It looks like Gordon Brown might be finding it a bit hard to persuade people to serve in the Cabinet. But good news for him, there's plenty of historical precedent of small Cabinets. George Grenville in the mid-eighteenth century had a Cabinet of just nine, whilst the Fox-North coalition of the late eighteenth century managed with only seven. So that's Gordon, Ed Balls and er...
Could it be that Graham Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North, saw what his colleagues had been saying was happening in the elections and thought `f**k that, it's time for Gordon to go`. He has called for just that on Sky News.
Alex Smith writes: Rumours are spreading within the Party tonight that Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, is likely to resign from the cabinet over the next few days. He would be the sixth minister in as many days to step down after Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell left the government tonight.Later. Burnham being quoted as disagreeing with Purnell's resignation.
Tonight the district voted in the Lincolnshire County Council Elections and the European Elections. Shortly after the polls closed tonight yet another cabinet minister quit and now Labour at national level are at in a mess. The sooner we have a full election the better, but until then we have to analyse what's happened in the Labour strong hold of Lincoln.The numbers before the count were: 46
Purnell's resigned (who, you ask? The photoshop guy). Burnham might be next. And Milliband. I suspect that Brown will attempt to put together a new cabinet for Monday. If he fails and cannot, he will call a General Election. My tenner is safe... I hope. I must admit, I'm glad I didn't raise it to £100 now UPDATE: Miliband and now Burnham (BBC) have denied they're quitting the Cabinet, swearing fealty to Brown. Brown's intentions are clear - he's going to fight on and attempt to put a new Cabinet together. That Brown is finished is undeniable. His authority his ...
Codification of the constitution has become a logical step forward in the evolution of the British political system. Since King John there has been a movement to restrict the power of the political élites and give it back to the people in some form, be that through suffrage, restrictions on the powers of the monarch or extending the power of the elected lower house.A liberal democracy requires
A year ago Liberal Democrats were worried about the idea of holding a GE the same day as the European elections! It's hilarious!
One of the joys of village life is that everything is so much less tense. I thought that I might test this theory by paying one last visit to the polling station... with my cat, Cincinnati. So, with orange and white cat over my shoulder, I strolled down The Lane (original street name, that one), to thank the presiding officer and assistant for their efforts today. Cincinnati purred his approval too, and we had a quick catchup. The final number of votes cast in Creeting St Peter was 76, 35.4% of eligible voters. There are 14 postal voters on the ...
I started working for the Liberal Democrats in 2000, just as the Electoral Commission was being created. Through the years a regular part of my job has been dealing with telegrams, phone calls or emails from people along the lines of "The Council says the Electoral Commission has told them that no-one with vowels in their surname is allowed to stand in our by-election. Is that right?" It's fair to say that generally things have got better: the Electoral Commission's staff do get the law right much more often than they used to,* and councils and other bodies are much ...
So James Forsyth claims on the Spectator site. On Radio 4's "The World Tonight" someone put a different theory. Miliband can tell Brown: "I am staying as foreign secretary in the reshuffle and you daren't sack me." Later. Various reports say that Miliband has said this evening that he does not agree with Purnell's action in resigning.
When I went to vote this afternoon, I took {[info] - personal} amazing_holly with me. She was very interested in the whole process, and I explained to her what I was doing at every point, and she was only mildly perturbed that I voted Lib Dem instead of green. I let her push my ballot into the box for me, and the box was very full, so turnout looks to have been good. I'm trying not to think about the guy who pushed past us on the way out with the skinhead and the british bulldog tattoos and the big ...
Speculation had been rife throughout the day that a Cabinet minister would quit; most people thought it would be Caroline Flint but it turned out to be James Purnell and he didn't just quit; he made a clear call for Gordon Brown to stand aside firing the starting gun of the rebellion that has been [...]
Ex-Lib Dem leader Lord (Paddy) Ashdown is on duty for tonight's BBC Question Time (10.35 pm, BBC1 and online), so we're in safe - if lethal - hands. Paddy will be joined by Labour leader of the House of Lords Baroness Royall (had you heard of her?), Tory shadow secretary of state for defence Liam Fox (y'know the one who tells those tasteful jokes about the Spce Girls), journalist and historian Sir Max 'fusty-but-rather-wonderful' Hastings, and ex-GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips. If you're tuning in, you can join the simultanous online Twitter debate here at #bbcqt, or the LDV debate in ...
Back to Church Langton, where J. W. Logan is remembered. St Peter's, as you can see, is an impressive church for a small village, but there could have been something even more remarkable there. William Hanbury was born in Warwickshire in 1725. As a child he was fascinated with gardening, and later, while studying at Oxford he would wander for hours in the Botanic Gardens near his college, extending his knowledge. He became the Rector of Church Langton in 1750. By 1755 he had created a thriving nursery and large plantations in the nearby villages of Tur Langton and Gumley, ...
The agenda for the Council meeting on Tuesday 9 June 2009 has now been published.Items on the agenda include:the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration;the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Equalities and Human Resources;a Scrutiny overview report on Regional Airports (a summary report is also available);the annual report of the Independent Remuneration Panel on councillors'
From The Guardian: James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, tonight dealt a monumental blow to Gordon Brown's chances of holding onto office when he dramatically announced he was quitting the cabinet and asking Brown "to stand aside to give Labour a fighting chance of winning the next election". His statement, effectively declaring Brown as unelectable, will further weaken the prime minister's waning authority and takes the challenge to his leadership to a new dangerous level. Purnell made his sensational move after polls closed in the local and European elections, informing Brown by phone tonight. The prime minister had no ...
Breaking on the BBC News right now. James Purnell has resigned to force a leadership challenge although he is not standing himself. My £10 bets with Charlotte Gore and Kavlis Jansons that Brown will be gone before the end of June are looking better and better...
This has just been announced on "The World Tonight" on BBC Radio 4. He is calling on Gordon Brown to stand down. More on the Guardian website.
With the polls closed and the first results awaited, here is some cheery news from our sister party in Northern Ireland: Naomi Long of the Alliance Party is the new lord mayor of Belfast. The east Belfast councillor defeated the DUP's William Humphrey by 26 votes to 24 in a vote at a council meeting on Monday afternoon. She takes over from Sinn Fein's Tom Hartley and is the first woman to hold the post for nearly 30 years. The 37-year-old is the deputy leader of the Alliance Party and represents the Victoria ward. She has been a member of ...
James Purnell, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has resigned. Resignation letter here. Update: He demands Brown quits. Not a load of nonsense about spending more time with his family. Update: David Milliband also rumoured to be on the brink of resigning. This is so over. Update: Andy Burnham may also quit as Culture Secretary. Update: Milliband says he's not quitting. Brown is finished - You'd have to be half blind not to see it...
I've spent the day working with other Liberal Democrats in Eaglescliffe, encouraging people to cast their vote for our MEP. All the door-knocking is over for now, all the delivering, all the phoning. Tonight the numbers of votes are checked or verified to make sure that none have been lost and then they'll be locked away securely until Sunday afternoon. It's frustrating to have to wait so long
I wandered over to our village polling station this evening, just to see how things are going. The presiding officer and his assistant have probably drawn one of the easier polling station, as the parish has an electorate of 215, but they have stoically awaited voters all day. As at 7.45 this evening, the turnout was 65, or 30.2%. Add postal voters, and the turnout will probably be close to 40%. Now that equates to approximately one voter every twelve minutes, which might not sound very impressive, but the presiding officer asked me to note their view that voters here ...
Horror struck the Newport East campaign room this morning. At 11:30am, we received a phone call saying the polling station had been moved from its usual place - without warning, without a single sign being placed anywhere near to direct voters towards it. 12:30, we hear news of another polling station having been moved without signing or warning. Both these polling stations were in two of our key wards. Turnout in Newport for the European elections are extremely low (25% being the highest, as of 8:45pm). Having been knocking up on the phone for most of the day, I am ...
It's BBC Question Time day again and the Live Chat on this blog will start at 10:30pm. The panel will include Leader of the House of Lords Jan Royall, Conservative shadow secretary of state for defence Liam Fox, former leader of the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown, journalist and historian Sir Max Hastings, and someone called Fiona Phillips. You can also follow people's comments on Twitter via the #bbcqt hashtag (you can also follow me here on Twitter by the way - I will try to join in the tweets too although I largely failed last week!). Liberal Democrat Voice also ...
Look what's just happened. James Purnell has not only quit, but done so in a way that explicitly asks for Gordon to go too. Hazel Blears was meant to be damaging, but her statement did not go this far. While Jacqui has been doomed for months. This one is a minister whose only reason for quitting is to bring down the PM. If you can, look at this graph: it shows the odds of Brown being gone before the end of June (betfair). Check "inverse axis" to turn this into a percentage probability. Now watch out for this one: the ...
Have you voted? There's still time, you know. The polls don't close until ten. Do you complain? I bet you do. About the council, the government, the EU... Then get off your arse and do something about it! If you're undecided, the Liberal Democrats might even push Labour into third place. I don't know about your local council, though the Lib Dems probably work harder, but in the Euro-elections we're the only ones who want to make it work better. If you want to tackle crime, climate change and the economy, there's us. Vote positively, and hurt Labour too. Bargain. ...
+++ Tune into Newsnight tonight +++ Liberal Vision's Mark Littlewood will be part of the Newsnight Jury. BBC2 at 10:30pm
The Morriston Lib Dem team have once again written to First Cymru regarding residents' concerns about bus provision in Morriston. Residents in Parc Gwernfadog are concerned about the shuttle bus solution to the reallocation of bus services. Many feel that this option is forcing them to use their own private transportation, which is regrettable in this time of trying to persuade people to use public transport in the interest of slowing climate change. Residents have also voiced concerns that conventional sized buses used on the new 4 service (running between Morriston and Singleton hospitals) are not stopping at the bus ...
So I have accepted the £10 bet with Mark Reckons. Mark wins if Brown resigns before the end of this month. I win if he does not. If Brown goes then, sure, I have to cough up a tenner, but hey - I'd pay loads more to have Brown kicked out. If Brown doesn't resign I get a free tenner. This is as Win Win as they come. It's game on, buddy!
Back in Needham Market for a second stint of telling, I am again the sole visible presence here at the Christchurch Halls, the town's usual polling station. I say 'usual' because, breaking with tradition, we have a second polling station at the offices of the District Council, a fact which has caused a few voters to turn up at the wrong polling station. It just goes to show that you shouldn't mess with tradition... Unexpectedly, the 'evening rush hour' hasn't been as busy as I had expected. We'll still have done good business though, and it warms the heart to ...
There is an interesting piece by Bagehot in tomorrow's Economist where he examines the potential consequences of Alan Johnson succeeding Gordon Brown in the near future. This section of the article particularly got me thinking: In an age when too few politicians have had a career before mounting the slippery pole, Mr Johnson can cite several. Raised by his sister in a council flat, he left school at 15, stacked shelves in a supermarket and at 18 became a postman. Once a Marxist, he rose through the trade-union movement, won the admiration of Tony Blair (Mr Johnson supported the abolition ...
A rather laughable story is being reported by the BBC. Apparently UKIP have got the electoral commission to ask polling staff to stop folding ballot papers because it seems UKIP voters are so stupid they cannot work out that there is more than one fold, and are unable to undo both folds of the ballot paper, thus ensuring they cannot find UKIP on the ballot paper. So for the benefit of UKIP supporters Arse Elbow What I found laughable was that UKIP are claiming that "literally hundreds of people had contacted them" about this. So hundreds of people were able ...
Up early this morning to deliver Good Morning Leaflets for Chris Davies and our team in the Euro Elections. As I arrived at our Liverpool HQ still sleepy as it was only 5 45 I was greeted by the sight of an open door and two police cars plus officers outside. First thought - we had been burgled overnight. Second thought - if we have been done over I hope the burglars will at least deliver some of the leaflets. Turned out though that the passing bobbies spotted the open door of the building, and a shadowy figure inside, and ...
According to the Wall Street Journal the US House of Representatives is to start posting expense reports online at the behest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the WSJ began publishing stories based on combing through the existing paper records. It is not proposed that records from earlier years will be published online. My guess is that quite a few [...]
The Financial Times has the story, that Alan Sugar has been seen coming out a side entrance of No. 10 sparking speculation that he may have been offered a government job as part of Gordon Brown's reshuffle, widely expected to take place tomorrow. Then again is it just as likely that he was brought in by rebel Cabinet Ministers to tell the Prime Minister that he has been fired? We may not have to wait too long to find out.
I always ALWAYS but the new Everton home kit they produce every couple of year, so I was a bit excited at the launch of their new kit today. Having seen it though and realised it is a direct rip off of one of their very worst kits from the 1980s, I think I can live without this home kit. Fingers crossed the new away kit is considerably better. I know retro can be cool and I know that when Everton last wore a kit like this they were very successful, but so were Liverpool when they worse their famous ...
News from the Hansard Society via email: The Hansard Society will be holding a hustings meeting for potential candidates for the role of Speaker of the House of Commons. Potential candidates will have the opportunity to make a statement and answer questions both from MPs and those submitted by members of the public via the Hansard Society website. We have invited potential candidates for the position of Speaker to participate. Since the position will still be fluid then, it is not our aim to be exclusive. Confirmed participants in the Hansard Society Speaker Hustings thus far include: Alan Beith MP ...
Thu 4th
16:55
"To lose one cabinet minister may be considered a misfortune, to lose two, looks like carelessness"
The pantomime of the Brown Premiership continues in its satisfyingly grim way. After the resignations, before they were pushed of Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears, we now hear rumours of a further resignation, after the polls have closed at 10 PM this evening. Clearly some attempt at an organised putsch against Gordon Brown looks like it is underway. Frankly I wish I cared. I well remember attending an evening dinner several years ago in honour of a Lithuanian minister that was being hosted by a then Conservative junior minister. The entire topic of his speech was nothing to do with ...
Here's London's elected mayor, Boris Johnson, stumbling in the river Pool in Lewisham, south-east London: Now that's what the Voice calls a Tory wet.
I thought I'd repost this thing from my old blog I wrote last time Labour MPs decided they wanted to get rid of Brown. Turned out they were stopped, quite easily, by the simple fact that the NEC will not issue nomination papers for a new leader while the Party is in Government. Literally, they said that they'd never issued nomination papers during their time in Government, and therefore that was the precedent that must be follow. [INT: In The corridors of Westminster Palace. Smell of cigarettes and gourmet food fills the air. MPs are rolling around on carpets made ...
Just been idly browsing the Labour Party Rule Book (as you do). With the political situation as it is and many talking about Gordon Brown as if his time is almost up my thoughts have turned to what might happen if he does stand down. Gordon Brown is an extremely proud man and I suspect if he stands down he could not bear the indignity of continuing to serve whilst his colleagues campaign to succeed him. Therefore I expect that he will cease to be PM immediately. If this does happen then the question becomes what happens next. Clause 4B.2e ...
On Tuesday we published our Lib Dem Voice competition to predict the results of the local and European elections taking place today, 4th June, and win a copy of LDV's own annual, The Tangerine Book, and a limited edition LDV mug. The thread is here, and, to date, we've received 14 entries from LDV readers (who may or may not be Lib Dem members). Here's the average of what you've so far predicted: 1. Predict the Liberal Democrat share of the vote in the European elections. YOU SAID: 16.5% 2. Predict the turnout in the European elections. YOU SAID: 35% ...
Paul Waugh, who has consistently provided excellent bits and bobs from Westminster, says that "the word in Westminster is" (as they say) that a Cabinet Minister will resign as soon as the polls close at 10pm tonight. This came to me via Twitter. Incidentally, you can see a collection of most of the LibDem Twitterers here. All their Tweets scroll up as they happen. They are in overdrive today from various committee rooms, polling stations, phone canvassing banks etc etc. I am a great fan of James Graham's Tweets. A couple hours ago he tweeted with this classic: Darwinian selection ...
Twenty years ago today, hundreds of young Chinese students were gunned down in Tiananmen Square because they wanted democracy: they wanted to be able to vote for their government. In the UK we can. Do!
I remember one of the first blog post's that I wrote critical of a position Nick Clegg had taken was in support of the 'Lisbon rebels' who were cast out of front bench paradise for rebelling against the party line and voted for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. I tuned into the video that [...]
It's getting to the stage that anybody going into Number Ten promotes a new rumour as to who is being asked to join the government. The milkman comes up to the door with his milk and the headlines fire off immediately...."Milkman tapped for Cabinet role" etc (or, more likely these days: "Milkman turns down role in government"). Anyway, Alan Sugar has visited this morning prompting headlines that....you know the rest. It's on the FT website, though, so it must be true. Mind you, there was a rumour the Sugar was joining the government at the time of the last reshuffle ...
No sign of it here. Sunny Chiswick and on my way to lunch I walk past the Labour Party Constituency Office fully expecting them to have their placards up telling us to vote Labour, but there's nothing (well, you can see them hidden round the back where they've been sitting since the Mayoral elections). Perhaps they [...]
Nick Clegg gets a lot of questions via Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Friend Connect, as well as through his website, NickClegg.com. He's just made a new YouTube video with answers to some of the questions he's received through his social networks: What does Nick think of compulsory voting? The Lisbon Treaty? Watch and find out: And as today is Polling Day, Nick signs off with a call to get out and vote, whatever your views on the European Union. Nick's done a few of these already and is keen to answer more people's questions personally, so why not put him to ...
Seen the Republic website? It's a strange campaign, working to "support a republican constitution in place of the monarchy". But what kind of republic? It seems that for the folk at Republic anything will do. They say that after a successful campaign to replace the monarch with an elected head of state they will "facilitate a debate on the best model for a future republic" - but only AFTER? The problem with Republic - and the reason that even as quintessential Roundhead I can't support their campaign - is that they seem to want to end the monarchy at any ...
At 5.00am I'm out delivering 'Good Morning' leaflets to homes around where I live. The election debate may be dominated now by the fate of Gordon Brown but this is the way my election days have started for the past 31 years. "Vote Liberal Democrat!" it says. Sure, but where's the local content? This is Oldham East & Saddleworth, one of the only constituencies we have won outright in past European elections. I've lived here since 1986. I've been the MP for much of it. Some people locally have voted for me up to six times in the past. But ...
Today is (in case you hadn't realised) polling day - for much of England that means local elections, for everyone it means European elections - which means it's our last chance to look at the polls for the Euros, and try and make some sense of them. There have been 11 polls in the last month asking voters to say which party they'll choose on 4th June: Here they are in chronological order: >> Con 37%, Lab 22%, Lib Dem 19%, Ukip 7%, Green 4%, BNP 4%, Nats 5% (YouGov certain to vote, 10th May) >> Con 34%, Lab 25%, ...
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, hopefully all are aware that it's Polling Day today. The polling stations opened at 7am this morning and are open until 10pm tonight. If you're a postal voter, but forgot to post your vote off - don't worry, just take your vote to a polling station and drop it in. You don't need your polling card to vote - so if you've lost it, don't panic. Just go to your polling station anyway. If you live in Salford, here is a link to Salford Council's European Election page, ...
Pulling together various reports, it seems that John Reid and David Blunkett have turned down roles in Gordon Brown's government. These reports came from the Independent (amongst others) and a "senior Labour source". There's also a loose rumour that John Reid, perhaps performing the role of the men in grey suits single-handedly (with, perhaps, a finger or twain of Single Malt thrown in), told Brown to resign, after refusing to join his government as Home Secretary. (Number Ten say Reid and Brown talked about football. So there's a crisis engulfing Brown and he is spending his time chatting about football ...
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Word reaches 'Liberal Bureaucracy' that the Conservatives are delivering a hurriedly prepared leaflet quoting the 'act shamelessly' ALDC leaflet of increasingly vintage memory in neighbouring Stowmarket South. Given that they're defending the seat, are they worried about us?
In today's Euros an extremely low turnout may throw predictions. In the first wake of the expenses scandal the fury and anger coming off the Question Time audience was tangible. And it's a little scary considering the facts that MPs abusing the expenses system was never a well kept secret and Speaker Martin had been rubbish for years. The worst cases of expenses abuse were committed by those in the safest seats. What The Telegraph exposed was a First-Past-The-Post induced rot that was years in the making! Apart from sending loud signals about our collective dissatisfaction with politicians, today's elections ...
Today's election is important - it would be a tragedy if the current disillusion with politics resulted in a low turnout. If you don't like the system, vote for change, vote for the party that can make a difference. Remember, if you have a postal ballot you've not posted, you can still deliver it to a local polling station.
The Voice has covered the succession of positive reasons to vote for the Liberal Democrats given in recent days by The Observer, Polly Toynbee, The Guardian and The Independent, so it seems only fitting to top that list today with a reminder of the party's own choice of words (from europe.libdems.org.uk): The European Parliament election is a big choice for Britain. Labour's arrogance has messed up Britain's relationship with other European countries The Conservatives and UKIP think that on its own Britain can face the economic storm, climate change, international crime, people-trafficking and terrorism Liberal Democrats know effective cooperation creates ...
I'm om telling duty here in Needham Market this morning. It would be very lonely were it not for the fact that there is a steady flow of voters. Not a deluge, but a steady flow nonetheless. There are no other tellers, no Labour, no Conservative, no UKIP, no Suffolk Together, just us. And, as a teller, this is a very nice place to be. The voters seem only too willing to let you take their electoral number, indeed they positively offer it to you, so I assume that they're used to seeing a Liberal Democrat. Actually, knowing the two ...
Oh dear, it seems the Good Ship Gordon Brown is holed below the waterline. The echoes of the last days of John Major are there for all to see as the self-serving and utterly venal Parliamentary Labour Party eats itself. Why are politicians so stupid that they periodically destroy themselves collectively? Now I despair of this Labour government as much as the next person but I'm not sure I want the General Election just now. I fear a Tory government even more than a useless Labour rump. Unfortunately I give Gordon until Monday, then things must kick off. He'll either ...
Well, that's it all over bar the voting. I realise that seasoned campaigners will be astounded to think that I am not out there at the moment but after the last few weeks I can barely move. Knocking up will begin later and I am steeling myself for that. My constituency is not very active so I am pleased that we managed to get out three communications in my division and one in my home division - something my local LD MP was very unhappy about as neither were target seats. That's all well and good but every local party ...
So say "senior party strategists" to the Guardian today: Nick Clegg would resist overtures from a new prime minister as strongly as he would the current one, senior Liberal Democrat figures have told the Guardian. The Lib Dem leader believes Labour is finished regardless of who leads the party, and as one close aide put it: "The sort of discussions they [Labour] need to have can't take place in government - they need to go into the wilderness to reflect where they stand." The view damages the hopes of some on the centre-left who believe a change of prime minister ...
Yes, politicians can be frustrating. They refuse to give straight yes or no answers. But the reason politicians across the world behave that way is because of this annoying thing called democracy. You see, politicians who give honest answers are immediately jumped on by the media who says they've gaffed. Political parties with visible internal divisions do worse in democratic elections than those that, whatever the reality, manage to appear united. Negative campaigning frequently proves very effective in winning elections. Dishonest campaigning can also work well. We the public tell our politicians we want them to work together. We don't ...
"This has been the strangest election I've ever fought," one veteran Lib Dem councillor - first elected in 1974 - told me last week. She was worried about the result of the local elections - not for her own sake (she's almost certain to win), but for the political health of our county as a whole. The prospect of a lot of independent councillors running the local authority is a worrying one for all of us. And people are clearly in the mood to give mainstream politics a kicking. Let me give you a couple of real examples from local ...
Much excitement on the internet about the prospect of Brown being out of his post within the next week. Mark Reckons has given a £10 evens bet on it. Easy tenner. As bad as things are though, I can't see Brown stepping down. For starters, that would require Brown to grudgingly accept that there's someone else in the Labour Party that can lead the party better than he can. There's no way he's going to accept that. Next, it needs Brown to give up on his hope that he can turn things around as his 'message' of 'action' versus 'nothing' ...
It's now 9.30 am on election day and I am about to go to campaign headquarters to see how I can help get our voters out. I was up at 4.30 this morning (being a commuter I am used to early starts) to deliver 'good morning' leaflets for a couple of hours and now my wife and I have just returned from the voting station where I was able to vote for myself (and I hope she did too). I was relieved to see that my name was spelt correctly. Isn't the European election form quite big? Took me a ...
Despite how you feel about the political fall out over the past few weeks make sure that you vote today. A positive vote for the Liberal Democrats today will sent a more powerful message that this country needs change than any negative vote will ever achieve. Remember there are parts of the World that people still do not have the right to speak out in public let...
Today is polling day. Polls are open between 7am and 10pm. If you have a postal vote you can take it along and pop it in the box at your local polling station (please don't give it to a party worker, them handling votes isn't the way democracy is meant to work). If you don't know where you nearest polling station is your local council should be able to help - so give them a call. The day started well for the Lib Dems with the Indy supporting us in their leader. This adds to the Guardian*, Observer and, clothes ...
The sun isn't shining and the weather isn't the best possible but the elections are underway, people will today hit the polling stations across the country to vote and sent Labour and possibly the Tories a message. The message for Brown will be a message to go but the Conservative message in my prediction will be don't over estimate the outcome of the general election in your favour. The Conservatives have called in the migrants, Labour are using dirty and cheap campaigns to attack other political parties and all in all its a dirty election. I shall write about the ...
I like Simon Singh. Not in a kind of way (honest, guv...). No, I like his brilliantly insightful books, his quirky yet informative style of presenting the most complex principle in physics so that even an ignoramus like me can grasp them, and his more recent contribution to the sceptical literature that includes the fabulous Trick
Remember to go out and vote.
It needs sorting out, but who's there to do the sorting?" said Margaret Beswick, 65, a retired soap factory worker and Labour supporter as far back as she can remember, until now. "Labour should go, but all the parties are in it to some extent, aren't they? "Everyone I talk to says they just won't bother [...]
{ I'm voting Liberal Democrat in the European Elections on 4th June }
Less surprising than the news from The Observer and The Guardian this week, but nonetheless a welcome leader today: Only the Liberal Democrats have consistently put the case for Europe, doing so even when seeking to hold seats in parts of the country, such as the south-west of England, that are more euro-sceptic than others. Like his recent predecessors, Nick Clegg is unequivocal in his support for the EU. A strong vote for his party would show that parts of the electorate recognise the importance of Britain playing a positive role at the heart of Europe. On that basis alone ...
Nobody pays much attention to bloggers, even the popular Plaid Cymru sort, so it is unlikely that this plea by Alan Jones, author of the alanindyfed blog will be listened to. He has send an e-mail to senior Plaid politicians suggesting that the party should pull out of its coalition with Labour to avoid being tainted by association with its troubled partner. He writes: "The time has come in my opinion for a re-evaluation of Plaid's position in the political line-up at the Welsh National Assembly. "Whatever the major parties in Wales may say to the contrary, they are British ...
Thu 4th
08:31
Wrote my begging letter to Hazel today to back my campaign in the general election i wonder if she w...
Well she never writes back to the Salford Star so i thought i would give it a go. Any sponsors to back me this time round you are all welcome. don't think it will be as glossy as hazels but i hope to let people know who i am and what i stand for. Can't do [...]
{balbox} It's European Election day in Lee Green today. Polls are open from 7am until 10pm, and the usual polling stations are in use: · Lochaber Hall, Manor Lane Terrace · St. Winifred's Infants School (entrance on Manor Lane) · Lee Green United Reformed Church, 111-113 Burnt Ash Road · St Winifred's Junior School, Newstead Road · The Church of the Good Shepherd, Handen Road · Portakabin on the approach to Hither Green Railway Station, SE13 You don't need your polling card to vote, and if you have a postal vote you haven't yet returned, you can hand it in ...
I am given to quoting "Cityphilia", an article by John Lanchester from the London Review of Books, on this blog. The last issue of the LRB had another article from him on the economy. It did not make happy reading, but I fear he is right: I get the strong impression, talking to people, that the penny hasn't fully dropped. As the ultra-bleak condition of our finances becomes more and more apparent people are going to ask increasingly angry questions about how we got into this predicament.The drop in sterling, for instance, means that prices for all sorts of goods ...
I cannot recall such a febrile political atmosphere as there has been in the last few weeks and it seems to be building up to a spectacular crescendo which could see Gordon Brown ejected from Downing Street. Michael Crick on Newsnight last night gave him a no better than 50% chance of surviving the next few days as PM. It may seem a bit unfair that the expenses scandal could precipitate Brown's defenestration but politics is a rough game and the crisis has occurred on his watch whilst he tried his best to keep the revelations secret. Listening to Shaun ...
Thu 4th
07:19Well as rents go up by a small amount for many in Salford many others face drastic rises would any o...
I expect to be busy all day. But I'm voting Lib Dem today because we're stronger together with Europe and weaker apart. Labour's arrogance has messed up Britain's relationship with other European countries The Conservatives and UKIP think that on its own Britain can face the economic storm, climate change, international crime, people-trafficking and terrorism As for the SNP they think think that on its own Scotland can face the economic storm, climate change, international crime, people-trafficking and terrorism.
Well it's finally here. Months of campaigning, scandal, farce followed by the public vote. Yep, that's right Big Brother is back. I believe there are also some elections going on to.
Today's Ham & High has my latest newspaper column: Judgement day! Today we go to the polls to vote in European MEPs - and whilst the Euro election is never the nation's hottest, must vote election, never before will people voting be voting less on European issues - if they vote at all. The expenses scandal has engaged people in a way that we haven't seen before - and not necessarily in the way one might have wanted - but engaged all the same. To have the fall of the body politic and the constitutional crisis played out against the ...
There are so many Welsh political blogs out there, of all different perspectives and opinions. So, I will now unveil a new weekly section in which I will be looking at some of the different views out there and giving my own two cents on what they say. Please note, these are my opinions and not necessarily those of the Welsh Liberal Democrats or our elected politicians (as in blame me not them if you don't like what I say). Lets start with the Bevan Foundation who are claiming that both Rhodri Morgan and Nick Bourne are both digging their ...
One of the lessons I picked up from my parents life experiences is that if you don't take a interest in what is going on around you, other people will make the decisions for you. And you may not like the result. So at 4am preparing for a Good Morning drop I remember Belsen (My Dad was one of the Liberators) and my mothers resistance unit blowing up the tracks of a railway in Nazi-occupied Lithuania so that the men in the train (who the Nazis wanted to form into SS Units) could escape into the forest. I remember my ...
Today is polling day, which means scores of Lib Dems across the country will be having an exhausting day from Good Morning leaflets before dawn right through to election count verifications beyond midnight. {Good morning!} We'll be reminding people of the all important facts about the electoral process: You do not need your polling card to vote (but it might speed things up a bit if you have it) Polls are open from 7am to 10pm If you had a postal vote, but haven't returned it yet, don't put it in the post, but take it along to your local ...
Fascinating piece in the Indy. Newly discovered World War One photographs, help needed to identify people/units in them. http://bit.ly/geSFI # Nice tinkly piano music/squiggly jazzy stuff on @radioriel at the moment. Perfect for when (as now) one's head is stuffed with cotton wool. # RT @danieljowen loves headlines mentioning gay penguins. Makes you just want to shout it out GAY PENGUINS GAY PENGUINS. http://ping.fm/zhj2N # RT @lilyroseallen The worse thing is people will actually go vote for BNP because of the expenses scandal.god help us if that is the case #
Wednesday 3rd June. It has been so busy, no time to blog, as I get ready for polling day. We are not all set, I've filled in and delivered my postal vote, and I've made some eleciton day cookies. Here is today's message from my present MEP, Fiona Hall Hello It's polling day on Thursday. Some places have important local elections, and for everywhere in Britain it's...
Hazel Blears beaming - victorious? Wearing a "brooch" that says "rocking the boat" with a cat and dog in it. Allegedly when you push the boat it starts rocking and the dog starts laughing. Is there no end to this woman's ingenuity??????? I am sorry. As a similarly vertically challenged, erstwhile auburnhaired, middle aged woman, I do have something in common with the woman - but I sincerely hope that is where it ends. She comes across as a self indulgent, self congratulatory, self obsessed excuse for a politician. She has the nerve to chat about connecting with the electorate ...
The North West's Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament, Chris Davies, has an impressive record of action. Electing more Lib Dems to Europe will lead to even greater action on issues that matter.
The United Kingdom is the first of the 27 EU member states to go to the polls in the European elections, against an extraordinary background of governmental meltdown. Many voters will doubtless show their disapproval of Gordon Brown — and understandbly so — but more important, this is the opportunity for them to assert a belief in [...]
Thu 4th
00:09
'Stronger together, poorer apart' - Vote Liberal Democrat for a positive future in Europe
The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a positive message for the European elections on Thursday June 4th. We will work through the European Union to ensure:
THIS is a great article highlighting that even leading lights in the Green Party know that their party policies are barking mad ! Sadly it rather shames the people of Norwich that so many vote Green when the Green Party themselves admit their policies don't make sense.
