I'm astounded by David Cameron's pitiful attempts to "woo Liberal Democrats" to the Tory cause. Clearly worried that a hung parliament is on the cards at next year's general election, he's stated "...between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats there is a lot less disagreement than there used to be." Cameron couldn't be more wrong. Unlike the Lib Dems, he and his Tory party have no concept of what a fair Britain should look like. The Conservatives seem content to cut taxes for millionaires, while the Lib Dems would remove income tax for the lowest earners in the country (saving ...
I know it's Christmas-time and my thoughts should be on other things, but when it's right outside your front window – the broken/non-working street light is hard to ignore. In fact, due to Christmas I haven't really been too minded about hassling Urban Vision about the street light. However, this evening I was clearing out old emails and came across the email (and reply!) I sent to Urban Vision about the street light which is not working on Seedley Park Road. Monday 30th November was the date – and I even received an email back confirming that it would be ...
Just spotted this book on Amazon.co.uk: I imagine Ayn would be torn. On on hand it's the entrepreneurial spirit at it's best. On the other we should all strive to attain gold plated sex toys to call our own! Either way the reviews are well worth a read...
That was a disappointment. Having read everywhere that scenes for the film of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass were shot at Sutton Bridge, I have just sat through the DVD of it. Though I liked the book, I wonder how realistic it was to try to make a film of it without radical simplification. Nowhere does the bridge itself appear. There is a scene that could be the mouth of the Nene at high tide - I think I recognise the artificial island in the Wash - but that is it. For what it is worth, that scene comes when ...
And now it's dead, and eaten... I've just had a sensationally good rabbit dinner in a restaurant just off of Place Massena. Ros was pretty pleased with her lamb, but was most impressed with the rabbit. Say whatever you like about the French, they do eat well...
There is rightly a lot of focus on the UK's national budget deficit which is on course to be a record £178 billion in the current financial. This is after Greece passed it "austerity" budget and the Republic of Ireland passed its serve budget cuts to keep them within the European 13% GDP borrowing rule. The UK debt is rising at an alarming rate too and all the parties appear to have differing plans to deal with it (or not), before any downgrading of the UK's credit rating. I'm not sure any political party really has the whole solution or ...
Boxing Day always reminds us of the issue of hunting with dogs. Sara Scarlett, in Liberal Vision on Boxing Day, called the ban on hunting with dogs illiberal. I don't agree with that. I see the issue as split into two parts. One is about human rights and freedom. The other is about animal welfare. If it were just a question of freedom, I would have no problem at all. Hunting with dogs would be to me like Morris dancing. I have absolutely no wish to do it, but if you want to dress up in funny clothes and parade ...
Oh dear, they just can't let it go, can they? Dave says "I don't think we should invent differences where there aren't differences [betweeen the LDs and his motley band of opportunists]." He goes on: "Let's be honest that whether you're Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat, you're motivated by pretty much the same progressive aims: a country that is safer, fairer, greener and where opportunity is more equal." Well there's a topic for discussion, Dave. He continues: "It's how to achieve these aims that we disagree about - and indeed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats there is a ...
It is time to look back on 2009 - as it was recorded on this blog. January The first month of the year saw (a little depressingly) the best received House Points: David Miliband goes bananas. The death of the former Labour MP Bert Hazell at the age of 101 led me to wonder who the oldest former Liberal MPs were. Though Clement Freud, who was in second place, died later in the year, the winner, George Mackie, is happily still with us. There was also some interesting debate on forgotten Liberal MPs of the 1960s in the comments. I ...
So long, farewell, you're departures overdue. She won't be missed by you, and you and you. Yes Iris Robinson is to quit public life stating depression as the reason. Now I wouldn't normally make like of anyone's mental health but Iris has hoisted a petard of her own making in her utterances on the subject of mental health. Remember back in 2008 when Iris said: "I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals - trying to turn away from what they are engaged in." ...
Many thanks to those people mad enough to vote for me as number one Lib Dem blogger in Iain Dale's end of year poll. I suspect I may have been helped by a couple of notable bloggers either quitting blogging or leaving the party, but thanks all the same. I go through regular bouts of wanting to give up blogging, indeed I did give up earlier in the year (just as the local media were starting to take an interest, so I told them I had quit and they went away ), but I have kept going through lean times. ...
[IMG: Epping New Year Focus 2009] The latest edition of our Epping Focus newsletter is now dropping through the town's letter boxes. I enjoyed walking off some of my Christmas turkey delivering a couple of rounds yesterday. This New Year edition includes news about the Epping Parking Review; Essex Savers Credit Union comes to Epping; free care equipment for over 85 year-olds (until 31 March); end to white lines; Ann Haigh's NHS charges petition; road safety; county council cutbacks on weed treatment and street lights; bus information (including new bus shelter for Coopersale) and Allnutts Post Office now open. Hopefully ...
The Mad Hatter was heading to city hall. The Cheshire Cat had been and left the stage for the Duchess to take over the most prestigious address in Wonderland trying to agree with everyone and find a moral in everything. It was surprising therefore that young David having found himself in this position wanted a bit of every one of them. He wanted the power that the Mad Hatter, a school boy acquaintance, had achieved only more so. He wanted to smile for everyone like the Cheshire Cat yet to know that there was also a time for sincerity. As ...
The real problem with the vast sums of money that roll in from the proceeds of advertising on this blog is that the United Kingdom rather selfishly wants its share of the proceeds. And so, I'm on my way to explore the possibilities that are on offer by making 'Liberal Bureaucracy' tax resident in Monaco. A pleasant journey from London City Airport this morning, on a box-fresh British Airways Embraer 170, brought me to Nice, here on the Cote d'Azur, and we're checked into a very centrally located hotel, close to Place Massena. My first impressions of Nice are good ...
David Cameron's Christmas Message contained about as much Christmas spirit as a message from Ebeneezer Scrooge himself. Unfortunately, although Mr Cameron may say he wants a "fair fight" at the upcoming general election, by claiming that there's not much difference between his party and the Lib Dems he is doing precisely the opposite. He may claim to be above the political fray, but he is cynically using the media to try to manipulate voters. He is, quite simply, misleading them. Mr Cameron says that there is now "a lot less difference than there used to be [between the Tories and ...
The continuing cold weather has seen the snow melt and leave nasty ice in its wake. A lot of local side streets and pavements are now very slippery indeed. Please do take care. In addition, rubbish collections, already out of kilter due to Christmas bank holidays, may still be suffering in some areas due to the ice and snow. The Council has only been running emergency services over Christmas, but tomorrow the non-emergency stuff starts happening again too. I have already asked about re-filling grit bins and rubbish collections. As soon as I know more, I will update readers of ...
I don't really like to just point to a blog without passing comment myself but this post from Mack Pack about political election advertising is really interesting and I thought other people might find it interesting too.
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and continues to enjoy the holiday if they're lucky enough to be able to do so. My own holiday is punctuated by a day at work tomorrow, before resuming again to take me through until after new year. My gift haul this year continues the disappointingly shrinking trajectory that has accompanied my reluctant journey into adulthood. I am forced to get excited by "Outnumbered" Season 2 on DVD which, whilst amusing, is hardly a shiny XBox360 or some other such wild gizmo that I'd probably be getting were I 12. As well as ...
LDV wants to find out who our readers think merits the title Liberal Voice of the Year 2009, and we'll be running a New Year poll to find the individual or group in British politics which has most inspired you in the last year. But, as is our traditional little twist, we want to look outside the Liberal Democrats - and find the greatest liberal who's not a member of our party. So, who would you pick? It could be a member of another political party, or one of the majority of Britons who belong to no party; or a ...
I've been away for a few days relaxing over Christmas so I am just catching up with the political news. Apparently David Cameron has released a new year message where he appears to be trying to "love bomb" potential Liberal Democrat voters. He says: I don't think we should invent differences where there aren't differences. There are many more areas where Liberal Democrats and Conservatives agree and that's a good thing but we need to have a decisive election. A hung Parliament would be bad for Britain, would be bad for the sort of strong united determined leadership that we ...
Of course it is too early to take down Christmas trees at the moment, but a reminder that if you have the "orange bag" kerbside recycling collection, you can leave your real Christmas tree out on the same day as your normal collection day. If not, the council are also collecting real Christmas trees at Kennington Park from 11-15 January. The trees will be turned into wood chip.
I write this after watching the 6 O'Clock news on Sunday. After the usual sick feeling that I invariably feel when I hear Cameron speak subsides, I am left in a state of mild shock at what he just tried to do: make the public believe that there aren't many differences between the Lib Dems and the Tories and scaremongering our supporters into voting for them under the pretence that a hung parliament would be 'bad for Britain'. I start by addressing the latter point first. There is an argument that decisive action is needed in facing the economic crisis. ...
I've just spent an hour driving around Gatley, having compared notes with Cllr Pam King on the issues we're aware of. The big issue right now is ice at the end of cul-de-sacs and some other low-traffic roads. All the main roads and most through-residential roads are clear of ice (though some pavements are still icy). Pam and I are very concerned that people - especially the elderly - living on these cul-de-sacs - might be trapped in their houses or risk serious injury by venturing out. For example in Gatley: - Saville Road is mostly clear but has two ...
David Cameron's Christmas message has called on Lib Dems to back the Conservatives as there is between Lib Dems and Tories "now a lot less difference than there used to be on how to create a fairer Britain". He then goes on to give the game away by saying that a hung parliament would be bad for Britain - despite his apparent belief that there is not much between us and the Tories. Mr Cameron, not for the first time, is talking double-speak and rather in bad spirit for the season og goodwill trying to put a rather distortive spin ...
No he doesn't!
Way back in January 2007 I blogged about the apparent lack of thought for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which happens to also be in 2012, the year of the London Olympics. So it was great surprise and happiness that I can across this article on The Sun's website announcing a 2 day bank holiday to help celebrate 60 years of our Queen being on the throne. 2012 will be a year to remember. A year when
Quietly, over the Christmas period, Iran has been convulsed by new protests and seems poised on the brink of what would be called, certainly in left-wing circles, a revolutionary situation. Western silence over this reflects a certain nervousness; were the revolution to become a conflagration certain friendly regimes would be in peril. Saudi Arabia, Dubai and all ...
I got an email from Vodafone telling that I'll be able to upgrade to the iPhone from my Blackberry Storm in a couple of months time (BBC has the story here). Now I think the iPhone is amazing but is it really worth the cash? I could keep my Blackberry on a £25 a month 30 day rolling contact or upgrade to the iPhone and be tied into a £40 a month contract for two years. Which do people think is better?
The Times today profiles Paul Marshall, founder of top hedge fund manager Marshall Wace, and a former SDP/Liberal Alliance candidate who has donated in excess of £162,000 to the Liberal Democrats as well re-founding the liberal think-tank Centre Forum. Here's an excerpt: Mr Marshall, who stepped back from his investment role in 2004, decided to take on a more active position at the hedge fund last year as the markets started sliding and the group's profits were reportedly down 75 per cent. However, the hedge fund made an £88.8 million profit in the 18 months up to February 2009 and ...
Birthday was fun. Drink was had. Somewhat hungover. Going to have bath now.
15 years ago, I read more books, and no computer stuff. I have gained hugely from the blogosphere, nevertheless.
I have blogged before about the used of the word 'texted' citing the main reason why I hate people using the word is because it is not a verb, it is a noun. I recently reiterated this when at a friend's house and last night when chatting to a friend. However, yesterday whilst chatting to a friend my world (and my only argument) came tumbling down around me. I looked up text in on the Collins
It has been amusing to see some of the pithy repsonses from various Lib Dems to CallMeDave's seasonal message. Personally I'm delighted that he has taken the time to help write some of my leaflets for me. In constituencies like the one I live in, where we have a popular Lib Dem MP, it will be very useful to use CallMeDave's words to reassure wavering Tory voters. There are a lot of people in seats ike this one who might be tempted to vote Tory this time because they beleive they need to to 'get Brown out'. In response we ...
A few weeks back, I posed the question here on LDV: In the event of Nick Clegg not forming a government after the next election, who do you *least want* to be Prime Minister in a year's time? And to give our poll that little added piquancy I offered only two options: Gordon Brown or David Cameron. Over 1,000 LDV readers (who, I never tire of reminding folk – especially any journos on the look-out for an easy story – may or may not all be Lib Dems) voted, and here's what you said: Gordon Brown: 42% (468 votes) David ...
From an excellent article in yesterday's Times. Phillip Stevens explains how unnecessary regulation may be adding extortionate amounts to your fare home: There are two fundamental reasons why the taxi market isn't working. In the mid-19th century, laws were passed to limit town centre congestion by horses and carriages. Many local authorities still use these laws to restrict the number of licences granted to taxis, which results in fewer taxis on the road than are needed — explaining the long queues at taxi ranks in certain towns on a Saturday night. Second, the fear of unscrupulous drivers extorting hapless passengers ...
I have invested a great deal of time and swear words in creating my first Twibbon for Akmal Shaikh (believe me, I did try to make it transparent. Lord did I try! But as he's only got a few hours to be reprieved, I don't think it's asking too much for people to give over their Twitter icon for a few hours to his cause). Please take a few seconds to watch the short You Tube video below. Please email Gordon Brown and the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, asking for clemency. Details are here on the Reprieve website.
David Cameron, it appears, is worried about the Tories chances of having a working majority at the next election. Why else would he have made such an overt attempt to woo Lib Dem voters in his new Year statement yesterday if he wasn't confident ? The problem is, his statement is so hollow in the context of everything we know about the Tories and his motives. Whilst he says that differences between the Lib Dems and Tories are much less obvious than they were before, that is only because the Tories have not had the opportunity to support illegal wars ...
Throughout the festive season, LDV is offering our readers another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2009. The seventh most-read LDV op-ed of 2009 was by Liberal Vision's Sara Scarlett, and originally appeared on 11th October ... Opinion: A Cooperative Coalition The general consensus among today's politicos is that the dye is now cast for the next General Election. Those at the helm of all "two and a half" major parties are the leaders they assume will take them into the next General Election - the only questions ...
Mon 28th
11:52
'A lot less disagreement' between Lib Dems and Tories, says David Cameron. Excellent news!
And verily did David Cameron spake forth unto the multitude of political journalists desperate for Bank Holiday copy, and lo he did utter his New Year platitude: Let's be honest that whether you're Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat, you're motivated by pretty much the same progressive aims: a country that is safer, fairer, greener and where opportunity is more equal. It's how to achieve these aims that we disagree about - and indeed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats there is a lot less disagreement than there used to be. How wonderful! Mr Cameron is, we understand, preparing this ...
Spring came, and with it my traditional hopeless candidacy in a seat with no tradition of Liberal Democrat support and little likelihood of any in the near future either. However, it wasn't without its rewards. In a contest with my own District Councillor, and the future Labour PPC for Norwich North, we were all beaten by the Green candidate, on a night when little went right for Labour in Suffolk, and the Conservatives managed to lose seats to Liberal Democrats and Greens against the prevailing tide. However, I was to win an 'election', becoming a Parish Councillor for the idyllic ...
Courtesy of the Washington Post
The spirit of good will clearly did not extend to the man (or woman) who nicked my postie's Christmas card and tip. I know - you are all going to say how naive I am to expect people to be honest - but I still do. What happened? Hadn't managed to catch my lovely postie, so a few days before Christmas I put his card and Christmas 'thank you' in an envelope and left it outside my front door for him to pick up when he brought the post. My door is completely screened from the street and my garden ...
Seems like the Tory Twitterati have picked their next target. Ed Balls. Looks like this website will be launched on Feb 1st but seems Tory Bear isn't behind this one. Now don't get me wrong, I really don't like Ed Balls. I think he represents a lot of what is wrong with New Labour but I've said it before and I'll say it again: these types of personal campaigns just seem nasty. They don't come across as constructive and just put people off politics. I know a couple of people who'll probably be voting FOR Kerrry McCarthy now, who wouldn't ...
The gap between Christmas and the New Year is often a great period to catch up on some of those things you always meant to get round to doing and which will save time and avoid heartache if you do. So each day this week I'll be giving a tip related to computers and campaigning. The exact details of how you follow each tip will vary depending on your own situation, so if you're not quite sure what to do by all means pop up a question in the comments. Today's tip: back up your data. I used to share ...
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Morning all, and welcome to LDV's Bank Holiday edition of the Daily View, on the day in 1832 John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President of the United States to resign, and the Peak District became the UK's first National Park in 1950. And a very happy birthday to 28th US President Woodrow Wilson, pianist Richard Clayderman and actress Sienna Miller. Without further tarrying ... 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that caught my eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Labour's 'class war' is a shambles! (Jane Watkinson) Labour ...
Well, seeing as my LDV co-editor Mark Pack has made the running on this one, let me leap upon the bandwagon before it becomes a meme, and list the 10 favourite posts I've penned from the past year ... One week on, and not a peep from Danny (9th April) What can politicians achieve? A Review of the Foothills (13th April) Paul Staines: not the Messiah, just a very naughty boy (18th April) What must happen for the Lib Dems to overtake Labour? (4th May) What has the Telegraph done for the reputation of journalism? (16th May) Papering over the ...
Learnt something today courtesy of those nice folk in Kettle Crisps customer services: Sometimes in a batch of chips, two or three slices of potato can occasionally stick together during cooking and do not 'crisp up' as normal. During storage the moisture from this 'sticker', as it is known, can make the rest of the chips in the pack lose some of their crispness.
This morning's Western Mail reveals that Wales' overcrowded prisons are down to their last 84 places: Usk prison is full to its 256-inmate capacity, and the nearby open prison at Prescoed holds 170 prisoner, just short of its capacity of 178. The situation has eased slightly at the privately-run Parc prison near Bridgend, where extra cells have been created. But even here 1,155 of the 1,200 spaces are occupied. But in Wales' Victorian-era prisons thing are worse: Cardiff has 812 prisoners on its 824-capacity site. In Swansea, where the maximum figure is 402, there are 383 inmates. That leaves just ...
The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a report which was published to coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009. It is aimed at providing policymakers with a synthesis of the latest climate science published since the last report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report serves as an interim evaluation of the evolving science midway through an IPCC cycle. The last IPCC report was published in 2007 and the next one is due in 2013. The Copenhagen Diagnosis was written by 26 authors, many of whom were lead authors of chapters in the 2007 IPCC report. The ...
What with the 26th being a Saturday... [IMG: funny pictures of cats with captions] see more Lolcats and funny pictures
David Cameron has been at it again, claiming that differences between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are now "a lot less than in the past". He said: "Let's be honest that whether you're Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat, you're motivated by pretty much the same progressive aims: a country that is safer, fairer, greener and where opportunity is more equal. It's how to achieve these aims that we disagree about and indeed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats there is a lot less disagreement than there used to be." For me one of the chief differences between the Liberal Democrats ...
Writing about John Masefield yesterday I discovered that "The Box of Delights" is to be filmed. Variety reports: Brit Mike Newell will direct "The Box of Delights," based on John Masefield's classic 1930s children's novel about a boy entrusted with a magic box that allows him to travel through time. Brit shingle Brilliant Films is funding development of the feature, which Frank Cottrell Boyce ("Millions") is adapting. I am afraid Variety reports are like that. Interestingly, Mike Newell is quoted as saying: "I first heard 'Box of Delights' as a radio play on the BBC when I was a boy ...
The Daily Telegraph reports on the astonishing case of the 86 year old Indian State Governor who has resigned after a video emerged apparently showing him in bed with three young women. They say that N D Tiwari, 86, a member of the ruling Congress Party and the senior representative in Andhra Pradesh state, quit after a television channel aired the compromising footage. He said the footage was doctored, but an embarrassed Congress party asked the governor to resign. He did so, on health grounds. If the video turns out to be genuine then there doesn't seem to be that ...
A fire at the Darlington home of Stephen Hughes MEP and his wife, Darlington Councillor Cyndi Hughes, has claimed the life of an 80 year old man, who the Northern Echo reports to be Cyndi's father. Stephen and Cyndi are lovely people and this is desperately sad news. On behalf of Darlington Liberal Democrats, I would like to offer our sincere sympathies to Stephen and Cyndi.
Trying to cope with wintry conditions over the holiday period must be the council's nightmare. And this holiday period must rank amongst the worst in recent memory. This morning the drivers were reporting in for 5.00 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. as the cold spell continues and I, for one, am grateful since at that time I have every intention of being tucked up in bed like most of the population (apart from those who are camping out looking for a bargain in the Winter Sales). I am still waiting for my first email asking me to congratulate the men and ...
There is, rightly so, a lot of anger at the moment about the over the top tactics taken by some police officers when confronted with a member of the public armed with.........wait for it, a camera! Yes, a camera. Among those who appear to have been targeted by the Metropolitan police is Grant Smith, one of the country's leading architectural photographers, who was apprehended by seven, yes seven, police officers while taking pictures of a church in the City of London. The police defended this over the top action in the Daily Telegraph, "In response to its treatment of photographers, ...
Eric Joyce MP, after reading my blog post about dual mandates adds his tuppence worth on the issue itself not the characters involved. It is well worth a read.
Not my words, but Danny Alexander's, with whom I wholly concur. David Cameron seems to have woken up to the fact that the next elections are not going to be a shoo-in for him, and yesterday talked of "a hung parliament being bad for Britain"! He ...
Formal legal note from Herts County Council Temporary Closing of Lemsford Road, St Albans NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using that length of Lemsford Road, St Albans from its junction with Sandpit Lane south eastwards and south westwards to its junction with A1057 Hatfield Road, a distance of approximately 653 metres, except for access. The alternative route for traffic will be via:- Sandpit Lane, B651 Stonecross, A1081 St Peters Street and A1057 Hatfield Road The purpose of ...
Do you get the impression that Christmas is over? Well it is the 28th of December. In fact the twelve days of Christmas are from the 25th December till the 5th January but you can't help feeling it is over, especially if you have managed to finish your turkey. Some people have to work over the Christmas period, some only get the statutory days. You may be lucky enough to get a couple of weeks holiday around Christmas and New Year, but whether you believe in the religious aspects of Christmas or not, it is a good time to enjoy ...
