinds. But I spent Friday wondering if I was in the mood to go and see The Wildhearts who were playing at the Oxford Academy (or The Zodiac, as I like to think of it). Well I did go, anf boy I'm glad I did. The reformed A, with new addition John Mitchell on bass, were as superb as ever. And the mighty Wildhearts were sensational. They played a set chock full of their best live ...
I see from the Internet that the Rev Tim Perkins, former Salford Lib Dem councillor who defected to the Tories last year (as well as having been an independent councillor, Pro European Conservative EU candidate, Progressive Conservative founder, Labour member, Chair of Wolverhampton SDP , and attempted founder of a new party earlier this year) [...]
We went to see A Christmas Carol at the Rose last night. It's wonderful seasonal entertainment - Victorian costumes, cute children, ghosts and lots of carols. The last were a bit of surprise, but shouldn't really have been, given the title. About a dozen well known carols were integrated naturally into the script, which was otherwise very faithful to Dickens'...
For those of you who don't read Liberal Democrat News, there was an advert which you may possibly find of interest. The Federal Executive will be electing, at its first meeting in 2009, the following: Chair of the Federal Finance & Administration Committee (FFAC) Five members of the FFAC Party Treasurer Chair of the Campaigns & Communications Committee (CCC) Chair of the International Relations Committee (IRC) Two members of the IRC One representative on ELDR Council Two representatives on ELDR Congress Two representatives on the Liberal International Executive Two representatives to the LI Congress Chair of the Campaign for Gender ...
In a darkened corner of Liberal Democrat News, I note an announcement of a review of the Party's experience in PR elections across the UK. The Federal Executive, in its wisdom, has appointed Brian Orrell and James Gurling to carry out the review. Whilst I for one might feel that individuals with a stronger campaigning record might have been more optimal, my primary question is why two members
Test Valley's Tory administration has been slammed by a leading Liberal Democrat councillor for overcharging the bereaved and youth groups with its proposed increase in charges for services. In a statement issued before the borough's Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting Cllr Cooper said "A Cabinet decision to increase most of Test Valley Borough Council fees and charges by an inflation busting 5% - and other fees and charges by as much as 100% - was rubber stamped last Wednesday. The main increases impact especially on youth groups and the bereaved. The Cabinet members present were Cllrs Hatley, Busk, Giddings, Hawke ...
Lord Jacobs made his money via BSM and now has left the Lib Dems because he doesn't agree with party policies on tax. He will now sit with the Independent peer's in the Lords! LibDemVoice has written an article about the whole event and you can read it over at their blog by following the link! Personally I think the Peer is only jumping ship because the tax policies are going to hit rich people like him. It is interesting to know that people forget political belief for their money! So if you ever become rich don't join or support ...
Red Box has this...
I thought I'd use a song from the musical "Annie" today. Just because it's quite a nice sentence. But tomorrow, we find out our new Welsh Party leader. Both candidates are extremely talented, skilled and whoever wins will be an asset to our party. Its a chance for "a new dawn" for liberalism in Wales. And actually, it will be the most historic leadership election in Wales, and perhaps the UK, with two women competing for the top job. Whatever happens tomorrow, there will be the first woman leader of any Welsh party. Congratulations to both of them for that. ...
The departure of Lord (Anthony) Jacobs from the LibDem party is very sad news. He's been a stalwart supporter of our party, and the Liberal party before it, since the early 1970s, including being a PPC. A jovial cove, he has been a regular figure at conferences, making the occasional impassioned speech. But most significantly, he has been a huge player in keeping the party financially afloat
Steven Johnson's The Ghost Map is worth reading for many reasons. What makes Johnson so fascinating to read is that he takes a subject and uses it to explore various ideas and trends. If you haven't read any of his books, Emergence is a good place to start, do so. The Ghost Map is the story of a cholera outbreak in London's Soho in 1854. It is not to be read before or after food. It should be read by anyone interested in science, statistics and community development. As well as being an enthralling and detailed account of how the ...
Last night at the bottom of Catchup, I exclusively revealed that Lib Dem Voice is publishing a book. I even gave you a glimpse of what the cover looks like. Now I can exclusively reveal it has a back page too: Regrettably, a slight technology glitch means I am unable to tell you precisely when it will become available, but I can definitely tell you that it is soon.
The Times's Sam Coates reports: Lord Jacobs of Belgravia, a member of the party since 1972 and Liberal Democrat peer since 1997, told Mr Clegg he is leaving the party because he believes that its tax policies are too timid. ... The former Liberal Democrat treasurer and strategist, who is worth an estimated £128 million from his involvement in the British School of Motoring, will now move to become an independent crossbencher in the Lords. ... Lord Jacobs,77, told The Times that Mr Clegg was too timid and should offer lower taxes both for the poor and the better off. ...
Most of our local charity shops collect used stamps - foreign, UK commemorative or just plain "ordinary" stamps - and sell them on to dealers. Please keep all those stamps you get at Xmas or indeed any time of year and take them in. Alternatively you can drop them off to Paul Hulbert at 35 Blaisdon (he's collecting them for Cancer Research) or leave them at Dodington Parish Council for him to collect.
The Times has this report. It says that Lord Jacobs of Belgravia, a Liberal Democrat peer since 1997 has left branding our tax policy a 'disgrace' and arguing that both the poor and the rich could pay less in tax; "society wants the rich to pay more, whereas I'm arguing the rich could pay less provided the poorest pay nothing or very little indeed." Quite how this is to be achieved in the current fiscal climate isn't explained. He said that the Liberal Democrats biggest challenge was "getting heard" and warned that the Lib Dems face the prospect of a ...
With it being Eid Ul Adha tomorrow and me probably not going to blog, I would like to wish readers a Happy Eid! On behalf of Councillor Abu Bakar Anwar (Nelson Town Councillor for Whitefield ward, Nelson) I would like to wish reader's a happy eid, and the Councillor hopes you can enjoy the day. The Leader of the Lib Dems Nick Clegg has sent a eid message that you can read via the link!
There are some lovely spots for a winter stroll in our parks... Most of the lake at Kingsgate Park was frozen over today Some of the ducks decided walking was easier than swimming - don't blame them! Sunset over the lake
Test Valley's Tory administration has been slammed by a leading Liberal Democrat councillor for overcharging the bereaved and youth groups with its proposed increase in charges for services. In a statement issued before the borough's Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting Cllr Cooper said "A Cabinet decision to increase most of Test Valley Borough Council fees and charges by an inflation busting 5% - and other fees and charges by as much as 100% - was rubber stamped last Wednesday. The main increases impact especially on youth groups and the bereaved. The Cabinet members present were Cllrs Hatley, Busk, Giddings, Hawke ...
Jennie has already snaffled the Vince Pies from the Guardian website so I am going to go with the Gordon Brown one instead. Having just been told by a shop assistant that I can have two and half percent off the price of a purchase thanks to the "generosity of Mr. Brown", it may well be time for a reality check. I am sure that Scrooge would not have approved of the Chancellor's accounting methods.
If you think that Westminster-style democracy basically works, or that it just needs a few good changes, like proportional voting for MPs, then maybe you should have a look at what's happening in Canada. Here's a very quick recap. The conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, was recently returned to office, but as the leader of a minority government. At the end of last month, his team brought in an "economic fiscal update". This package tried to nobble Harper's political foes by cutting public election funding for political parties. There were also some hard line measures, such as temporarily suspending the ...
Having listened to former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain on the Politics Show this afternoon I am not convinced by his story that he is the victim of a massive conspiracy cooked up in the Electoral Commisson's offices. Let me be clear, Peter Hain is a man of integrity. Whatever our political differences I have always made it clear that I have great respect for him as a politician. There is no doubt that he has acquitted himself well as a Minister and proved himself a safe pair of hands in government. I also accept that the last ten months have ...
Now here's a find: a blog run by young people in Cuba, and one that gives some real insights into life in that much-mythologised island. It is spearheaded by Yoani Sanchez, who seems to be an extraordinary woman indeed. The ethos looks a marvellously liberal one: "Freedom discovers roads that suppression cannot find". I wouldn't mind that one as an election slogan for the LibDems! She is so upfront about what she is doing that her profile page includes a picture of her national identity card. The future of Cuba could be very interesting especially now that the USA will ...
Always the first to gauge public opinion on the important matters of the day, I bring you a festive poll inspired by the lovely Helen Duffett. View Poll: Festive Acompaniments Having brandy butter on Mince pies which already contain both brandy and butter makes no sense to me - why not just have a bigger pie? - and the sharp saltyness of Wensleydale cuts through the richness of a mince pie perfectly. But Helen seems to think I am weird for having mine like that, which was somewhat unexpected. I suspect it springs from daddy being a chef, so I ...
Liberal Democrats in Bath have criticised the Conservative-led Council as they try and blackmail residents into accepting the controversial Bus Rapid Transit scheme. The Council has announced new measures to encourage cycling, but insist they are dependent on a green corridor in Newbridge being destroyed. Previously the Conservatives have stifled debate at Council and...
The Turkish Weekly Journal reports that people of Gurtepe village in Van, which is in Eastern Turkey, sacrificed 44 sheep in honour of Obama's election as the 44th president of the US, during this weekend's Eid al-Adha festival. As a non meat eater, I'm not exactly celebrating this, but this is an example of how people around the world are placing great hopes and expectations for their future on Obama. Turkey has always had a strong alliance with the US, historically based on a strategic security alliance following the Cold War. In a thoughtful article Prof. Dr. Ihsan Bal, Head ...
Recently the number of constructive comments have started to degrade on my blog and the number of spammers or people who criticise me with anonymous or silly names like "the don" or "king" are on the up. To combat this problem I have changed the commenting settings to that only logged in people can comment. I enjoy reading comments from readers, but if they want to criticise they should at least use their real names! I know who these people are who leave these silly comments, but if I started to name and shame things would just get out of ...
I went on the National Climate March yesterday, as those who read my tweets will be painfully aware. The march itself was the usual festive fun, although not well attended (the organisers say 10,000 people attended, the police say 5,000 - by my own estimate it was somewhere between the two): (credit: Helen Duffett @ LibDemVoice) I don't usually stick around for the rallies of these things - I feel I've done my bit by marching - but as Cleggy was speaking I decided to hang about. I'm afraid that the speeches that followed highlighted for me everything that is ...
Lib Dem Voice point to a Liverpool Daily Post story about a Tory PPB. A SOUTHPORT builder who was tagged the Tories' version of "Joe the Plumber" was last night at the centre of a major political row. Shane Prescott starred in the Conservative party broadcast on Thursday, claiming his business had struggled because of the recession. But Companies House records show the 51-year-old father-of-four's loft conversion firm actually went into liquidation at the height of the boom in 2006. Prescott's response: "The Company went into Voluntary Liquidation two years ago, as it was trading from an insolvent position, this ...
Animal feed is one of the most prevalent causes of ingested dioxins. Farmed salmon feed on contaminated pellets with high concentrations of dioxins many years ago. This continues to be a problem also for most seawater fisheries taking fish from the sea, which in many locations around the world have high concentrations of dioxins. I disagree with the lead story quote from the referred BBC News story that, a Food safety expert Professor Hugh Pennington who told the BBC the health risk was very, very low. He said: "You have to have a lot of these compounds. You have to ...
Charles Kennedy has recently unveiled a plaque in remembrance of a Liberal Prime Minister who died 100 years ago. The plaque is to remember Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman the Scottish born Prime Minister and you can read more about the event by following the link. Personally I think as the Lib Dems it is important for us to remember our success from the past and look at their work to make ourselves robust for government in the coming years!
For the first time in years, I am actually tempted to send a Christmas Card or two... Dear old Grauniad, catering for us impoverished Vince fangirls at a time of recession and misery... (hat tip: James Graham)
Tuesday: There are really only TWO possible interpretations of the Minister for the Enslavement of the Proletariat's insistence on his plan for people who are kept in poverty on benefits should face being made EVEN MORE POOR, regardless of their ability, situation, needs or desires, through removal of those benefits unless they find employment in the imploding job market of recession-struck Great Britain. Either... he is the sort of insanely twisted monomaniacal Puritan who in earlier centuries would have gotten his kicks by incinerating elderly ladies for being "a bit different". Or... no, I'm wrong. There AREN'T two possible interpretations. ...
Am I alone or do I feel completely out of touch with the manic-depressive nature of the British economy. I just want a society in which people have work at reasonable pay that can afford them a home at a reasonable price and spend some money and save a reasonable amount. Is that really too much [...]
Excellent news. Caroline Kennedy, John F Kennedy's daughter, is considering the option of being appointed by the New York state governor to Hilary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.
The Times reports on this leak on Wikileaks. It is a document from Home Office Secretary, Jacqui Smith which is a document on non-disclosure which companies bidding to work on ID cards have signed and suggests that police will be granted the power to enter the homes of employees of those companies without a warrant. The offending part of the document says; "In the event that the Company or any of its Corporate or Individual Recipients fails to comply with the requirements of this agreement *or at the sole discretion of the Authority,* the Company and each of it's Individual ...
The government are now widening up the review post Baby P. I am, however, not certain that this is wide enough. Unless they review the procedures of the Family Courts they will not get the system to work properly. The problem is that the system is chocabloc with conflicts of interests. The rules that prevent people from getting second expert opinions act as a factory for miscarriages of
Some excellent news from the Sunday Express today. Shoppers are "throwing caution to the wind" and going on a £13 billion spending spree, likely to top last year's Christmas bonanza. It's nice to see something going right for a change (notice that I am breaking the habit of a lifetime and actually believing something in the Express - oh well, what the heck - we need cheering up). SHOPPERS went
Observer journalist Amelia Hill must have had a tiring week. When pollsters OnePoll sent out a press release about their latest pointless research, she would have had to, exhaustingly, cut-and-paste the whole press release into her article before submitting it. Hopefully Amelia's been given a few days off to recover. And what have we learnt from OnePoll's marketing-puff-for-Braun-dressed-up-as-inciteful-research? That men are human too. You've probably been labouring under the belief that, unlike women, men were all steely, uber-confident beings who never worried that their performance in the bedroom or social standing might be lacking in any way. I know I ...
Oh dear. Boris has got himself into a bit of hot water over the Damian Green affair. Phoning Green, an arrested suspect in an ongoing investigation, and then gabbing about the inquiry saying that it was unlikely to 'yield either a charge or a successful prosecution'. Two potential big mistakes. Oh dear. He is facing a potential code of conduct charge on four 'clear and serious' code of conduct
Take your pick of stories relating to the Commons Speaker Michael Martin today - here's just three: Martin 'loses 32 MPs' confidence' (BBC) I will go on and on, says defiant Speaker (Sunday Times) Who Should Be the Next Speaker? (Iain Dale) As I pos(i)ted yesterday, my guess is that this row will blow itself out. Labour MPs, whatever their real, private views might be, will have no wish to bring down one of their own. So any move against Speaker Martin is doomed. But the Speaker's wretched performance in the past week has undermined any credibility he might once ...
The issue of Benefits reform is back on the agenda. Whilst I accept the thesis that the tax and benefits system should act to encourage behaviour that society wishes to see and discourage that which we don't, it also needs to be fair. They have been tightening up on Disability Benefits recently. That has resulted in some really stupid decisions. One recent one I saw had only temporary
Conservative Home carries a report that things are getting worse for the Conservative Party financially. It takes up a story by Fraser Nelson in the News of the World which says; "overall income is down by 10%, that the number of £50,000 donors may have halved and that David Cameron has personally authorised up to £2m of extra expenditures, none included in the budget for the year." Obviously, the irony of David Cameron, who is obviously floating his own stimulus package for the party, criticising the 'imprudence' of Gordon Brown will probably not be lost on the Prime Ministers speech ...
I have today launched my December 2008 update to West End Community Council. Subjects covered include : • Refuse Collection • Bus Service Complaints • Lighting Issue • Bandstand Repairs • Christmas Week Success The Community Council meeting takes place this Tuesday at 7pm at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall. You can download a copy of the update by clicking the headline above.
Mr. Speaker Martin is holed below the waterline. His attempt to brazen out his crisis by placing sufficient blame on the Sarjeant at Arms to distract attention from his own personal culpability in allowing Police to search the Parliamentary office of Damian Green MP at best strained credulity and at worst was simply contemptible cowardice. The support he is receiving from such figures as Peter Mandelson demonstrates the scale of the Speaker's failure: his performance has become a matter of party politics. Now, we understand, the Speaker intends not only to remain in office until the next election, which might ...
The Conservatives have over spent more then they can handle and now they aren't getting as much money as they were getting before, this is going to lead to trouble! The Conservatives have spent a lot of money in the last couple of months and now funding is down this is an example of what the Tories might do to the economy. If they cant handle their own parties finances, how the heck are they meant to handle the finances of the Country. People need to look at this failure of the Conservatives within their own party before voting them ...
Curiously missing from the pages of the Observer when the story of Damien Green's arrest broke, Henry Porter is back: Most of us spend our time these days with our heads stuck in our screens or worrying about the economy, but out there, real and important changes are taking place. There is a new world where economic disaster is matched by the collapse of standards that were all part of the gentlemen's agreement; tolerance, respect, fairness and shared values are being vanquished by the police and by bullying, oppressive officialdom. You see evidence in ID cards issued to foreigners, the ...
Thousands of people, including many Lib Dems, marched in protest yesterday on the National Climate Change March in London. Nick Clegg addressed the crowd (transcript below) at the rally in Parliament Square, and MPs Susan Kramer and Jo Swinson were also there. I made a video of some of the day's highlights, such as: Susan Kramer - "If we're going to have any commitment to climate change then surely the last thing we need are more flights" (00:49:00) Nick Clegg addressing the rally in Parliament Square (01:14:00) Jo Swinson on a global approach to tackling climate change (05:34:00) And er, ...
The Daily Mail has announced that the Conservative party have written to the Labour party to tell Brown that he has two people in his cabinet that are moles for the Conservative party. Brown must have been shocked when he found out that two of his own are moles and are giving Cameron info on Brown.I personally think Brown need's an internal party investigation to try and find the moles so he can get them and sack them out of his cabinet and party! I would support a decision my Brown to sack the two moles as they have betrayed ...
On the obviously very slim chance that The Voice's activist readers haven't already finished sending off all their Christmas cards to family, friends, deliverers, helpers, councillors, would-be candidates, favourite members of party staff (hint, hint) and so on - and are still stuck using that largely nineteenth century technology, the Christmas Card - the last posting dates for ordinary inland post are: {Posting Christmas cards} Second Class: Thursday, 18 December First Class: Saturday, 20 December Details for other postal options, such as overseas post and special delivery, are on the Royal Mail website's Christmas Post page. And don't forget, when ...
Things have come to a pretty pass when you can't rely on parliamentary researchers to bunk off properly. I mean, I'm fairly sure iPlayer works on Welsh Assembly computers, which means the Labour Party have no excuse for not realising that the viewing public would have access to all three versions of their Queen's Speech PPB and would thus be able to play a little bit of spot the difference. The
Via andrewducker:Check the site here, which points out that all requests to Wikipedia from certain UK ISPs (like Virgin and Be) are being filtered through proxy servers - so that they can selectively filter it. For instance, the link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Killer doesn't work (fake 404), but http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virgin_Killer does...Now, I don't actually want to look at the album cover for that particular Scorpions album - not just because the Scorpions are RUBBISH, but because the album cover is... distasteful, to say the least. But I'd quite like to know about the controversy surrounding it, and the fact that the link to ...
Quoth the man himself: This is the only hotel I know where they have a glass butt-plug thing in the bathroom which turns out to be for putting your rings on xWhich would be bad enough, but then it gets worse: Though, come to think of it, that's what butt plugs are for. Doh! I'll have to take a pic and show you. Weird thing.Who says Twitter is just for pointless frivolity. Oh, wait, I think I may have said it's best for pointless frivolity. Case proven.
Lib Dem Transport spokesman Norman Baker MP visted Rye on Saturday as part of his ongoing commitment to improving rail services across the country. Mr Baker said, "We need a rail renaissance in this country. Our new and fully-costed transport policy is the greenest and most radical of any of the parties. "We will roll back the Beeching [...]
We popped down to the Christmas Fair today on King's Road. It was lovely to see people milling about enjoying themselves! I have also been interested and impressed to see the new businesses springing up in Norman Road. Good luck to them during these difficult economic times.
He may have served for only a few years, but Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman set off a liberal and democratic revolution which lasted for over a decade. He brought to prominence those "Welsh pests" David Lloyd George and Samuel Evans, too. David Steel and Charles Kennedy last Friday unveiled a commemorative plaque in Glasgow, his birthplace.
Child abuse is, clearly, something that nobody considers acceptable and would want to prevent. Whether it is recent court cases like 'Baby P' in Haringey or the kidnap of Shannon Matthews by her mother we all rightly find such behaviour abhorrent. But are their limits to what should be considered 'child abuse'? The Internet Watch Foundation is a non-statutory organisation — though funded by the UK government with additional funds coming from the EU — to block "potentially illegal child sexual abuse content". Whilst it doesn't have a legal mandate to do so (though the IWF says they assess sites ...
