Watching Cameron on PMQs with my three-year-old son today. The Tories are accusing Brown of trying to rig the electoral system to suit Labour at the next election. This reminded me of the 2005 Lib Dem conference in Blackpool when I attended an IPPR (I think) seminar with Michael Gove on proportional representation. In that seminar he waxed lyrical of his "road to Damascus on PR" that came out of the 1997 defeat at the hands of New Labour. I would be interested to know what Mr. Gove's current views are on PR and if you can u-turn on the ...
The man was found trying to stowaway on a plane bound for Spain if any one could indentifty him please Dail 999
The Tories are shouting about Gordon's plans to consult on election reform. They are accusing Brown of engineering the system to a lesser form of proportional representation to prevent a Tory landslide. This should not worry Tories as much as another less reported reform - Freedom of Information. Gordon Brown announced today a pledge to consult on extending Freedom of Information laws. This would include a reduction of the "thirty year" rule on secrecy of cabinet papers to twenty years (GOOD) and a tightening up of FOI under twenty years (BAD). This would open up the cabinet papers of the ...
The LPUK seems to single out the LibDems as a main target, using slurs like 'Illiberal Anti-Democrats' and using the name 'Social Democrats'. Funny that. You might even think they feel threatened...
Here in Salford, we narrowly failed to top the poll, with Labour ahead by just 900 votes and the Liberal Democrats in a poor fourth behind UKIP. This is a great result and we would have been comfortably ahead across the Worsley & Eccles South constituency QUESTION With your party in pole position why did you fail [...]
Back in February, I wrote about Jason Fruen who stood outside the Trafford Centre wearing an advertising sandwich board, advertising his services in order to find a new job. Mr Fruen, from Little Hulton, did indeed find a full-time work after the temporary position he took ended, and now he is auctioning off the advertising sandwich board on eBay for charity. You can bid on Jason's sandwich board here, the bidding started at 99p but at the time of writing it's over £20 - with all the proceeds going to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I was delighted when Jason commented ...
How can a party that the country fell in love with after years of being in the Political wilderness come to what looks like a torrid divorce. Blair came in with smiles and promises, the love affair with the people seemed endless.And in such a short time Labour voters are putting their trust in a [...]
The excellent Cardiff Student Lib Dems blog asks why Cameron is so afraid of democracyPatrick Hennessey was surprised to see Gordon Brown on the front foot for onceRecent Twitter convert Nich Starling thinks that Labour have given away the timing of the Norwich North by-electionJonathan Fryer asks what Bob Crow has achievedAnd Lynne Featherstone thinks that after all his promises, Gordon Brown has failed his first test
I noticed one of their leaflets in the Stepping Hill by-election saying that our candidate, Wendy Orrell, doesn't live in the Stepping Hill ward. The only problem with that assertion is that she DOES live in the ward and has lived in the same house with her family all her adult life! This afternoon the Tories weren't [...]
The Labour group are on there last legs, rejected by the electorate. Will Brown go or stay?if he goes who will replace him, and if they do will it make the slightest bit of difference. And as a foot note will the effects of Labours demise on the National picture affect them locally? [...]
Fans of Viz will be pleased to know that there is a Twitter feed for its Top Tips. A recent tweet: Make moving house with your fish tank easy by popping it in the freezer the night beforeMind you, it's not as funny as it used to be.
Do readers feel that the upsurge of economic migrants have in any way affected basic services? Schools with many children lacking basic English does any one think that there own children have been affected , by resources changing? Do you feel that our health service is struggling with the access demand? Crime have you witnessed any increase? Housing do feel affected [...]
We had an idea that to get any form of community cohesion we had to prove to people we could come up with the goods,tonight we felt our follow up meeting was a great success. The problem is getting the message out to the commuinity. Point s were raised and in two weeks we have [...]
Welcome to the latest in our occasional series of round-ups of the political videos which have caught our attention. First up, here's Rory Bremner's Mika-inspired riff on Gordon Brown: If you prefer your humour a little more lavatorial, then this brief animation from Poldraw will be right up your alley: And finally for today, why not enjoy the pretty-safe-for-work antics of a couple of semi-naked picnickers enjoying the stately surroundings of Tory grandee Anthony Steen's gaff:
We are back to 1983. The New Labour coalition has fallen apart. Back when Michael Foot led the Labour Party and their vote collapsed to within grasp of the Liberal Alliance there was much said about the unelectabilty of Labour. It was widely held that a party based on Unions and working class votes could never command 40% of the vote. The changes that took place during the Thatcher and Blair years have further eroded the old Labour base. Union membership has continued to declined. The identifiable wider working class has shrunk. Public owned housing is diminished. The magic of ...
Every year councillors allowances are published. Unlike MPs they are set by an independent body. In the interest of transparency we have lodged the details on our website -link on the left. They can be found in the 'download' area. The most interesting/surprising thing to me is that, on average, Conservative councillors are the highest paid on Sefton Council. Last year, Conservative councillors were paid £2300 more on average than Liberal Democrats, £15,160 pa v. £12,860 pa. This equates to an extra 18%. The main reason for this is that the members allowance system in Sefton is very generous to ...
Of all the arguments against proportional representation, the laziest one is that it benefits extremist parties such as the hateful BNP. David Cameron rolled out this canard once again today at Prime Minister's Questions, saying that it was a PR system which allowed the BNP to get people elected to the European Parliament. And in one sense, he does have a point. The party list system used in the European elections is probably the easiest one in which smaller parties can prosper, among them extremists like the BNP. But there's certainly no easy relationship between even a party list PR ...
There are occasions where Lib Dems take some stick for their creative use of bar charts and statistics to suggest they're in with a chance of winning. Sometimes, sad to say, those charges are justified. Although less common these days, I've seen some impressive abuses of statistics in Lib Dem literature over the years. But I can't recall anything to match this effort from the Tories, which appeared in a leaflet in just the last couple of days (I've seen the full leaflet). Three bars of equal size. One showing the Tories increasing their number of councillors by 285, the ...
One could be driven mad by looking at all the various interpretation of the Euro results. There were clearly some bits of the NW region that did spectatularly well; Burnley, Stockport, Cumbria(especially Westmorland) etc. Naturally we are interested in how well we did in Sefton. I think it is safe to draw a few conclusions: Comparing the Sefton swing with the overall NW swing we note the following: 1. The Conservatives did RELATIVELY badly in Sefton; over 5 years they went up 1.5% across the region, but DOWN 1.3% in Sefton - a comparative under performance of 2.8%. 2. UKIP ...
Several Conservative bloggers have taken aim at Unite Against Fascism following the egg-throwing incident. Iain Dale said 'lovers of democracy' should bow out following comments suggesting that they believed in free speech "accept for fascists", Letters from a Tory agrees and even the ever-cuddly Tory Bear shows some bite saying "Cameron must distance himself from the [...]
Gordon Ramsay is behaving like an utter prat Down Under. But finally he has had to eat Humble Pie and apologise for his behaviour after his mother gave him a "bollocking" and the Australian Prime Minister intervened. You can luxuriate in these You Tube vids: -Behind the scenes footage at Channel Nine, showing Ramsay swearing at staff, described as a "ranting rampage" -Television Presenter Tracy Grimshaw giving Ramsay both barrels. -Gordon Ramsay making remarks about Ms Grimshaw at a food fair. -A rather on-the-edge interview on Rove Daily from the show's website here. Overall I think it is possible that ...
39) Jackie Kay, Trumpet (London: Picador, 1998, 0330331469). Jackie Kay is a black Scottish writer whose poetry I have liked since I first came across it on an OU course, but this is the first of her prose works I have read. It did not disappoint. The story is told through multiple perspectives, but focuses largely on a grieving widow and her son, who is struggling with the discovery that his father's body was female. It's brilliantly told, with original imagery and a writing style which generally benefited from Kay's earlier poetry, I felt. Each of the POV characters has ...
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners are struggling home tonight, as a result of the RMT's unilateral tube strike. Doubtless many of these people, like me, have had meetings or appointments cancelled, turned up late for work or lost business. Indeed, it is said that each day there is such a public transport strike in London, [...]
Having listened to what Gordon Brown had to say today during PMQs and then later during his statement, I am now coming to the view that what will happen is a referendum on Alternative Vote Plus to coincide with the next General Election. My evidence is as follows m'lud: 1) During PMQs, Gordon Brown said this:What I say about electoral reform, however, is that I have never myself supported the policy of proportional representation for a Westminster Parliament; that has always been my view. The right hon. Gentleman has to accept that the policy of proportional representation exists for the ...
Imagine how you would feel if you were shut in a darkened room, crying in genuine distress, and nobody comes to you - or if they do, it's every few minutes just enough for you to regain your breath before they abandon you again. Eventually you fall into an exhausted and uneasy sleep, and after a while of this process being repeated, you resign yourself that nobody is going to come to help you. It would be bad enough for this to be done to an adult, but not only is this routinely done to babies, but is even advocated ...
That lovely Dr Pack, who is always ahead of the game on interwebby things, has noticed that we can all register for a unique Facebook URL from 6.01 am on Saturday morning, so we can have one with our names rather than a collection of random numbers that mean nothing. I don't know what we are going to do when he leaves Lib Dem HQ at the end of this month. He's been brilliant at making sure that non geeks know, in simple terms, how to make the best use of new technologies for all sorts of things. We will ...
I love this interactive map from the BBC, to show how London commuters travelled during today's tube strike. You can add your coloured "pin" to the map, to show the mode of transport you used. At the moment "walking, cycling or scooter" are lumped together, as are various types of public transport. It would be much more useful to show these separately - sure: walking and cycling are both foot-powered, but are very different ways to travel! The facility to upload photos is a nice touch. This is one of the first times the BBC have done a map in ...
Wed 10th
19:05
Police tell schoolkids to report classmates who may be forming "extremist views" via a cartoon lion!
Absolutely outrageous. The Register has the story. Apparently police in Lancashire are showing a video to schoolkids of a cartoon lion that tells kids that terrorists can look like anyone and they should report anyone with dodgy views to the authorities. They illustrate this message with the story of Guy Fawkes on the spurious pretext that his view "began forming" while he was at school! I despair, I really do.
There was a brief moment yesterday – and it was very brief – when I actually thought that Gordon Brown might be about to support electoral reform. But even if I had thought it likely, today's statement certainly disabused me of that notion. He isn't in favour of electoral reform and isn't offering a referendum [...]
Well, we somehow need to reverse or recompense any negative recession-related thoughts we had during April and May. Why? Because we weren't in a recession in April and May. GDP was actually rising during those months. And, as a recession is normally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, by my book that means the recession ended, appropriately, on April 1st! Trebles all round! Let's see the BBC rolling out their special green upwards arrow graphic labelled "End of the Recession" (unlikely - good news on the BBC is normally confined to Springwatch and even that has enormously distressing ...
As an Asian from a Muslim background, I would first like to state how much I admire the Party's commitment to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) representation and its concern for equality and a truly just, modern, multicultural society. Thus I am proud to be a member of the Party. However, as a member of the Lib Dems, I have become aware of an anomalous situation in the Party, which I believe may be potentially discouraging for BME supporters, as well as damaging to the party's interest in breaking out of its all-too-consistent third-place position. Take the timely example European ...
The Eastern Daily Press speculated this morning that Labour were going to delay the Norwich North by-election until October, but a call I just received from the Labour Party asking my "opinions on local issues ahead of the by-election that is to be held this summer", suggest that October is not the date Labour have in mind. According to the EDP, someone called "Nick Starling", who is a "former county councillor" has ruled himself out of being the Lib Dem candidate. I don't know who "Nick" is and what area he was "county councillor" for. Fortunately my name is "Nich" ...
At 12.30 pm today, Gordon Brown stood up in the House of Commons to make what was billed as a "wide-ranging statement on proposed changes to Britain's constitution and voting system." As so often, the feature didn't match up to the trailer. Here's Nick Clegg's response, as recorded by Hansard, to Mr Brown's statement: Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. Of course everyone agrees that the political crisis requires big changes in the way we do things, so I welcome this deathbed conversion to political reform from the man who has blocked ...
Should I be flattered or irritated that Labour leader on Westminster council Paul Dimoldenberg seems to keep nicking all our stuff? I suppose he has to, because there weren't many Labour activists to be seen around during election time round here. Looking on the positive side, at least it's giving a wider coverage to issues we're [...]
Gordon Brown's announcement today about the package of reforms he wishes to bring in have a characteristic twist. Whenever he does something like this he is always looking for schemes and wheezes to slip in that he hopes will not garner much attention (until it is too late) and will yield some partisan advantage. The one today vying for that honour is the announcement that the 30 year rule could be relaxed to 20 years. He mentioned specific exemptions for the Royal Family and cabinet papers. However I thought he had hedged this a bit when I heard it. This ...
Written for the-vibe.co.uk Last Sunday, a day after the free world celebrated the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Fascism, the British National Party won its first seats in the European Parliament. While the thought of Nick Griffin representing Britain in Brussels is admittedly horrifying, I found the Queen's absence from the D-Day celebrations the day before far more disconcerting. I take comfort in knowing that actually winning two seats in the European Parliament is just about the worst thing that could have happened to the BNP. Denied the freedom of being the in vogue black sheep of British politics ...
Nick Assinder, formerly of the BBC (and, indeed, the Lutterworth Mail) and now freelancing at Westminster, has a blog: Commons Confidential.
Wed 10th
16:55
BLEARS VOTED MOST SHAMELESS MP Why do Salford people have to put up with this ?Take your relocation ...
SHAME FOR HAZEL Star Date: 10th June 2009 Hazel Blears has just been voted the country's Most Shameless MP in a nationwide poll... It was a hard fought battle but Hazel Blears has topped the voting to become Britain's Most Shameless MP amidst bucket loads of nominations and votes. She beat Livingston MP Jim Devine, and his alleged [...]
Bath MP Don Foster has today written to the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham MP, to re-affirm his view that the Bus Rapid Transit planning application should be called in. Don wrote to Mr Denham's predecessor at the department, Hazel Blears, in the lead up to the local planning meeting on June 20th. Ms Blear agreed to a 'Section 14...
Bath MP Don Foster has today written to the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham MP, to re-affirm his view that the Bus Rapid Transit planning application should be called in. Don wrote to Mr Denham's predecessor at the department, Hazel Blears, in the lead up to the local planning meeting on June 20th. Ms Blear agreed to a 'Section 14...
So, In Monifieth & Sidlaw ward in Angus Council is currently holding a by-election following the tragic death of the SNP Councillor. Labour found a candidate but didn't notice that they lived in another Council area so are ineligible to stand. However, as you can see from the BBC website, they are delivering a leaflet, they've spelt their own leader's name wrong and the other Leader, Gordon Brown is in meltdown. So, this is a three way fight between the SNP, Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Dopey Labour, from one bad day to another, and another and so on ...
Are we going to see a move to the Liberal Democrat view of PR? Gordon Brown explains why he proposing constitutional change Prime Minister Gordon Brown has set out wide-ranging proposals to "clean up" and modernise British politics in an effort to reassert his authority. He promised a consultation on changing the voting system – but he [...]
This weeks developments show just how ineffective the Labour Party in parliament is - they can't even organise a coup properly. It was obvious on Thursday, with a number of ministers resigning, that there was a plot against Gordon Brown. However it's been botched. All that has happened is that it has left the Prime Minister with a considerable weaked power base and resentment running large through the Labour Party. The Prime Minister has been briefing against his close colleagues, and they have been briefing that they were going to get rid of him. In the end it has all ...
Yes, I'm going to say it - well played Diane Abbott. [Note: her moment of inspiration arrives 13 seconds into the clip]
Brown couldn't resist another eye-catching gimmick in his statement on so-called "Constitutional reform". He's get your actual inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee to help in 'opening up government data to access on the web'. Well, fair enough. You couldn't get a better person to advise the government on this matter. But do come off it. The problem hasn't been, and isn't, prettily presenting data on the internet. The problem is prizing the data out of the hands of the government in the first place.
The Western Mail reports today that Rhodri Morgan has given a further hint that he may cancel plans to step down as First Minister in the autumn. They say that the First Minister, who has previously vowed to stand aside around the time of his 70th birthday on September 29, said he may stay on in the event of a major swine flu outbreak. This latest development effectively moves the goalposts on Rhodri Morgan's decision to retire from the job he has held for nearly nine years. Combined with Huw Lewis' plea for the First Minister to stay on "for ...
'Divided' 'corrupt', and 'unclear what it stands for' are now the phrases that the public most strongly associate with Labour according to new research published by PoliticsHome today reveals the dire state of Labour's public image. please follow this link to read the full story
For a brief moment last night, it sounded as if the Prime Minister was at last going to seize the reform agenda, and perhaps even promise a referendum on voting reform. The reality is, as so often with Labour, more disappointing than that: Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he has "no plans" for a referendum on changes to the electoral system before the next general election. ... he told prime minister's questions he had "never supported proportional representation for Westminster elections" and ruled out a referendum. Labour's brief flirtation with electoral reform appears to have centred around adopting the ...
It's in the care of Slugger O'Toole.
I have to say nobody is really surprised that Gordon Brown's response to the fundemental crisis of faith that now exists in politics is to declare it the responsibility of yet another glorified committee. If this his idea of a 'sweeping reinvention' of his ailing premiership then I would hate to see him when he [...]
Spotted coming out of a lift in the Welsh Assembly less than an hour ago, the Welsh Conservative's Head of Media, their new MEP, Kay Swinburne and John Bufton, the new UKIP MEP for Wales. It is nice of the Welsh Tories to take UKIP under their wing so early after the election. Who knew they had so much in common? Perhaps the Conservatives have ambitions of getting a second MEP after all.
Wednesday UPDATE: 13.30 Well, I HOPED that Captain Clegg would ask the Prime Monster to agree that Parliament should cancel their hols until reform of politics is sorted out... ...and call me a GIRAFFE if that isn't exactly what Captain Clegg did! Yay! Go us! (Bobbins, Mr Frown said "No!") .
{bridge} Jo Swinson (who I'm convinced I saw on Westminster Bridge last night chuckling at something on a Blackberry - maybe she can confirm) has revealed that the beleaguered PM is finally doing something half-useful: floating a review of the minimum voting age. I'm totally in favour of this, not only because of the obvious inconsistencies with other minimum age brackets. Could it be that some good, in the form of changes to the electoral system, manages to emerge from the final days of this otherwise disastrous administration?
As Tory Bear pointed out yesterday, the Young Labour website has gone down after criticism of the Labour leadership. It seems that the Labour Students website has gone the same way. Even for New Labour this seems a tad controlling! Edit: Seems they're not back online now. Conspiracy theory over!
Quite frankly, I find his argument at PMQs today absolutely appalling. He opposes the idea of proportional representation, because it sees the election of the BNP. Firstly, is David Cameron, an apparent liberal, actually saying he will deliberately remove the choice of a democratic country? Let's say that under an extremely proportional system of voting, we get 10% of BNP MPs. So they might end up with around 60 MPs (and that's under extreme proportionality, which probably would not happen in the UK). That is far from a Government. Nor would any Party willingly enter into a Coalition with them. ...
As well as the European Elections last Thursday saw elections in Lozells and East Handsworth in Birmingham, the existing County Counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire and to the new Unitary Council in Shropshire.
As per, events seems to have overtaken me again although looks like it may be a typical Brown fudge. Anyway, onto selling electoral reform. Firstly, don't call is "Electoral Reform"! It sounds incredibly dull (hell, it can be to which anyone who has sat next to me at a dinner party can attest!) I'm asleep already just at the mention of it. We need a better name, "voting reform" is all I can come up with. Any better ideas? Okay we'll stick with "voting reform" for the minute. At least it does what it says on the tin. Secondly, proportionality. ...
Another case of child abuse in the Keighley area was reported in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus last week.* Six men were in court for offences against a young teenaged girl between 2005 and 2007. The newspaper used the term "grooming". Whilst I realise that cases involving so-called grooming have a particularly odious edge to them, being the deliberate eroding of a child's self respect and a cynical attempt to make her share the guilt, I do think that perpetrators of this type of offence are child abusers and rapists and should be labelled as such.
I am meeting with a group of residents at 6.30 tonight to discuss issues i will be outside the Town hall steps any one is welcome to come and offer a view or comment. Regards
{taxmonster} The US President's 'Buy American' policies are rightly being confronted by widespread criticism, as reported by Sara the week before last. Now it seems yet another covert attempt to protect American industry is being considered by the wonks of Washington - in the form of a regressive tax. Aye, that's the one: VAT. Proponents are currently pushing it forward as a way of boosting the US government's income, as the Democrats look to emulate almost everything that's a bit rubbish about Europe. Furthermore, an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal notes that the plans include calls for "border adjusted" ...
Cameron and Brown wrangle over the various parliamentary reform proposals. Cameron uses the election of two BNP MEPs to support his contention that a proportional system lets in extremists, and accuses Brown of only becoming interested in reform when he faces losing the next election. Brown looks somewhat less like a punchbag this week - that Monday night meeting of the parliamentary Labour party must have pepped him up a bit. In fact, his righteousness waxes so great that he proclaims Cameron "doesn't deserve" to be Prime Minister. Clegg asks about repossession rates, which he says the government is failing ...
I think it's high time we in Camden looked more closely at how power is wielded in our community in our name. The current Executive model of politics used in Camden - where ten councillors wield all the power - is unbalanced. We need to decentralise power away from the Executive. Let's have Junior Executive Members who can share the workload. Let's give Scrutiny Panels more power. Above all, we need to find a way to be more receptive to ideas coming from residents or extra-constitutional bodies like the Sustainability Task Force. I've seen too many residents frustrated by the ...
{chrisdaviesmep} Good work by Lib Dem student Niklas Smith who has contacted the offices of Liberal Democrats associated with "Unite Against Fascism," the group currently condoning violence and opposing free speech. Niklas has been told by Davies' office: " ... he [Chris] agrees that what took place yesterday is both counter productive and inappropriate, and he would disassociate himself from the actions taken." Lib Dem MPs Alistair Carmichael and Michael Hancock are reported to also be supporters of this group. I would urge them not only to condemn the actions of the past 24 hours, but also to distance themselves ...
I am watching The Daily Politics. Andrew Neil has just said that the Liberal Democrats declined to put anyone up to discuss electoral reform. Apparently we wanted to hear what Gordon Brown has to say first. The Alternative Vote is not the electoral system the Liberal Democrats favour: it is not a proportional system at all as it tends to exaggerate landslides. Does this refusal to discuss the subject betray a disagreement at the highest levels of the Lib Dems over whether we should support AV if it is offered? Remember this intervention by Norman Lamb.
Today we will probably see an interesting exchange at PMQs - difficult to see how Brown can put any gloss on the election results but I am sure he will try. For me though, the interesting part of the day will be the vote this evening, calling for the dissolution of parliament. The SNP and Plaid [...]
Lord Greedy has been busy over the last couple of weeks with campaigning against the fascist BNP and trying to stop Nick Griffin from getting elected in the North West but it seems that the efforts of people like Lord Greedy haven't been successful. So Nick Griffin did get elected as Lord Greedy's Diary assistant Irfan has blogged about. The Lord yesterday spent the day in Westminster and joined the protest "Unite against Fascism" and hurdled eggs at Nick Griffin. As TheyWorkForYou will report I sneaked out of the Chamber to go and egg Griffin. Its was my egg that ...
I signed a petition on the downing street website a while ago calling on the government to embargo the Arms becoming sent to Israel from the UK and the government has responded with this silly reply: A recent Amnesty International report confirmed that Britain is not a major arms exporter to Israel and, as Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 4 March, the UK regularly turns down arms requests from Israel. Each export licence request is assessed on a case-by-case basis and conduct in recent conflicts is always taken into account. We do not ...
{torybear} Liberal Vision's intrepid Sara Scarlett has braved a journey into the abyss, taking on a fierce blue bear (see left) in the depths of Toryblogland amid copious amounts of alcohol. The result? Here's a snippet: "Scarlett was quick to dismiss the Conservatives of being any better as a nest for freedom lovers" reports the Bear, with Sara adding "I'll join the Conservatives when David Cameron legalises heroin... seriously though Cameron won't give civil liberties back ... Cameron and Osborne are very good on TV but they aren't reformers." Osbourne good on TV? I don't know, Sara - face for ...
Duncan Brack and Ed Randall, authors of the Dictionary of Liberal Thought, have kindly agreed to let us publish extracts on Lib Dem Voice. This month we conclude our trilogy of postings on liberalism - classical, economic and social. This month, it's social. You can read other previous extracts on LDV here. The entire book is available on Amazon here and can also be bought at the Westminster Bookshop. Social Liberalism Social liberals believe in individual freedom as a central objective - like all liberals. Unlike economic or classical liberals, however, they believe that poverty, unemployment, ill-health, disability and lack ...
Ricky Ponting famously warned his Australian squad that they faced a fortnight in Leicester if they were eliminated from the Twenty20 world cup. And now they have been. The Leicester Mercury reports that local people are doing their best to make them feel at home: Martin Peters, chief executive of Leicester Shire promotions, said: "As disappointed as Ricky Ponting and the Australian team will be following their defeat, they can comfort themselves with the fact that Leicestershire offers many delights for the players to enjoy during their enforced stay."Several years ago, Sir Terry Wogan offered a very similar comment before ...
You may or may not have noticed that things have been rather quiet on this blog lately. Well, it hasn't been because there hasn't been anything to write about!I have been very busy and have found it difficult to find the time to update it, even when inspiration has struck, or more accurately when something has wound me up. However, more recently it has been because a few weeks ago I made the
I was listening to LBC on my way in - and my way in took longer than usual because Bob Crow was muscle flexing seemingly just to see if they still worked. Not that well - judging from the reluctance of the very decent staff on the Underground who went to work anyway and did not uniformly abandon Londoners. Three cheers for them! Anyway - point is - discussion was on the investigation by the man appointed by No 10 to investigate Ministers misdoings etc to look into the case of Shahid Malik, Minster in the Justice Department who had ...
Over at The Times, Nick Clegg argues that Labour has run out of steam and of ideas, and that its supporters are turning to the Liberal Democrats. Here's an excerpt: have heard people claim that the local and European elections were a missed opportunity for the Liberal Democrats. I disagree. Of course, as in all elections, there were losses as well as gains. In a contest when the voters wanted to give the Establishment a kicking, it is hardly surprising that we suffered some losses in the South West, where we have been the governing party for 20 years. And ...
I went off to a conference in Manchester on Monday, taking with me some important materials that had been left behind. To carry them, I borrowed one on those cases on wheels from the office. The result is that I spent two days feeling like a losing contestant on The Apprentice. I did not quite master the art of stopping abruptly to pull up the handle when I got off the train, but I am sure that with a bit more practice I could have made the person behind me trip over.
I am my own boss and that means I generally work very long hours often including evenings and weekends. However because I am usually largely in control of my own timetable it does mean that I can afford myself the occasional political treat during the day like watching PMQs or the budget speech and also enough time intermittently to blog. However since the start of last week I have been largely working on customer site and this means that I am now not really in control of my own timetable. I missed PMQs last week and I will probably miss ...
On 11 May 2007, Gordon Brown launched his campaign to become leader of the Labour party and so inherit the mantle of Prime Minister. It turned out not to be much of a campaign, as he travelled around the country unchallenged, whilst the six candidates vying to be his deputy bickered behind him, and his [...]
The deadline for objections to this plan is 24th June. You can object by letter, but there is also an on line facility for this at Information about the plans is available through Planning Explorer which you can find at www.liverpool.gov.uk (look for the Find It section and select Planning Explorer)
Not so brilliant for the Lib Dems, but good for democracy. Not as good as STV of course, but let's face it, what is? First Past the Post is the cornerstone of the brokenness of our politics. It has the power to subvert all your campaigning efforts for a good cause, making that cause weaker instead of stronger. Support the environment? Vote Green where the Lib Dems could win and you do more harm than good. Support Euro-nihilism? Vote UKIP where the Conservatives could win and you have the opposite effect. Support socialism? Vote Socialist Labour, where Labour could win, ...
Towards the end of last year I decided to stop eating meat and fish. I had tried being a vegetarian before and found it difficult. This time though it is actually pretty easy and the veggie food is (on the whole) a lot nicer. My motivation wasnt about being nice to animals. It was all around environmental concerns and global warming. Meat production simply causes more damage and its surely more sensible to eat whats grown than to feed it to animals and then eat that. Interestingly one of my councillor colleagues is suggesting that schools in Liverpool have one ...
In November 2007 Sustrans secured £50 million of Big Lottery funding for 79 projects across the UK, collectively known as 'Connect2'. £1 million was allocated to our Two Tunnels Project in Bath. As its contribution to the Sustrans Connect2 celebrations for 2009, Wessex Water (the current owner of Combe Down Tunnel) has kindly allowed the Two Tunnels Group to hold a fourth open day...
Wednesday: It is Prime Monster's Questionable Time today and I hope that Lib Dem Leader Captain Clegg will take the opportunity to WELCOME Mr Frown's late arrival at the Reform Club, remind him that ALL Parties say that the time to SEIZE the opportunity is now, and therefore ASK if the Prime Monster will join him in calling for Parliament to cancel their summer holidays and stay sitting until reform is really, really sorted. It's a GENUINE offer; a chance for the Prime Monster not to look like a numpty and a splendid way to drag Mr Balloon along too. ...
The Electoral Reform Society web site gives an excellent summary of the pros and cons of the Alternative Vote system. On the same page you can click on other voting system names for similarly clear summaries.
Alright, perhaps attempting a quest to be nice on one of those days that try the patience of saints might be unwise, but hey, why not. I'm on a number 27 bus at Edgware Road station. A very crowded bus, it is true, but I have a seat, and time to read my e-mail, catch up with the world and reflect on the day ahead. It is a sign of the times that the bus queue outside Paddington Station had a police presence. Not just one, but a line of them. They clearly aren't expecting the 'Dunkirk spirit' to shine ...
A read of this blog and my local MP Gordon Prentice has written a press release for how the Conservatives using Lord Ashcroft's money have been Buying the election. Gordon Prentice's press release can be read via following the link. Gordon, I agree with you Andrew Stephenson is really going to pour a lot of money into Pendle and we need to stop him or make it public. Does Ashcroft pay his taxes, not that we know of so why is that man allowed to pump money into places like Pendle and destroy the politics of the borough? If the ...
Wed 10th
09:58
Many people are turning to Liberal Burblings for advice on how to become a Conservative MP
It is endearing that many people googling for "How to become a Conservative MP" are landing on my post entitled:How to become a Tory MP: "Lick up" to Central Office and "hold your nose" . The article also carries a quote from a Tory insider saying "Prepare to lose a lot of money". So, if any poor googler gets past reading that post and is still interested in being a Tory MP, then they have passed the first test and are obviously made of stern stuff.
Liberal Democrats opose the current voting system because it delivers results which are often quite different from what people are voting for. Even on less than 40% of the vote, governments can be formed which control all of the levers of power. Sometimes, a majority can be formed by a party that actually comes second in the popular vote- as happened in February 1974, when Harold Wilson was able to form a government for Labour despite gaining over 200,000 fewer votes than the Conservatives. Over the 35 years since then, the power of the executive over the House of Commons ...
From the recent YouGov poll for Channel 4: Which daily newspaper do you read most often? 42% Express / Mail / Mirror / Record / Sun / Star 25% No newspaper 18% FT / Guardian / Independent / Times / Telegraph 15% Other
Bob Crow- as I mentioned last week- has indeed taken it upon himself to lead yet another strike on the London Underground. Sure enough, this morning Londoners are struggling to get to work. The damage is estimated to cast the UK economy about £100 million. It is a typical two fingers from the unrepentant Communist leader of the RMT Union. His brazen attempt to blackmail more money for his bully boys is as outrageous as it is contemptible. He and his followers must be resisted. The greed and irresponsibility is typical of a man prepared to support a system that ...
2 big stories This is, I think, the first time I have compiled the Daily View (Wednesdays being Mortimer days) when the headlines in every paper haven't been dominated by expenses. Hooray, real news! The big news at Westminster is that Gordon Brown is doing his usual thing of arriving at a political moment (in this case electoral reform) several weeks late and trailing faux consultation in his wake. From the BBC: BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the prime minister's statement will not endorse a change of voting system nor any particular system but it will call for a ...
The title almost gives me nervous hysterics. This body is supposed to be the engine room for driving democratic reform in this country. So, does it include all parties, the church, Women's Institute, Boys Brigade etc etc like the Constitutional Convention which gave birth to the Scottish Assembly? Er...no. So what is it then? Well, it's just a Cabinet sub-committee basically. Downing Street says lists its members and gives other details - or highlights the absence of details - of the council. The members are: Jack Straw, Harriet Harman, Lord Mandelson, Alistair Darling, David Miliband, Alan Johnson, Hilary Benn, Douglas ...
So Claire Ward has her sideways shove, from the Whips' Office to the Ministry of Justice. Doesn't sound like so much of a change to me - now she's doling it out to the rest of us, rather than just her colleagues! Gushing with excitement at the move, Ms Ward said, "In essence it will be [...]
Many will be today calling the protesters fascists e.g. Iain Dale but we need to remember a few points before starting to point fingers. Protest is accepted by any politician even Nick Griffin accepts that people have the right to protest (until he has a majority in UK Parliament) but throwing eggs and attacking a politician who was elected by the people doesn't make him disliked instead it makes him more powerful. The people who voted BNP will remember small incidences like this one and will vote BNP at the next election and then the next until the BNP get ...
The cheeky bast** that is Tory Bear has registered the following two URL's to point to his blog http://www.alanjohnson4labour.com and http://www.purnell4labour.com upon me asking him why he did that he said it was a "banter" and he would sell them to Purnell and Johnson if they ever needed them. Now is that boy a genius or a fox? You Can't tell with the bear can you!
Sensible Facebook web addresses are coming - but on a first come, first served basis. So you may have to move quickly to ensure you don't miss out. Especially if you are John or Jane Smith. At the moment, your Facebook profile's web address will be something like http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=597270025, though the public version of it (findable via search engines) may be of a slightly different form, such as http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Pack/597270025. Either way, the address is a pain as it includes a random set of 9 digits. That's not friendly to say, remember or type. But Facebook is letting people pick custom ...
Conservative blogger Tory Bear, months after getting stuck in with gossip about Liberal Youth's leadership election, has decided to close that particular chapter with an interview with the irrepressible Sara Scarlett, where he tries, unsuccessfully, to recruit her. She makes me feel like a party apparatchik, although she actually agrees with more Lib Dem policy than I do. "Go Figure" as the Americans say. You can read the interview here. As a side note, it's very revealing. It seems that young Conservatives are also counting on a new wave of more libertarian leaders and thinkers that's just round the corner. ...
Last night's 'Evening Telegraph' covered my continuing concerns over postal deliveries in the West End. You can read the article by clicking on the headline above.
I followed with interest an attack by feminist blogger Laurie Penny on the evil that is burlesque. What's the problem with burlesque, you might ask. It's certainly something Mrs Quist might ask as she returns from her burlesque and pole dancing class to hear yet another feminist complaining that she shouldn't be doing it and she's letting down womankind. So what is the problem? Laurie's own experience wasn't great (that's OK - not everything suits everyone) and she's concerned that, when it comes down to it, modern burlesque is just stripping with a bit more class. Laurie, apparently, knows what ...
I've been a bit irritable of late, made more so by the ongoing debate about what people should do, can do or are permitted to do. However, escaping the chatter and doing things that I enjoy has provided some relief. Sitting outside the polling station in Needham Market, taking electoral numbers and thanking people for coming to vote was fun, watching the count in Stowmarket was fun, taking part in Iain Dale's internet radio show was fun. The lesson is that I really ought to be doing more things that I enjoy. This may involve beer in moderation, it may ...
During a rather frenetic Twitterfest around the subject of potential electoral reform, I tweeted that I thought that the primary function of an MP should be to legislate and scrutinise the government and that the pastoral work could be balanced a bit more with this. I had a couple of responses from Darrell Goodliffe and Caron Lindsay who both think that the pastoral side of things is very important. I said I would blog about this to explain what I meant a bit more clearly free of the tyranny of 140 character limits! The dual role of MPs to legislate ...
Just a little note to say I will be judging the dog competition at Highgate's "Fair in the Square" which will take place in historic Pond Square, London N6, on Saturday, June 13th from 12.30pm to 5.30pm. I hope the sun shines - and that everyone comes and has a good time. And no jokes about dogs please!
It's Annual Report time for Boris Johnson, and the London Assembly will meet this morning to debate the Mayor's 2008/08 report and first year in office. Despite having sections on economic recovery, tackling crime, quality of life and "A Mayor for all Londoners", here are some things the report omits: Boris's broken manifesto promises: 1. Keep the Tube open for an extra hour on Friday and Saturday nights 2. Negotiate a no-strike deal with Tube unions. (Commuters to London today will know the reality of this.) 3. Convene an "emergency" public summit of train operating companies to deliver Oyster to ...
My first reaction on hearing that Gordon Brown now wants to introduce proportional representation for Westminster elections was that after 12 years what he was proposing was too little too late. It seems to me to be very peculiar timing to announce a reform such as this, tied into a referendum, when there is virtually no chance of introducing it before a General Election he seems certain to lose and when his motives will be rightly questioned. It could be portrayed as a last ditch attempt to save his political skin by changing the rules or a cynical attempt to ...
Thank you so much, Subrosa for making me laugh before breakfast with this Rory Bremner parody of Gordon Brown singing Mika's Grace Kelly. Should he try this at PMQs today? LibDig This!
Well its looking like Brown is safe....for now. However one compensation seems to be that on the face of it he may be about to consider changing the electoral system for Westminster. I just hope that because he is talking about it doesn't mean it is given the kiss of death. The overnight reports seem to suggest he is going to opt for the Alternative Vote system (AV) which is not even proportional. I have a horrible feeling the reports will be right and Brown will completely foul up the opportunity to make real and meaningful reform Some commentators believe ...
At the Traffic Management Advisory Panel (TMAP) yesterday, the highly unpopular proposals for Lydford road were dropped. {S14124359} The original plan was to introduce a 'No Waiting At Any Time' restriction for the whole length of Lydford Road on both sides. This proved highly controversial to all the residents who called me and the council received 63 objections to the scheme. At the meeting I was able to air the concerns presented to me by residents. So based on the level of objection from residents and the your Lib Dem ward councillors - this scheme will be now be dropped ...
If there is a theme to today, I have yet to discover it. #
Tuesday 9th June - Surely lessons should be learned that wishy washy reforms are not capturing the imagination of anyone and inspiring no-one. Two thoughts tonight. Neither are Party Political First Gordon Brown's supposed reforms. Non party aligned Make Votes Count says it well : It finally looks like Gordon Brown has joined the electoral reform ball game, but he is...
The Wolverhampton Liberal Democrats Bowling and Buffet Social will be on Tuesday 16th June 2009, at Newhampton Inn on Riches Street, Wolverhampton.
