Watching the BAFTA's tonight, I was concerned that the hype and publicity surrounded James Cameron's movie, Avatar was going to sway the good people of the British Academy of Film And Television and that the movie would sweep the boards winning everything in sight. My surprise and relief were a welcome sensation when in fact the ...
One from the "it sounded fine at the time but now sounds a tad ironic" files, dated March 2007: Gordon Brown wrote in the News of the World back in 2007 that, "If we are to beat bullying, we must teach every young person it is unacceptable. This is a responsibility we all share."
I have a theory about Labour. The more unpopular they get – or rather the more their intelligent members understand what's going on and the ramifications for the GE – the less likely they are to attract quality candidates for local Council level. Yes sure you can find some bright sparks in the safe wards ...
Simply had to share this: It's from Armando Iannucci's 2006 Time Trumpet, which seems to have sadly slipped me by at the time. (With thanks to Ged Robinson.)
People who snipe at Brown for failing to sell gold should look to the far larger error he inherited
Gordon Brown's suggestion that us punters take a second look at Labour, isn't, necessarily the best idea, frankly I'd rather not, having read about accusations of bullying etc. I already felt that this week's slogan from Gordon Brown rang hollow, "a future fair for all", since the past few years have been nothing of the sort. I and co-workers have seen during Labours rule a massive slide in earnings, jobs routinely taken over by essential workers from Lithuania to Albania whilst experienced people sit at home. For some reason Labour have sold out manual workers having done nothing to protect ...
First thing in the morning (okay 9.30am) out in Leigh Ward, with a good crowd of Lib Dems. Spoke to lots of residents - really useful. 11am went to St Laurence to attend their coffee morning. Numbers are going up! Good chance to touch base with Ted and Carole. Back in Leigh for a bagel for lunch, and then half an hour talking to some people we hadn't got to earlier on. Then over to Belfairs to join a doorstep team there. Very good response. Met a few long-standing supporters we didn't know about, and some people moving our way. ...
Way back at the start of the new Cornwall Council, the Leader - Conservative Alec Robertson - promised a culture of openness and transparency. Whether he meant that as a political dig at the Lib Dems or not, we certainly welcomed the sentiment. It's such a shame then that the new administration has completely failed to live up to the promise. - On the Council's property policy, at first the Leader claimed that there was no list of buildings they were thinking of selling off, only to then be forced to admit that there was such a list (but councillors ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 157th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (14th-20th February, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, usually courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget, by the way, you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Labour candidate quits ...
THE power of prayer has helped to catch criminals, increase detection rates and reduce the number of people killed on our roads, according to senior Devon and Cornwall Police officer Inspector Roger Bartlett. This is Cornwall has more.
Heard this on the Steve Wright show on Radio 2 when driving to Glasgow last week -had totally forgotten just how great it is!
It looks like the formidable campaign by my LibDem colleague Cllr Matt Davies, the Leaseholders' forum, various local campaigners (and me) will succeed. You can read the full story here. Haringey Council wanted to charge astronomical charges to their council blocks for digital switchover - £1000 to each home - way over the odds. After a long battle it looks like this will now be reduced to £400. That's not as low as it could go - but it's a hell of a lot better than before. Fingers crossed for the meeting next week where this will/should go through.
The poor Rochdale Labour party really have had a terrible few years. Their latest cock-up has seen their leader, Councillor Colin Lambert, sending out totally misleading (and seemingly completely made up) figures, which were widely reported in the local news. Before the Lib Dems became the majority party on the Council they were based in some ...
If you bypass the acual issue of whether Gordon Brown did or didn't shout and scream at staff just for one moment, there actually is a much bigger issue at stake - the confidentiality of those that contacted the bullying helpline. From the BBC website: She [Christine Pratt] told the BBC: "Over recent months we have had several inquiries from staff within Gordon Brown's office. "Some have downloaded information; some have actually called our helpline directly and I have spoken to staff in his office."I personally believe that Christine Pratt is completely and utterley out of order for confirming this ...
Where did rock and roll come from? This Hank Williams song from 1947, which threatens to turn into Rock Around the Clock at any moment, gives us one of the answers. One of the Youtube comments for this video (well, audio) says: He def. was an inf. on rock, along with some other country stars, but it is has always been convenient by whites to leave out blues musicians who really had the major infl. of the time. From Son House's Delta blues in the 20's to Muddy's Urban blues of Chicago, to Big Mama Thorton's Hound Dog, to Little ...
You can't fail to be disappointed by the failure of many of the area's MSPs to directly reply to a letter sent to them by the council's Chief Executive seeking their support for Dundee's campaign for more civil service jobs for our city. I am particularly critical of the pathetic lack of response from Dundee's two constituency SNP MSPs. The Chief Executive David Dorward was instructed by city councillors at my suggestion to write to all 9 MSPs representing Dundee in the Scottish Parliament - 7 regional MSPs and the 2 constituency members for Dundee West and Dundee East - ...
Last week there was a long discussion following the Lib Dem Voice "Saturday debate" slot about "equality of opportunity" versus "equality of outcome". I don't want to rehash that all here. I was thoroughly frustrated in trying to get a fellow in the debate, apparently from the remnant Liberal Party, who was promoting some kind of "universal inheritance" policy funded by confiscating more of the inheritance of the wealthy, to understand that real liberalism needs to look at the causes of the disparity they seek to redress, and where it is already created or protected by the state, the preference ...
There has been considerable concern about "bubbles" - the so called 'legal high' - and this was discussed at the recent Harris Academy Parent Council meeting I attended. I raised the matter with Ross Finnie MSP, Scottish Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson in the Scottish Parliament. He advised that the issue was discussed in the parliament on 11th February during general questions. He adds : " ... the Minister, Fergus Ewing, responded that he has written to the Home Office calling for action stating he believes these kind of drugs should be made illegal as soon as possible. We understand the ...
London's Chinatown spilled well over onto the north side of Shaftesbury Avenue in Soho today, as a Chinese New Year Festival drew crowds of many thousands of revellers. There was also a serious side to at least part of the proceedings, as the team I have been invoved with that has been encouraging the Chinese ...
I rather stupidly forgot to take a photo to illustrate this post, and it's too late now because it is dark. So hopefully you will understand what I mean. At many bus-stops there is a neat display which tells you when the next bus is due. This is the Countdown system. Something similar has been in use on the Tube for several years, but there aren't many cities that also have it at bus-stops. It seems the Countdown system has got to be upgraded. But the Mayor for London has decided to use this opportunity to remove it entirely from ...
Well, I've been fretting for a few days about the bits I missed out of my talk at the Oxford "Speak Easy" last week. Those who were there early enough heard me begin with a few lines from my notes, before I went rambling off elsewhere and lost my place, so whilst I mentioned that I'd like people to disassociate for the purposes of the discussion the (big-m) "Mutualism", the successor to the Individuality Anarchist movement, and the (small-m) "mutualism" that describes the use of a particular co-operative business form. For whilst there are similarities, especially in their theoretical basis, ...
So the Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said that, "Liberal Democrat Conference is a Hippy Commune". So when was he last at a hippy commune? I have to say it must be one of the most expensive hippy communes going, hotel prices are steep, maybe we should set up a yurt village in the Bullring in a few weeks. Hotel bar tabs are nowhere were as hippyesque as homemade alcoholic Dandelion and Burdock, or oak leave wines. Looking around at conference there are some mightily impressively dressed hippies around these days in the opinion of the Home Secretary. Of ...
I noticed today that my first blog post was on 21 February 2004, meaning today is my blog's 6th Birthday. I was inspired to start my blog through the enjoyment of reading Lynne Featherstone's blog and the romantic idea of keeping a diary (although far from being able to be private).So after 537 posts, meaning an average of 7.5 posts a month, may I take this opportunity to apologise for my half
The BBC reports Simon Hughes' criticism of the Government for letting the plane take the strain a little too often. Party spokesman Simon Hughes said: Government staff should "use trains and video-conferencing more so they fly around the country less". "Civil servants are spending staggering amounts of taxpayers' cash flying around the UK," he added. "The Civil Service Code needs to change so that environmental factors are considered when travel bookings are made." Government departments spent £21.8 million on over 210,000 internal flights in the year 2008-9. Well over half that total is down to the MOD, with the Department ...
One of the questions on the repeat of Question Time on the BBC Parliament Channel earlier was about Gordon Brown's recent television interview. The first questioner asked whether it was a good idea for our PM to take part in the interview.We all know that the interview is part of Labour's election strategy, attempting to soften Gordon's image with the electorate and in the interim helping to
It's worth watching this video of Christine Pratt of the National Bullying Helpline. She says that she is not saying that Brown is a bully but that several of his staff called the helpline over the last few years and therefore there is a clear issue. This backs up the earlier Rawnsley story and means that there is a serious issue here. I have seen quite a few Tweets making light of this. That's wrong. We're always trying to reduce bullying in schools, and bullying in the workplace is also a big issue. When the leader of the country has ...
My snap of a wonderful piece of artwork by Nathan Coley above the Old Post Office in Tortine Street, Folkestone, Kent.
I've just finished a weekend of filming and photographing candidates and I'm sitting on the train at London Bridge waiting to go back to the flat. The news is of Brown the bully in the press. Well, this is hardly news. He's known for brooding and being bad tempered. Basically he is not well tailored for the job of PM. Nevertheless, PM he currently is. How long he remains is yet to be seen. There
Countdown to Election Day It's been so long since I blogged that I'd almost forgotten my log-in details. There always seems to be something more important and urgent to do as a PPC still trying to earn a crust and carry on a normal life. There probably is. But now, and for the next 74 days, ...
This is the question people in the Labour party must be asking. After a weekend out on the campaign trail its clear that Gordon Brown does not have the confidence of voters. So its clear that Labour have to do something. They've tried to show his human side in the same week that allegations of him bullying staff surfaced. I am not sure there is a way to solve it. People do not trust the judgement of a man who for years promised "no return to Boom and Bust" and then presided over the biggest recession of any major western ...
Taken the afternoon off today as we have been at the Civic Hall, Conwy, every night for the last week working on the annual Teenz & Kidz pantomime. This year's show was Goldilocks and the Three bears. This drama workshop was set-up 15 years ago this week with the aim of " Getting the Kids off the streets" and the membership is open to all and consists of a diverse background. I enjoy being the Chairman of this group and also Chief Bottle Washer as the feedback we receive from the local schools and parents is very positive regarding the ...
The Telegraph reports: Girls are feeling under pressure to please boys while boys believe they must sleep with several girls to fit in [according to a study] written by clinical psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos for the Home Office. She said: "Little boys are always told 'aren't you clever, aren't you strong'. Little girls are told 'aren't you pretty?' even in 2010. "They are adhering to what society expects and internalising behaviours." Dr Papadopoulos cited the example of the computer game Miss Bimbo, where the aim of the game is to accumulate boob jobs and marry a billionaire. The Evening Standard ...
Bangladeshi politics is dominated by two political parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Such a two-party system is, in itself, not unusual. However, the divide between the two parties is based on the relationship between two men, both of them dead, and is the cause of genuine and sustained hostility, up to and including violence and murder. The Awami League is the older of the two, founded in 1949 and, amongst its key players was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a persistent thorn in the side of the Pakistani government, and a passionate believer in greater autonomy for the ...
OK - we've been grumbling for months now about the weekend Jubilee closures, the Overground closures - but it was still possible, with a bit of careful plannng, to get about - however this weekend it became totally impossible! Transport for London, in its infinite unwisdom, decided to resurface and close Finchley Road southbound for the weekend. All the Finchley Road traffic then diverted to Fortune Green Road (see pic for the amazing site of buses nose to tail opposite the police station!)I tried my usual escape route in time of crisis - bus to Golders Green and then the ...
Well done to Amy Williams who won Great Britain's first solo gold medal at a Winter Olympics for many years. A great achievement for Amy and for Great Britain. After spending yesterday at the Indoor Championships in Birmingham, it is clear that we are finally supporting our athletics (probably the best legacy of the Mayor Government), ensuring they are the best in the world.I blogged during the
Yesterday this blog was added to the Liberal Democrat blogs aggregator. Thanks Ryan! This excellent service at www.libdemblogs.co.uk combines the blog posts of all those people blogging who identify themselves as Liberal Democrats. It is a great way of keeping up with what is happening in Lib Dem land and promoting your blog. As an act of reciprocityI've added a link to the site to my sidebar.
On balance, I prefer the habit in academic journals of stuffing in citations left, right and centre to the habit in op-eds of giving almost no sources for claims. However, bless 'em, academics do sometimes take this habit to extremes. Take this example from "Maple Leaf Foods: Crisis and containment case study" in Public Communication Review, Vol. 1, 2010: A crisis is a fluid, unstable, dynamic situation, (Fink, 1986) that brings an organisation into disrepute and threatens its future profitability, growth, and survival (Lerbinger, 1997). Unstable crises that threaten profitability? Wow, that sure is a controversial and unusual statement which ...
Kris Hopkins, Conservative leader of Bradford Metropolitan Council and parliamentary candidate for Keighley is still presiding over a great big hole in the middle of Bradford. And it just got bigger: the former police station is being knocked down too. I really, really hope Kris Hopkins doesn't let the art deco former Odeon Cinema get trashed. Not many towns have such a lovely art deco building. It would be far sighted to save it. Not too much hope then.
Astonishing but welcome words from the ex-Deputy Prime Minister and grandee Michael Heseltine who said he would "put money" on a hung parliament. The only chance for breaking the old stale and discredited duopoly of Labour and the Tories is to vote Lib Dem. We are the only principled party committed to a fairer freer Britain, with the track record of policies and the people to execute them once in office.
Next Friday (26 February), the Liberal Democrat Party President Baroness Ros Scott will be in Wolverhampton. Baroness Scott will be the speaker at the third Wolverhampton South West Annual Dinner.
First there was Baby P. Now it seems there is a Baby Y. For Haringey it will never be the same. After all of the media focus this one seemingly got lost under the radar. Domestic violence, rape, assualt. What a home life for this poor child (albeit still alive this time round). That is why child protection is there. That is why Haringey should not have floated the info away from the mainstream. That is why it can never happen again. I have made child protection referals during my career. They are not nice. It's not a comfortable experience. ...
I was rather puzzled by the Sunday Telegrpah's report today by Melissa Kite on the standing of party leaders, which claimed that Nick Clegg's net leader performance rating in polling for PoliticsHome had plummeted since last September. Puzzled because that would be way out of line with what the other polls have been saying. One email exchange with PoliticsHome later and lo, what was reported as a +5% rating in the most recent polling turns out actually to have been a +15% when then suffered a typo. At +15% the rating not only compares well to Cameron (+12%) and of ...
Tomorrow marks the real beginning of Student Union Elections at Reading University. This involves being handed a yellow pages worth of flyers, strange on campus stunts and lots of going out to win support. Reading University Lib Dems have several candidates running and we wish them all the best of luck. They are - Karl Hobley – NUS Delegate Mark Whiley – Student Trustee David Cruchley – Student Activities Simon Combstock – President. Most importantly I encourage everyone to vote. Its simple follow the link you have been sent on your webmail titled RUSU elections.
More than half the public (53%) think ID cards are a bad or very bad idea when reminded that "The government has proposed the introduction of identity cards that, in combination with your passport, will cost around £93". This compares to 37% saying they are a good or very good idea. Opposition to ID cards has grown since 2006 when only 33% opposed the idea. You can read more about the Liberal Democrat opposition to ID cards over on the Freedom Bill website. The results are from the State of the Nation Survey 2010, a new poll of 2,288 people ...
A new poll commissioned by Theos, the public theology think tank, shows an interesting light on the religious background to party support in Britain. In particular, of the Liberal Democrats it finds: The Liberal Democrats poll best amongst people who say they do not belong to any religion, scoring 26% compared to 20% overall and 18% amongst Christians... The poll also shows a gender divide in attitudes towards religion with women less likely than men to say their religious beliefs do not really influence their life (40% - 53%). The overall picture is of religion having more influence on women ...
And finally... why Hayek wasn't a monetarist:
Here's some more Hayek, this time on why our lack of complete information means we cannot achieve just distribution.
When it comes to economics, academics appear not to apply the same rules of scepticism regarding their own theories and learning from others. Perhaps this perception has come about because there are plenty of public rows about the best economic road to tread or because economic policy can have serious consequences for us all. But watch this clip of F.A. Hayek talking about John Maynard Keynes. According to Hayek, Keynes rejected an earlier position he had taken up and at the end of his life was questioning the consequences of some of his policies. Hayek is also open to Keynesian ...
As we lead up to February 24th, Estonia's national day, I find myself thinking of last years song festival, and one of the more beautiful songs in the incredible choral tradition of Estonia is a setting of a poem by Juhan Liiv, as follows: Ta lendab lillest lillesse, ja lendab mesipuu poole; ja tõuseb kõuepilv ülesse - ta lendab mesipuu poole. Ja langevad teele tuhanded; veel koju jõuavad tuhanded ja viivad vaeva ja hoole ja lendavad mesipuu poole! Nii hing, oh hing, sa raskel a'al - kuis õhkad sa isamaa poole; kas kodu sa, kas võõral maal - kuis ihkad ...
A few quotes from Labour's Campaign Quotations book from the 1951 General Election. Back in the days before the Internet (yes, young people, it didn't always exist), Labour published this 300 page book of quotes from friend and foe to help its eager activists. Socialism is a system of national co-operation. It is based upon the principle of co-operation, as opposed to the principle of competition. It is based on the principle of collectivism as opposed to the principle of individualism. It is union as against disunion, order as against anarchy. It means each for all and all for each, ...
The internet was down and I couldn't post about what a wonderful regional conference we had in Harrogate. Absolutely wonderful speeches from Michael Meadowcroft, always thought-provoking and bang on about core liberal values, Phil Willis, the man is a ...
At a large supermarket last week I asked for cashback for £50 – I received two twenties and one ten. So far so good. The problem was that the back one was a fake – not picked up by the member of staff. The ironic thing was that I went to buy something at the ...
Local campaigners have backed Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's plans to save our local shops. Across central London, including Bloomsbury and King's Cross, more than an eighth of shop units are now empty, and the figure is still rising. Shops on Leigh Street, Marchmont Street and Tavistock Place have stood empty throughout Gordon Brown's recession. Business rates ...
Discussions about Gordon Brown and his alleged temper have been reverberating around the political sphere in the last day or so triggered by extracts from Andrew Rawnsley's latest book being published in the Observer today. Lord Mandelson was on the Andrew Marr show earlier today doing his bit and batting for his boss. He did his best to try and belittle the revelations and was spinning that it is good to have a passionate and driven person in No 10. But then Marr asked him specifically if he had ever been hit by Brown. I was expecting a straightforward denial ...
Bill Brereton, former deputy North Wales Chief Constable and Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Delyn has hit out against Policing minister, local M.P. David Hanson, for the cuts in the number of police officers in North Wales. Home Office statistics show that from March 2005 to March 2009, the strength of police officers in North Wales has dropped by 5% (81officers) and the predicted cut of 20% in the Home Office grant to police authorities could see further reductions in the number of officers on the streets. This month, the Liberal Democrats announced their General Election plans to put 3,000 ...
Full of fresh ideas "New Tories". Only this morning, just in time for the Sundays, time to consider over our tea and toast - a brand new investment opportunity for the hoy palloy - cheap shares in our nationalised banks. I am old enough to remember the Ask Sid campaign. What I particularly remember is my socialist aunt, responding to the letter she received from British Gas asking if she wanted to buy any shares. She wrote back to tell them no thank you, she didn't want to buy shares in a company she already owned. And therein lies the ...
Today's interview in the Sunday Times with George Osborne provides further evidence that the Conservative Party still haven't made time in his busy schedule for that Economics 'A' level that he so badly needs. His suggestion that a Conservative government might sell off its shareholdings in the banks at a discount in order to offer the public a 'people's bank bonus' is, in the shallowest sense, good politics, in that it will be popular. However, the country's finances are in crisis, the national debt enormous, and the burden of servicing that date a heavy one. So how would giving state ...
Trust the two main parties to take an idea and not think it through. This time there's the shares for the banks as a `reward for the British taxpayer`. My view is why go round the houses when you can REALLY help those on lowest incomes by raising the tax threshold or splitting the money ...
Two things struck me about the allegations about Gordon Brown's temper, bullying and violence. Firstly - if Rawnsley has written something untrue - why doesn't Brown sue? Probably too simplistic. Secondly and perhaps more interestingly is what constitutes bullying? If a 'boss' shouts at an employee because they've done something wrong - something serious that puts the firm or organisation in jeopardy - is that bullying or is that just the sign of someone who is passionate about their work, firm or reputation? My mother, who ran a small chain of shops in London's West End was from the old ...
Putting aside allegations of temper tantrums in Number 10, my attention was drawn to this article in yesterday's Telegraph in which they go to former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine for his assessment of what is going to happen in the General Election. They say that Hezza has stunned activists by claiming that history is against Mr Cameron's hopes of securing an overall majority. Instead, the man who stormed out of Thatcher's Cabinet has said he would "put money" on a hung parliament, with the Tories the largest party. He believes that Mr Cameron would then be forced to ...
A selection of photos of St. Andrew's, well worth a visit! ------------------
Yesterday was supposed to be a good day for Gordon Brown. He was amongst friends at Warwick launching the campaign strategy for the Labour Party faithful and seemed to do quite well. The speech was met with rounded whoops and applause from the faithful who drank it all in and made him feel, for a ...
Here is my poster created using http://www.andybarefoot.com/politics/tombstone.php These posters can be found at http://mydavidcameron.com/tombstone/ unfortunately or fortunately (depending on your view) Clifford Singer of http://mydavidcameron.com has decided to knock it on the head. Read why at We can't go on like this... . It is a shame but I guess the main party bloggers or indeed the parties themselves will now be editing their opposition posters. It has been a good example of how a poster campaign can backfire (a little) in this age of the web. However the best thing about it is how funny some of these posters ...
Sun 21st
09:00
Daily View 2×2: 21 February 2010 including special "How does your website sound?" section
It's Sunday. It's 9am. It's time for an extra special YouTube-free musical bonus, but first the blogs and the latest from Ethiopia. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here's are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: New Brighton Pavilion Poll puts Greens in third: Colin Ross has the news from Brighton via ICM Kent Chief Exec - In the papers once again: Big News Margate reports on the £200,000 pay off the Conservative-run council gave to its Chief Executive, Peter Gilroy Spotted any other great posts in the ...
Staircase House is launching its 'Time For Bed' season in March to celebrate the work of a local group of embroiders. Staircase Stitchers will be showcasing their work from the past five years designing and creating six replica 17th century bed-hangings for the historic bedroom in the house. The special event to display the textile pieces is called '17th Century Changing Rooms' and is being held on Tuesday 23rd March, from 1.00pm to 5.00pm. Two of the completed bed-hangings, along with a selection of other embroidered items will be on display at the event. The group of volunteers meet twice ...
Not necessarily the best photos in the world, but here are a couple of pictures of the Fortis Green Allotments, which I took when delivering leaflets nearby recently. As I have already blogged, the allotments are under threat of development - although they have some protection as Significant Local Open Land (SLOL). They also have an active and effective campaign group working to protect them, which has support from across the political spectrum. There is a shortage of available allotments in Haringey, with people on the waiting list for years - which is a good enough reason in itself to ...
If you walk down or up the Kilburn High Road you can't help but notice the massive development taking place at number 156-162 (?) on the camden side. It's a huge retail development that includes going down into the basements as well as an extension on the roof to add a residential floor. In short it is a big major development. For too long it lay empty and looked like nothing was happening and now it's all a go-go. So the other day I was wandering along the back along Kingsgate Place - a charming small cobbled street that has ...
A new and deeply disturbing piece of data has been released to the public thanks to the charity Action against Medical Accidents(AvMA), who with a Freedom of Information request put to the Department for Health unearthed the list of NHS Hospitals and Trusts that fail to fully comply with the Alert system of the National ...
At a constituency Labour Party meeting in 2002 I ended up in an argument with a female activist – over all-women shortlists. At the time, the government was just completing the passage of the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act, which amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to allow positive discrimination in the form of all-women shortlists. ...
There has to be something amiss when one of the stalwarts of the Conservative party comes out from the shadows and tells the world (and the Telegraph) that he doesn't think that the Conservatives will get a big enough swing of the vote to have a clear majority in the forthcoming Generla Election. Michael Heseltine ...
Every political party has its Golden Oldies, vintage stalwarts who have not only put in many years of service to the party but continue to soldier on. But few such have as long a record and as much energy left as Stan Hardy from Dulwich, whose 90th birthday was celebrated at a joyfully noisy gathering ...
I've had an excellent couple of days of campaigning in Chorlton. Yesterday we managed to deliver our leaflets to almost all of the ward in just one day. And today has been a very encouraging and rewarding day of canvassing. I'm especially grateful to the huge team of people who have come out to help us recently. More and more people are telling us that they're planning to support the Lib Dems this time around and are coming out to help us. I have really enjoyed meeting lots of local residents and talking to them about local issues and their ...
I have been away for a few days in Edinburgh. This means that you will be seeing some of the photos in the photography blog in the near future and it also means that up to yesterday my political blogs were not current. I hope it wasn't too obvious but I'm now back to writing them the day before they are published. So what has happened while I have been away? I like writing blogs that have obvious answers and Nicholas Winterton provided the inspiration for this one particularly because I took the train to London only a week ago. ...
