From the Liverpool Daily Post: A RIFT among a Merseyside Labour group last night led to a shock defection to the Liberal Democrats. Cllr Paul Larkin, who represents Bootle's Derby ward, crossed the divide after claiming Sefton's Labour leadership is "deaf" to the concerns of voters.
With the European elections coming up, many people are thinking, as one of my friends put it today, "I don't know who to vote for and everyone whose political opinions I respect is partisan." Now, as no-one could possibly respect my political opinions, based as they are on blind ignorance, anger and a belief that everyone [...]
Am I missing the point? It's perfectly possible. But when I hear people talking about "restoring the British people's trust in politics" by having fixed term parliaments, by having proportional representation, or some other constitutional reform I think I must be living on a different planet. On the planet I live on, there's been a high degree of distrust of politicians for a long time. I remember teaching King Lear to students at Blackfyne nearly thirty years ago, and feeling some discomfort at the line "Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see the things thou ...
I for one support it and i would hope all members of the Liberal Democrats do. Imagine if we had the seats to match the votes. Imagine if all members had the right to speak freely and offer a view. Not being feared to say what you believe was right. Having leaders who listened to members [...]
So we are a week away from the County Council and European elections. As my Conservative counterpart has mentioned in her offering this week, local people are still, understandably, fuming about the MP expenses scandal. It seems that Jacqui Lait, the former Tory MP for Hastings & Rye, may end up getting de-selected in Beckenham as a [...]
In various parts of East London, where I live, there are huge billboards proclaiming that voting for the tiny Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) in the European elections is the surest way of stopping the BNP getting seats in the European Parliament. Alas, exactly the opposite is the case. The CPA hasn't a cat in heaven's [...]
...or, Why We Have To Talk Specifics. A few people, eg. Costigan Quist, Mark Thomson and Neil Stockley, have been arguing for a consensual, compromising stance, most likely involving accepting the Jenkins Commission suggestion of AV+ instead of our preferred solution of STV. Jennie Rigg and Alex Foster offer a more divisive approach, and I would like to add my voice to theirs. Let me tell you why. It has become obvious why being vague about what we are supporting will not work over the last week. The Tories, opposed as they are to the principle that every person's vote ...
"Lembit has large claws which are very strong so I do my best to avoid them as they can have your wrist or fingers off easily. You have to be very careful handling them and I try not to pick them up!"Not the Lib Dem MP for Montgomery, you booby. He is talking about a huge lobster that has survived in British waters for 40 years.According to WalesOnline, the two-foot long crustacean was about to be shipped to Spain and a seafood restaurant. But it has been rescued by the charity Sea Trust.
Wright Robinson Sports College are consulting on whether or not to apply for Foundation status. This in essence means moving away from Local Council control. There are pros and cons to this. The pros are broadly, the school has more flexibility and freedom. The cons are that the local Council can no longer do much when things go wrong. (The latter category doesn't just mean overall standards, but might include exclusions and various situations where people might appeal to their local Councillors to assist.) I'll be putting more details on what this might mean later, but in the meantime, I'm ...
A very strange feeling is coming over me. Sure I'm coming home knackered with my feet in a sling but somehow its not hurting as much. I knocked out about 6 rounds of delivering today pretty much without breaking into a sweat. Still hundreds of leaflets in my car, however, with many, many more to follow so no complacency, just a sense of increased hardiness which comes from having a manic MP chasing me at every turn and, somewhat oddly, an increasing sense of enjoyment of the whole thing. Mind you, tonight's chips were pretty poor - I couldn't get ...
David Cameron has made a big song and dance over his proposals for wider reform of the political system today with both an article in the Guardian that was well trailed in other media outlets, as well as a speech in Milton Keynes. His proposals are welcome, to be sure, as quite frankly at this point [...]
Things are hotting up in Rutland & Melton. Oakham Artist Jo Goodliffe places a wreath outside the office of Alan Duncan MP in Melton Mowbray to mark the end of his political career. Thanks to Martin Brookes.
The most interesting parts of David Cameron's speech on Parliamentary reform today were those that he left out. It seems that the change he is promising is long on rhetoric and short on specifics, and that is before we get to the glaring omission of the need to reform the electoral system so as to give voters a greater say who runs the country. There are many other political bloggers who can deal with the PR issue with greater authority and knowledge than I, notably James Graham, who describes Cameron's proposal to send out text messages about legislation as the ...
This is from the text of the Conservative leaflet that came through the door of my home in Sheffield today: Conservatives have launched a Transport Commission for the North of England to find out the transport priorities for South Yorkshire. The Commission was launched by William Hague and will examine how to improve all forms of transport including rail services. Conservatives have announced plans for high-speed rail links between Yorkshire and London taking just over an hour and a half. What's wrong with this picture? 1. The proposed high speed rail runs from London to Leeds via Manchester, bypassing Sheffield ...
more about "Conversations with Nick Clegg – Part 2", posted with vodpod
With all three of the main parties upping the stakes daily with regards to the need for constitutional and institutional reform (of which more later) it was a bit disappointing to read in this morning's Times that nothing has really changed in the big two parties. The paper tells us that there are plans afoot in the House of Lords to raise the threshold above which parties must report donations from £5,000 to £7,500. The move is opposed by Lord Neill of Bladen, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, who said that there was no real ...
Now I, along with many other people I know, in all parties, write leaflets on a regular basis. However there are very few who get paid more than £22,000 a year, let alone a leaflet! All I can say is that I hope it was very good!
Snapped this yesterday evening just outside the patio doors. It was about 5 cm long. It buzzed about quite a bit before it settled down.
The full details of the Lab councillor who has joined us here. I will post more on this when I get back to Southport.
A, small but perfectly formed, team from Wolverhampton have been over in Bridgnorth in Shropshire today helping out in the Shropshire Unitary Elections.
VS Patrick Barkham: I've visited six constituencies to see how the expenses scandal is playing. My conclusion: Labour is heading for electoral oblivion Monday, 18 May 2009 Voters love to whinge about Westminster. On the streets the government will always get a good verbal kicking. But in the privacy of the voting booth, the electorate becomes more [...]
Yes, it's that time in the political cycle again, when European elections take place. And, once again, the motley crew of Europhobes that is the United Kingdom Independence Party have taken centre stage. Their mixture of smears, inaccuracies and petty nationalism appeals to an electorate who, to be honest, have little idea as to where their money goes and what the European Union does for them. Oh yes, the European Union is a flawed creation, overly secretive, with a democratic deficit and byzantine structures. Too many of its big decisions stem from fudged agreements made in smoke-filled rooms by the ...
Boones Chapel are holding another pair of open weekends this weekend and next. This time the exhibition is on 'The 21st Century Almshouse' and looks at what makes a good place to live and why we're not making this kind of housing available to all our elders. The exhibition examines what Almshouses are, why they were built and what's good about their design. As someone with a professional as well as local interest in this, I'll definitely make it along. The exhibition is absolutely free and is open 12noon til 5pm this Sat/Sun (30th and 31st May) and then again ...
There are two models of reform being discussed in the papers over the past couple of days. The first would be a fundamental reform: a referendum on Alternative Vote Plus (AV+) as put forward by Alan Johnson in what might or might not be a leadership bid. The second - which seems to be gaining support in both Opposition and Government circles - concerns a change in the way Parliament runs itself. I picked up in a previous post the argument put forward by the Economist that much of the anger against the political class demanded institutional change (not constitutional). ...
I just cannot stand the thought of ten years of that complete pillock David Cameron. All you need to know about him is that he was a public relations guru for one of the worst, most soulless television stations in the history of British broadcasting. David Cameron set out plans to radically reform the British political system in a speech at the Open University. He said the current political crisis highlighted the need for "sweeping reform" and stressed that "a bit of technocratic tinkering here, a bit of constitutional consultation there" would not be sufficient. Oh go and stick your ...
Regular readers will remember that last week all of the Greater Manchester councils announced (with full orchestral fanfare) some new public transport funding. I blogged about it then. It isn't all it's cracked up to be, because it still doesn't give the region what we need. It's also absolutely obviously the "Plan B" which everyone said didn't exist when we sensibly chucked the idea of congestion charging out the window last autumn. But, on the plus side, it's better than nothing. Or, is it? Well now I've had a closer look at the agreement that's been struck, and it looks ...
Nice to see our area get a mention in The Times today. The newspaper of record today points out what good value housing in our area is compared to Blackheath or Greenwich. Chalcroft and Effingham Roads in particular are singled out for praise. Stand by for the flood of buyers with estate agent's brochures this weekend...
Having spent a bank holiday weekend travelling the country visiting relatives, friends and the Hay Festival, my question of the day is where are the political posters? The street where my in-laws live normally has a splattering of Lib Dem and Tory posters. This year, despite having county elections, there are none. Indeed, from the hundreds of miles I have covered in the last few days, the scores on the doors in the poster battle are: Tory 1 Labour* 1 Lib Dem 1 UKIP 1 Green 1 Plaid Cymru 1 * It should be noted that this voter is certifiably ...
In today's newspaper (and tomorrow's toilet paper) a correspondent in the 'Herald Express', Julian Head, writes of Mark Hellyer and myself as being part of Torbay's 'liberal elite'. When did I become part of the elite ? Do you get a badge like you would on 'Blue Peter' ? What privileges and responsibilities goes with such a title ? Do you get free tickets to Wembley ? Do you get to claim any expenses / allowances ? And, being a tad proletarian, how do I renounce the title, should I wish to ? Any ideas ? It's good to know ...
I haven't paid much attention to Liberal Vision so far, but I think I might start. First, they come up with a post that compares the way Ross Brawn seized the day to form his new Formula 1 team and come from nowhere to dominate the sport in less than 3 months to the opportunity that awaits the Liberal Democrats to make a huge breakthrough as the force for radical political reform. I'm not over keen on the analogy between my beloved Ferrari and the tired, out of touch, on its knees Labour Government, but I'll let that pass for ...
Very occasionally I might appear to be a bit partisan about my politics. People think that when I link to things like the Tory Atlas of the World, or pick on Labour posters on Liberal Conspiracy, that I wouldn't pick on my own side like that. Well, that's where you are wrong, people, that's where you are wrong. I got an email today from a wonk at Cowley Street asking me, as a Lib Dem blogger, to have a look at the party's Euro website and big it up on my blog. I looked at the party's Euro website. And ...
David Cameron's big speech about democratic reform is most notable for its chutzpah. Like Jack Straw, a man whom Cameron has seemingly impressed, he has managed to make a speech saying very little fool journalists into thinking he is being radical. It doesn't say much for the state of modern journalists that they are impressed by proposals to send out text messages about legislation; it should have been laughed out of court for being the modern equivalent of John Major's Cones Hotline. To the surprise of precisely no-one, Cameron has drawn the line at electoral reform. In doing so however, ...
I have been to Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, which is a little piece of Blackpool set down in the incomparable Derwent valley. There are one or two good shops there - notably Fabric Design - and I did find a Buddhist cafe. But it was closed.
The following is the edited version of a letter I sent to the local 'Herald Express' newspaper. Predictably they edited bits attacking the arrogance of Mr Steen and vt5he more trenchant criticism of Marcus Wood (Tory PPC - Torbay). It ended up reading : JOHN KIDDEY tries to suggest in these pages that Marcus Wood (Conservative PPC) has been a fearless campaigner on the issue of MPs' expenses. However this 'fearlessness' only extends to situations where Mr Wood feels he can portray, rightly or wrongly, the Lib Dems as the bad guys. In the interests of political even-handedness I asked ...
With all the furore around the Snoutgate scandal, it's worth remembering that one of the most trusted and respected politicians of recent times just happens to be LibDem Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor. Here's Liberal Vision's tribute to Vince Cable.
Letter (unedited) to the Torbay 'Herald Express' sent 260509 : Much recent debate on parliamentary reform has, understandably, focused on MP's expenses. However the real debate is much wider than this. Do you want a voting system that accurately reflects the voting strength of political parties and individual politicians ? STV, a proportional system, offers a fairer voting system that would more accurately reflect the will of electors at local ()elections, including quite probably Labour, UKIP and Independent representation in the bay at council level, which is largely denied by the current electoral system. Nationally, do you want a representative ...
I was, for many years, the man behind many of the Lib Dem leaflets and ideas in various elections in Broadland and North Norfolk. My leaflets always, ALWAYS had a message of a main point to make and they never ever just had lots of words on them. In my view a leaflet was part of a campaign, with an aim, be it to get petitions on a signature, pointing out an injustice, making a clear point about a policy or simply positioning a candidate or the party as the main challenger in an area. At no point would a ...
Tue 26th
18:54
My ancestors would be turning in their graves at the BNP's distortion of the reasons why they fought...
The thrust of the BNP's party election broadcast tonight's seems to be on distorting the events surrounding the last two world wars and trying to make it fit their version of history. Oddly, the BNP claim that Britain was fighting to stop a European super state from 1939-45. They do mention, in passing, the Nazis. But fail to mention how many members of the BNP are or have been involved in Nazi saluting, or other pro Nazi activities. They ask "Are you proud to be British ?" I am, but not when I see history being re-written in this way. ...
Electoral Reform. Is any topic more boring? Oh, sure, Lib Dems love PR. This is the moment, apparently. I'm not convinced. If there's one thing people don't want it's political parties obsessed with the ins and outs of how one becomes a professional politician for a living. First past the post? Proportional Representation? Kill me now, please. I am chronically bored. I'd write about Cameron stealing Nick Clegg's agenda (and doing very well with it), telling us what reforms he's going to 'look at' (I can 'look at' cacophagy, doesn't mean for a second I'm going to do it), but.. ...
Is the threat of Nick Griffin getting elected to promote his racist agenda really as great as people say? I know it wouldn't take much but I'm not entirely convinced. Seems to me that the press is talking up their chances beyond the reality. There's always someone on the TV ready to say that they are voting BNP, but mostly they don't look as though they have ever been into a polling station or would know what to do if they got there. Gordon Birtwistle took advantage of my latest visit to Burnely to add to my scepticism with one ...
I find it staggering that the Tories and UKIP would rather let robbers, fraudsters and even killers go free rather than work with our European neighbours on tackling crime. It's difficult to believe that they didn't support the European Arrest Warrant. They are putting dogma before our safety. Ed Davey was right on Radio Four's Today programme to criticise the Tories and UKIP for this. Take a look at the Lib Dems' European Election website for more information.
Here's a frustrating paradox about the Liberal Democrats. One of the main difficulties we face in putting across a narrative of our own choosing is that other people - viz. the media - filter what we say. OK, all parties have to cope with filters and the media are more likely to ignore us altogether. That means election broadcasts are a golden opportunity for the Lib Dems to tell our story. Yet the party doesn't always use these broadcasts -- or Nick Clegg's obvious talents as a communicator -- to best effect. We don't use them to tell enough stories. ...
Had the morning off from campaigning today. Went to a funeral instead, that of a young girl, only 26, who had been my daughters best Friend in primary school. The beautiful old church in Wendron was absolutely full, they even needed the Police outside to sort out the traffic. The service was wonderful, and very moving. I'm not usually a fan of power point presentations, but the slide show of her short life, set to music, had us all in tears. I'd forgotten to bring a tissue, and why does your nose have to run as well? Reduced to wiping ...
Iain Dale has the story of Ralph Buckle, the chair of University of York Conservatives until he called for people to vote UKIP. He's now an ex-chair and ex-member.
Is it OK to run an illegal library from my locker at school? That question was raised* in an internet discussion forum by an US school student who circulated books banned in her school (such as 'The Catcher In the Rye'; 'The Canterbury Tales'; 'Animal Farm'; and 'Catch-22' **). The original YAHOO query and some responses can be accessed here. Wonder if I would have had the guts at her age? *of course the inner cynic in me says no school could be as stupid as the one described here so is this all a bit of fiction to put ...
I have spent some time today trying to find more political people on Twitter to follow. I have been actively using it for a few weeks now and it is great for keeping in touch in pretty much real time with what is going on with like minded people. The problem I have found is in trying to find politically active/interested Twitterers to follow. I cannot find a central repository of this information. There is a Lib Dem Tweets section on Lib Dem Blogs which is very useful and I have joined this (and mined it for potential people to ...
Paying 50% tax above £150000 per annum income is so unfair on premier league footballers struggling on a mere £2million a year AFTER tax - or so they would have us believe. They might even go & play overseas. Hooray. Then we might just get enough English players in the league to allow us a decent National team. And the ticket price at premier league matches might just possibly become affordable by ordinary fans. What a disaster!!!!!!!!!!
There was a lot of criticism aimed at Cowley Street 4 years ago for not running a visible European campaign. I'm sad to say, apart from Graham Watson MEP's mailing*, nothing remotely Lib Dem has dropped through our letterbox. The BNP, UKIP, Green and Tory leaflets where distributed long ago...but why the absence of a Lib Dem leaflet? Are we anti-Europe or for it? I know we come so far behind UKIP that it almost isn't worth bothering, but if in fact we don't bother, we end up appearing as if we're in collusion with them. And it shows. Huge ...
votewise.co.uk - the independent website which lists forthcoming by-elections and candidates (and which I blogged about here) - has recently started displaying page view figures on the biography pages for each by-election candidate. The numbers (even allowing for being page views rather than absolute unique visitors) are generally impressive, with a candidate's page being typically viewed several hundred times. Given the number of votes it takes to win or lose an election, and the likelihood that a high proportion of those views are from (potential) voters, that's not a number to be sniffed at - and it therefore makes it ...
Look Mum, I'm on the telly! Well, er OK a web clip courtesy of GetBracknell website. This is footage of some of the questions from Andrew MacKay's meeting on Friday that I blogged about on Saturday and includes some of his responses and the reaction of the audience. I am the chap at the front of the balcony who asks the second set of questions. It was following this meeting that Mr MacKay decided to step down (after a call from Mr Cameron who one suspects had been tipped off about the real feeling in the hall). Hattip to Liberal ...
A nice little mix of stuff in this lot, though the politics averse amongst you should be warned that with elections next week there's a fair bit on that, though not much of it is serious. A quick guide to the British voting system for the EU elections | Nosemonkey's EUtopia There are elections next week across the UK. In Britain, the votes are counted using the D'Hondt closed list PR system. This is one of the few electoral systems I've encountered I consider to be worse than the one we use for Westminster, when you get critics attacking "PR", ...
A current Lords parliamentary inquiry is allowing YouTube submissions from members of the public. The inquiry is on the topic of how people engage with the work of the House of Lords and Parliament more generally. One such member of the public who has shared her views is, erm, Jo Swinson, in an excellent short video that addresses many of their questions. You can see the video for yourself here on the Parliamentary YouTube channel, along with many other interesting shorts, including information about the clock that chimes Big Ben.
That is the conclusion of Bath Chronicle Deputy Editor when looking into the Bath MP expenses. To read more about Don's expenses visit the Bath Chronicle web site at
Am trying to write the post that I obliquely promised yesterday about rules vs guidelines, and am finding it difficult to concentrate because next door's two extremely stupid boxer dogs are alternately trying to tear each other to pieces and barking at people who dare to walk past. Also {[info] - livejournal.com} andrewducker tells me that there are people in this world who don't have huge piles of books in the bathroom. This is perplexing and frightening to me. I would have had a discussion about it with him on LJ, except that LJ is being an arse for me ...
That is the list of constitutional reforms or perhaps we should call it Political reforms: 1. Televised election debates – no rules no scripts just a Chairperson and the three party leaders like Nick's Town Hall debate answering audience questions. Come on Dave and Gordon if you think you're hard enough. 2. Proper rules regarding equal access [...]
We'd like to thank all of you for the welcome you have given us as we have been out knocking on doors across Whitefoot these past few weeks. This weekend we completed our local residents' survey, knocking on our 5000th door! We're committed to listening to you and working with you to improve our local area. Do get in touch if we can help. Pete, Dan & Cathy
Having cast my postal ballot on Sunday, I am now left wondering what there is left to do for the European Parliamentary elections. I could get on with that website I'm supposed to be tidying up, or maybe I could post to that political theory blog I've started. BUT WAIT – Aren't there 9 days left [...]
This is a message for anyone who has a postal vote for the European Election and who hasn't yet posted it off. Did you know that your vote won't count if you don't sign the slip attached to the envelope? Or that it won't count if you don't write in your date of birth as well? In fact, your signature must match the one you used when you applied for a postal vote some time ago. Now the problem is that some people have more than one signature. Maybe you normally write an unintelligible squiggle, but use a much more ...
This story is hilarious! They couldn't even find real BNP supporters to put on their own leaflets!
It's nearly two years since Rich and I saw the crew filming 'Telstar' in Holloway Road, forty years after the death of its subject Joe Meek. The film's due to be released on 19 June, and the Times has a preview here.
A debate is beginning to develop in the LibDem blogosphere about the opportunity - provided by the Snoutgate scandal - to secure full-blown constitutional reform. This is surely the best oppportunity in years - if not decades - for the party to lead calls for the whole gamut of changes that LibDems have been so passionate about. A tad worrying, then, that if you search for the term "constitution" on the party's official website, the following message appears: {broken-link3} Hmmm...... Here's hoping Nick Clegg and our frontbench are a little more forthright in their upcoming public pronouncements... Cameron's proposed constitutional ...
Thus writes The Sun: A TORY Euro MP paid her husband £22,500 to help her write a 15-page leaflet on waste management, The Sun can reveal. Caroline Jackson, 62, initially failed to declare the payment. She then disguised the size of the payout to hubby Robert by splitting it into three and listing each part as between £0 and £10,000". Full story here.
I have recently called in information from my agents on the streets across the UK to find out how the elections are going and how the postal vote system is going and I have some interesting information. Campaigning thugs were always associated with the BNP but I have to assure readers not any more many political parties now have people wearing their badges on going around bullying people to vote a certain way. The information I got back suggests that in ethnic communities thugs are going around picking up unfilled ballots and then are filling them in themselves. This sort ...
The Chairman of York Uni Conservatives has written an article in their student paper advocating that people would be better of voting for UKIP than for the Tories in the European elections. What does this say about the confidence of Tory members on the Conservative position on Europe? Privately I've spoken to quite a few more Tory students and party members who have told me that they will be voting UKIP at the European elections rather than supporting David Cameron. Isn't it about time Cameron got his own house in order before he aspires to run the country? Iain Dale ...
Liberal Democrats have been calling for electoral reform for years. At last the rest of Britain is finding out why it really matters. That little matter of expenses. In the 19th Century there were rotten boroughs. In the 21st Century there are some rotten MPs. It seems that the most outrageous expense claims have been made by MPs who have safe seats. Well, who would have thought it? There shouldn't be any safe seats in my opinion. All MPs should have to work for their constituents and for Britain as a whole. Proportional representation is the best way of ensuring ...
So, David Cameron is promising sweeping reforms to 'fix' politics. The first thing to say is that there is plenty in the text of his speech to the OU that is supportable and sounds nice. However, he made it clear that electoral reform was not on his agenda; it is worth pointing out that an awful [...]
Tempers are running high, public anger is palpable. So of course Cameron rides to the rescue pledging to restore real power to the people. Real power that is except a written constitution, an elected house of lords and fair votes. This ain't the right time to be responding to public emotions with shallow people power sound bites. Especially as until now the tories have been against these people power ideas!
It's quiet in LDV Towers this afternoon as all the responsible editors have day job responsibilties. We can always tell when we're not talking about something our readers want to have their say on, because you kindly have your say on it anyway on whatever was the top post. And today's topic is clearly Call Me Dave's speech on parliamentary reform, in which he sets out a series of Lib Dem policy proposals and pretends they're new. There's no zealot like a recently converted zealot, but hang on a minute, Dave? Power to the people? Small government? All of that ...
We went for a lovely walk yesterday. The scenery was great, the sun was shining and many different kinds birds were singing. Most of the way there was no litter, which was great. However we came across a place where a lot of beer ...
Paul Larkin, a labour councillor from Bootle has joined the Lib Dems. More to follow. The Liverpool Post has the full story for those who can't wait. Welcome. Paul is the sort of defector who is good news. Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
... alright, I exaggerate a bit (okay, a lot), but I encountered this creature on a walk at the weekend. It's a slow worm (angius fragilis) basking in the sun on one of Creeting St Peter's many footpaths. It isn't actually a snake, although easily confused for one, but is actually a legless lizard. The test? Lizards have eyelids, snakes don't. Of course, they aren't dangerous, but at this time of year, they are a bit sluggish and vulnerable to birds and, to be honest, being trodden on.The main threat to them otherwise is domestic cats, as they have little ...
I am conflicted at the moment. Jennie Rigg and Mark Valladares have both pointed out that Alan Johnson's favoured form of electoral reform to be put to a referendum at the time of the next election is not the best form of PR. Mr Johnson favours the AV+ system as recommended by the Jenkins Comission in 1998. They both point out problems with AV+. Jennie mentions that it does not remove safe seats which is true, some will remain although I believe there will be less of them and at least each candidate has to get 50% of the vote. ...
A Labour councillor in Sefton has defected to the Liberal Democrats.
Inspired by a comment to a post written by Jennie Rigg, I have tested out my blog and apparently my writing style is that of a man. Which is somewhat of a relief, but not necessarily expected. It isn't often that I am told I am masculine. The reason I know this is thanks to The [...]
Tue 26th
13:00
Day 3068: Mr Balloon versus Electoral Reform. He jumps on the bandwagon... but can we keep hold of t...
Tuesday: Mr Balloon writes for the Grauniad about his wish for "progressive conservatoryism", which is as bad an oxymoron as DYNAMIC INERTIA or CARING CANNIBALISM. Mr Mark Reckons, supported by the Liberal Democrat Blogosphere and Mr Clogg in Parliament has really set a ball rolling. Like ALL the best ideas, it looks really simple and obvious once you see it: Safe seats equal Sleazy Seats. Mr Mark told Pollyanna who wrote it in the Grauniad, and Pollyanna told Minister Ben who said it on Questionable Time. And now there's real popular support for reform. Hmmm, "popular", here comes Mr Balloon. ...
This is a message for anyone who has a postal vote for the European Elections and who hasn't yet posted it off. Did you know that your vote won't count if you don't sign the slip attached to the envelope? Or that it won't count if you don't write in your date of birth as well? In fact, your signature must match the one you used when you applied for a postal vote some time...
News reaches me that the entire cast of series 8 of I'm a Celebrity... Get me out of Here! are planning to stand for Parliament.Having been inspired by Brian Paddick's candidacy as Lib Dem mayoral candidate, Esther Rantzen was the first to announce she will bid for Luton South. Followed by former Dollar frontman David Van Day announcing he would stand in Mid Bedforshire.Robert Kilroy-Silk is to
A few weeks ago the BBC repeated their coverage of the 1979 election night. Many people were interviewed about what Mrs Thatcher's new government might bring. The most amusing part (even more amusing that what people were wearing in 1979) was the fact that absolutely no-one had a clue on the various bombshells that were about to hit them. There was a factory owner who employed 70 people and was pleased and optimistic for the future. Was his one of the many thousands of small businesses who went to the wall as British manufacturing was virtually wiped out? There was ...
So, take a little bit of symbolic power away from the political elite, and give it to the man in the street... But not too much, because we wouldn't want to upset the nice cozy safe seat status quo that keeps the Tories taking their turn at being in power, would we? For the record, I asked DC:Do you agree with D Carswell that bringing back traditional British multimember constituencies will combat corruption in parliament?The answer has been a deafening silence (12:14 Craig Elder: We're wrapping up the online questions for now, but if you've got a question for David ...
That is the conclusion of Bath Chronicle Deputy Editor when looking into the Bath MP expenses. To read more about Don's expenses visit the Bath Chronicle web site at
Aha! Now the fight to get fair funding for Haringey schoolchildren is getting the support of teaching unions in Haringey. Everyone in Haringey recognises the injustice of us having to pay inner London teacher salaries but only receiving outer London per pupil funding. The differential is stark. Our kids get £1,183 less than children in Camden, Hackney or Islington. I was able to raise this issue again on the floor of the House last Thursday. One day we will get it through to the Government that this is just not fair. Our schools are struggling terribly with their budgets - ...
The Liberal Democrats are the only major party genuinely committed to protecting the environment. We must aim to reduce, reuse and recycle more than we already do. We will: Reduce business miles - the County Council has continually missed its own targets for reducing the 20,000,000 (yes, 20 million!) miles travelled by staff each year - that costs you £8 million per year and adds to the Council's carbon footprint. We can reduce this by encouraging remote working, and audio and video conferencing.Promote advanced mechanical biological treatment - and other modern technologies instead of costly, inflexible and environmentally unfriendly waste ...
So, tonnes of politicians from Labour/Tories are getting on the Public's bandwagon regarding electoral reform. Whether or not they comply with the wishes of the electorate (in which we are now in `lock step`) will depend on whether they put the country before themselves. To REALLY change things requires really tough questioning of themselves and the [...]
Now that the MPs allowances scandal has been well and truly aired, with the reputation of politicians and Parliament down in the gutter and threatening democracy, we have politicians breaking cover in what seems to be a bidding war to 'reform Parliament' Cameron has lost no time in putting forward carefully worded statements, strong on the "we'll consider..." and "boosting the role of" and "giving more power (to local government) " All very well, but given that he has spent his time as Tory leader working hard to change the image and perception of the Tories, as the nasty party ...
Readers can pick up a bargain when Prestwich Library holds a sale of withdrawn items on June 13 and 14. A large number of adult non-fiction books are up for grabs, along with Jewish non-fiction, junior fiction books and a selection of DVDs. The library is open from 9am to 1pm on Saturday June 13, and from 10am to 2pm on Sunday June 14. Telephone 0161 253 7214/7216 for further details of the sale or check our website www.bury.gov.uk/libraries for information on all library service
I had a photocall with the Ham & High newspaper at nine o'clock this morning, outside the Methodist Church in Middle Lane, Hornsey, which will be hosting an all-party Euro-hustings on Thursday evening. I found the photographer sheltering under a tree, then I had to get my tie and rosette on, while delicately balancing an umbrella [...]
Having just read David Cameron's recipe to restore public faith in politicians I note his glaring omissions. He omits what I regard as a fundamental gravy train that MPs have supped from for far too long. When I got to Parliament in 2005 I was outraged to find that MPs could use public money from the taxpayer for their mortgage and - given the booming house market until recent times - could then sell their property for huge profits and pocket them. That has been a scandal. I have bleated on about this ever since. Nick Clegg has taken up ...
{festival_010a.jpg} The highlight of the second weekend of Prestwich Festival was undoubtedly the Farmers market on sunday. With the weather behaving this weekend the crowds flocked to the Longfield precinct. But it wasn't just about picking up some quality northwest produce, there was clowns, face painting town crier and bouncy castle for the kids as well. I understand that the event was such a success that some stalls were running out of produce. As a result of this success it is hoped to now put on further farmers markets later in the year as well as repeating the event next ...
Brian Groom has noticed how un-recession like this recession is. Specifically, how it differs from his memories of the wrenching structural change wrought in the early 80s:"What marked out the 1980s was a combination of deindustrialisation and its geographical concentration in the north, Scotland and Wales. A generation's skills were no longer needed. Now things are more diffuse. Britain is more prosperous, so parts of it feel wealthy even after a sharp loss of output." He is right- despite the complaints from all quarters about how Britain needs to shift from Financial Services (all of 8% of our GDP), the ...
While I welcome the fact that PR has suddenly become sexy again, I think people need to be more precise when they are talking about it. There are many forms of PR, and not all of them will have the desired effects. As Mark Reckons's famouse graph shows, the correlation is between safe seats and corruption. A system that doesn't remove safe seats is therefore in the interests of the two main parties, who will do anything to preserve the status quo, where they retain as much of the power as possible, and not in the interests of the electorate. ...
Edward Davey is writing to UKIP Leader Nigel Farage challenging him to publish his MEPs' expense claims and to account for their shameful record of voting for perks and secrecy in the European Parliament. When Nigel Farage first went to Brussels, he promised to publish his accounts annually 'so the public can inspect them', but since then neither he nor his UKIP...
A website called 38 Degrees has been set up to challenge politicians by campaigning hard on local issues and personally I like the idea. I am someone who has always said that cyber activism could lead to change and I think this project is going to do just that. Since Go Fourth launched John Prescott and crew have started campaigning on issues that they think are right for example the Bill that was meant to be debated about abolishing the minimum wage and how GoFourth campaigned to kill the bill (which they did). Its campaigns like this that were ran ...
The idea that the Tories could deliver the major constitutional reform we need in this country is the funniest thing I've heard in ages. Cameron's thoughts today - which, remember, aren't actually proposals, just vague commitments from the Tories to "look seriously" at certain issues - are lukewarm and unambitious to say the least. They're going to look at considering fixed term parliaments - that sounds a fairly tortuous process for what should be a no brainer. Of course the PM shouldn't have the power to decide when to go to the country - fixed term parliaments has been Liberal ...
Back in 1990 I lived in Frankfurt, West Germany, at an extraordinary time in world history - the total collapse of the USSR and dismantlement of the Berlin Wall. I had a subscription to Time magazine and week on week it would report what they expected to happen in Eastern European countries, but things happening so fast no one could accurately predict what would happen next. "Trabbi Trummel" moved across western border points at breath taking speed and articles were out of date by the time they hit the news stands. At the moment life in politics seems to closely ...
It is Tuesday but it is the start of the working week. Nevertheless, there is no "Monday (or Tuesday) Morning Blog" this week. It's half term, the political stories are all about expenses and that has been done to death on this blog (though I guess we will return to it at some point) and I used my main bit of material on Sunday for what would otherwise be the Monday blog post. So, instead,
Interesting post on the Smiling Under Buses blogspot yesterday, offering a translation of this post on the Cachu 360 blog. They are very unimpressed with the Welsh Assembly Government's on-line alternative to the promised Welsh Language daily newspaper, the first of a number of promises to be broken by Plaid Cymru Ministers. It is not just the technical aspects and the look of the site that come in for criticism but also the superficial content, which in many people's minds fails to offer the sort of in-depth analysis and coverage they had come to expect from such a heavily subsidised ...
Part of being approved as a Euro candidate for the the Lib Dems (including the Welsh Lib Dems) means committing to abide by a strict code on expenses. If at times some of the allegations in Westminster have been enough to make people weep over the state of our Democracy the ongoing abuses in the European Parliament could make people cry a full on river. I've reproduced the code at the end of this message. Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has long been a champion of transparency in how our tax money is spent by elected members. In Europe I'd ...
Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader, has called for a complete transformation in the way politics is conducted in the UK. He pointed out that simply trying to tweak the system of Parliamentary rules round the edges, as the other parties are trying to, can never full address the core problems. The MP expenses fiasco (which even our MP's were partially ivolved in) are only part of what is damaging our democratic system. People on the doorstep don't just want the gov't to change colour, but they want to rot at the centre of gov't rules to change as well. It's ...
I blogged about Leyton MPs Harry Cohen and his mind-boggling reasons for gaining a load of money from the taxpayer. We also know about other MPs that give you a headache with their reasonings. Yes, I can just about read between the lines about Cohen to get to the truth and newspaper online articles help (as [...]
As a local councillor i feel i must openly comment on what i believe to be the disgraceful growth industry within this city of Brothels. Many Swinton South residents will understand my feelings on this issue. We have seen over the past two years where Scottish political leaders come here to taste our wares if that is [...]
A woman in her forties has a fling with a man 11 years her junior several months after her husband walks out. Sounds like a complete non-story, but not at Misogyny Central, also knows as the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. What I found especially fun about this story is the way the journalist ("Daily Mail Reporter") insists on comparing the boyfriend's age not to his partner, but to her estranged husband. Every effort is made to portray the relationship as something odd and not quite right. The husband is angry, we're told. The boyfriend is the son of ...
The BBC seems to have decided that the expenses scandal means that they are no longer bound by pesky laws like the Representation of the People Act. BBC Breakfast has just run a 7 minute puff piece for Esther Rantzen, the TV personality (BBC, natch) who has announced that she will be running against disgraced Labour MP Margaret Moran in Luton South. This may not be during the campaign period of the general election, but the law still applies - broadcast media have to give balanced coverage to all declared candidates. Are the BBC going to give 7 minute prime ...
Martin Brookes sends me this picture of Alan Duncan's constituency office in Melton Mowbray. It shows the artist Jo Goodliffe handing tickets for a free ride on Duncan's lawnmower, which the Rutland & Melton MP attempted to buy through his Parliamentary expenses.
I was recently sent a review copy of this book by the publishers, Pluto Press, and it has put me in rather a difficult position. I want to review the book here – that's why I've got it, after all – but all I can really say about it is that it makes a lot [...]
Considering how close Gorton is to Eastlands (close enough for large parts of the area to be turned into a car park on match days), it's impressive how many red flags are currently hanging out of windows. Last year, many people felt cheated that for a range of reasons, including Rangers fans' unique take on improving Anglo-Scottish relations there was no parade following Manchester United's victory in Moscow. This year, in the event of Manchester United returning with the trophy, there will be a parade on Thursday. It will be from Manchester Town Hall, starting at 5 p.m. to Trafford ...
Electoral reform is now at the top of the political agenda. As part of the crisis that the political system now faces, calls for a radical overhaul of the constitution have been very loud indeed. Alan Johnson the Health Secretary joined the debate yesterday with an article in The Times calling for a referendum on electoral reform to be put to the electorate and to coincide with the next General Election. It seems that his argument is winning support both within the cabinet and the Parlimentary Labour Party. Part of Mr Johnson's thesis is: The adoption of AV+ (a proportional ...
We enjoy our penultimate day at Bonkers Hall. Saturday Today sees the first match of the season for Lord Bonkers' XI (if one overlooks our traditional Easter tour of the Holy Land) and upon having the curtains opened for me I am pleased to observe that the weather has held. I waste no time in rising and am soon outside supervising Meadowcroft as he mows the pitch (which he describes as "green as a Fenian's frog a-munching lettuce"). Our opponents are a powerful team drawn from the Women's Liberal Federation (or whatever they call themselves these days), but accurate seam ...
Tue 26th
07:33
Alan Johnson's idea of reform - giving people a new system whilst leaving Party control intact
Amidst the sea of people applauding Alan Johnson for proposing a revisit of the recommendations of the Jenkins Commission, I feel the need for a raft for those who wish to blow a raspberry. 'Alternative Vote plus' does little to put power in the hands of the public. Yes, an MP will need to gain the support of 50% of those voting, and yes, there will be greater proportionality. But that just ensures that the spoils are more evenly divided, it doesn't give the public a genuine say about the identity of the individual who represents them. A small, fairly ...
Last week I wrote to Michael Connarty to ask why on 3 July last year he voted to do away with certain reforms in Third Report from the Members Estimate Committee: Review of Members Allowances (House of Commons Paper 578). To see what that entailed see my previous post on that issue. However, I did ask if I could publish his reposonse and as there was no objection here it is in full. Dear Stephen, I will be disappointed if this turns out to be a Lib Dem propaganda seeking exercise. I worry that we are involved in a race ...
Happy Towel Day folks - do you know where yours is today? #towelday # Absolutely wiped out after yesterday liveblogging F1 in Monaco and doing live Twitter updates on Indy 500. Going to have a quiet day today. # Tired but happy after a burst of gardening (and pouring cold water on shagging tortoises) #
On 10 October 2006 I started this Blog on Myspace.I had a look back to see how many times I have raised the issue of MPs remuneration and argued the case for reform, and it's more than I thought. The...
As we all return to work after the Bank Holiday weekend, the big issues I've picked for today's Daily View are about governance: specifically, how the British state should relate to its citizens or how the world should govern the nuclear ambitions of a rogue state. 2 Big Stories David Cameron is making a bid for reformist credentials with a wide-ranging speech on democratic accountability and the nature of politics and the state. Previewed in The Guardian, his remarks later today thoughtfully ponder 'the post-bureaucratic age' and try to appropriate liberal principles: The Tory leader, who has in the past ...
