Let's get straight to the point. I'm knackered. I've been on the go all day. I've filmed a stack of videos for candidates. I've run three photo ops for candidates and campaigners with Chris Huhne, Vince Cable and Nick Clegg. And I have been filming Chris Huhne for a party video about conference. Chris agreed to be presenter when I contacted him a couple of weeks ago. The aim is to have a
Visiting local chip shops is a necessary part of the campaign! We had a very nice chip buttie and pot of tea in the upstairs cafe.The picture shows Dan Harding with his award for being named the "Young Fish Fryer of the Year". My family had fish and chip shops on both my mother and fathers side so I think I have a little bit of chip fat in the blood and can only admire Dan for his achievement. Just writing this is making me hungry, I can feel another visit coming on!
Apparently Left Foot Forward has published a paper attacking Lib Dem plans to lift millions out of paying income tax by raising the threshold. It is written by Tim Horton from the Fabian Society and Howard Reed from the IPPR. Guido Fawkes, who provides all the links you need, takes them to task. As Our Lord said, and I think rightly, "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance".
Let's take another look in the diary. Unusually this week is dominated by my employment. Saturday 13 March - meet colleague from Hampshire for useful exchange of ideas - afternoon of leafleting Sunday 14 March - catch up on emails, telephone canvassing, prepare for Friday's debate Monday 15 March - more evening canvassing Tuesday 16 March - all day workshop with colleagues at work Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 March - off to a two day work conference in Stansted to enjoy myself Friday 19 March - interviewed by Meridian TV (to be confirmed) - in the evening a debate ...
BBC News had an interesting story on earlier about the use and abuse of interns. There were two things that really struck me about the whole story 1) The obvious difficulties which this creates for young people who are desperate to get some real experience in a particular field and who do not have the funds to ...
We have watched the first disc of season 2 of Heroes from lovefilm. It hasn't grabbed me at all, and George Takei is dead. Should we persevere through the series, or follow my gut instinct and knock the rest of it off the list so we can watch other things? Mohinder's pretty is not enough to keep me watching, I fear... View Poll: Heroes My March sponsor is Mark Reckons, who is currently enjoying himself at Conference, the git.
Apologies for the radio silence for the last few days (Tilt, I'll try to get that track to you at some point...) but I've been suffering from exhaustion – not just tiredness, but proper unable-to-function-in-any-coherent-way, barely-able-to-stand,unable-to-focus-the-eyes exhaustion – for the last week. For that reason today's post will just be linkblogging. I hope I'm coherent ...
I told Steve the hot bag check dude in Bournemouth that I'd see him in Birmingham, and maybe we could go for a drink, and now he's going to think I didn't mean it. Dammit. If he's there, can somebody tell him I am financially embarrassed, but will be at Liverpool? Cos, you know, he was hot. Mat got very amused by me rearranging my position in the bag check queue in Bournemouth so I'd get Steve LOL
Last month, I proposed to the City Council that a neighbourhood recycling centre be provided at Mitchell Street/Lochee Road. The Council's Recycling Projects Officer responded positively and I am very pleased to note that it is now in situ.
restored my faith a bit. Conference is not always a morale-boosting experience; the crystal clarity of this particular policy wonk is muddied by exposure to so many local interests, so much single-issue passion, and the sheer raucous chaos of party activism. But Nick Clegg's informal Q&A with the conference restored my confidence. I cannot on this ...
Just got a bit of down time here in Birmingham and I'm reflecting on the mood of party members. Back in Bournemouth last autumn there were unhappy undertones – not least because of the media narrative for the whole period. Birmingham is quite the opposite. Members are upbeat and positive and definitely ready for the fight ...
The exhibition hall is an important part of conference, along with the debates in the main hall, fringe events, training and, of course, the conference bar. So why are so many of the stands so dull? [IMG: Exhibition, Lib Dem Spring Conference 2010, Birmingham] (not necessarily these ones, I hasten to add). I know it's not easy to come up with a novel and interesting stand, especially on a limited budget, and I'll certainly plead guilty to being as unimaginative as the next man (probably more). But conference after conference the stands look much the same, in many cases just ...
A message from Vince Cable MP : Dear Fraser I have a very simple message for you. We, the Liberal Democrats, were right about the financial crisis. We warned of the dangers and led the debate when the crisis came. And now we have a clear vision for the future of the British economy. Now the public wants to know who can guide the country out of the present crisis. Who's going to deal with the broken, discredited banking system. Who's going to lead Britian out of the longest recession since the War. And who will deal with the unsustainable ...
I got the glad tidings by phone at 11am but have not had the chance to sit down and blog about it until now. I have however been busy in my constituency, counting cats and playing 'Where's Wally', of which maybe more anon. Anyway, I am now back in Birmingham, where my colleague Ruth Polling had ...
I don't know why, but I was assailed by a desire to listen to the original Blue Peter theme tune. It's below at the start of a compilation of all the Blue Peter theme tune versions. Quite frankly, the original was the best and the only one to hold a candle to it is the Mike Oldfield version.
There are sometimes you just want to have a little cry... What the hell is this? I'll tell you: this is a video from the "LibDems" official YouTube channel and that is our leader. He's probably saying something important but who knows, you can't tell because you're distracted by the background noise which outdrowns him. He doesn't seem to be wearing a microphone. And then there's the delegates being ushered out of the way of the camera's field of vision. It's just so unprofessional. This is our official Youtube Channel, one of the few avenues we can control completely and ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg answers questions at Spring Conference, Birmingham] In this afternoon's Q&A from the Conference hall, Nick Clegg tackled questions from the floor with a relaxed and confident manner that bodes well for the upcoming TV Leaders' Debates. He took questions from party members in the hall, before taking supplementaries. First up was education and whether schools should use the Pupil Premium to reduce class sizes. Nick said that the Pupil Premium seeks to give back trust to teachers and headteachers. Smaller class sizes are important for instilling a sense of self-confidence and willingness to learn, especially in the ...
The story so far: Emergency motion on the Digital Economy Bill submitted (see full text on Bridget Fox's blog) Federal Conference Committee treat it fairly generously – as emergency motions do not normally get into the territory of drawing up significant new party policy (because, by their nature, the wording is only published at the last moment and so people have little time to debate over it, draw up alternatives etc.). There are two emergency motions but only a slot to debate one of them – so conference voted this morning on which to debate tomorrow. Digital Economy Bill motion ...
If you do nothing else over the next few days, and you weren't actually there, listen to the podcast of the Lib Dem Voice fringe at Conference which you will find here.. It is brilliant. It has drama, it has rebellion and insubordination, it has humour. Daddy Alex's open defiance of Helen will delight as much as it shocks. The point was to unveil their new website which enables you to determine how authoritarian any MP is based on their votes on a series of crucial votes on such things as control orders, detention without trial, ID cards, the DNA ...
In honour of my writing this from Lib Dem spring conference in Birmingham, today's (short) list is Pop Songs That Name Constituencies With Liberal Democrat MPs. It's also inspired by the first entry on the list, which – bizarrely – was being sung outside the conference hotel in the early hours last night. Despite our 63 MPs, few constituencies are likely to appear in song lyrics because they contain qualifiers (mainly compass points). So Brent East, Leeds North West, Bristol West, Cardiff Central and Oxford West and Abingdon are unlikely to feature. I've managed to come up with six. Any ...
Well, if you're going to get Pete Waterman to write a song, of course it's going to be a poppy seeded cheesefest. Our Eurovision entry, chosen last night, is exactly that. It takes you right back to the days of Rick Astley, Jason Donovan when he had the floppy hair and, basically, in my case, my youth. Those songs are the soundtrack to my late teens and early twenties, the time when I met and married Bob. I know, I could have chosen the path of decent music, but you really should go with what makes you feel good, and ...
The simple answer is that it has been closed to traffic, because it is about to be resurfaced. You've probably read in the national press about the pothole crisis. The severe weather this winter has really damaged the surface of the roads, so in the last few weeks the engineers have been out surveying every road in the borough. There are three kinds of repairs that can be done. The cheapest option is patching, where the pothole is filled in and levelled. Next comes resurfacing, where the surface of a whole stretch of road is removed and then new tarmac ...
I had the privilege today of watching heats of the National Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition. It was held in your actual Reading Crown Court. To see Year 8 and 9 pupils in all the roles of the court is quite extraordinary. A marvellous learning experience for them. And it is wonderful to see youngsters so adept at playing the roles of barristers, court clerks, magistrates, witnesses and even defendants. Our excitement tutrned to delight at the end when it was announced that our own Trinity school and performing arts college won first place in the Reading heat and will ...
I suppose we all ought to be surprised and shocked to find out that the BNPs new non racists non discriminatory rules are actually still racist. It doesn't matter how many times the BNP deny it, the very point of the BNP is that they are a racist party, that is the reason for their being and the reason for their support. Trying to deny it is like claiming that Manchester United are not a football team.
Sat 13th
17:43
Live blogging: Reports of the Federal Executive and the Federal Finance and Administration Committee
Federal Executive (FE) report moved by Ros Scott - "I hope it is a sign that you are all fairly happy with the party that the room is emptying so rapidly." Explains FE meetings always start with a session with Nick Clegg and also gets regular updates on the general and local election campaigns. Explains how FE has changed more to a scrutiny model (cf House of Commons select committees) and has paid particular attention to party membership/recruitment and to IT. Update on the Bones Commission report - those within the FE's remit have now mostly been carried out. Creation ...
I used this clip before shortly after Michael Foot died. "The liberty of the press in this country can only be maintained by the vigilance of the people, and the vigilance of parliament the courage of the newspapers themselves. That's the only way. Therefore we must, fight, fight, fight to maintain those liberties," he said. So why is it that the left wing Blogosphere is up in arms that Iain's Dale's magazine Total Politics is interviewing the BNP's Nick Griffen? They're threatening a boycott or a magazine that does give an unbiased view of British politics especially compared with the ...
Visited these 2 to spread the Lib Dem word. Very keenly received very good staff working hard for the people - finding life bizarre where people on lifelong benefits are better off than them working their whatsits off for the most important people who too often aren't respected. Our elders
"If people constantly frighten themselves to thinking that the only possibility is two old answers to every problem - the red team or the blue team - then we won't allow politics to change in the way I think people's voting behaviour suggests people want it to change: more plural, more diverse, not stuffed in to this old duopoly."It's not romantic, it is much more heartfelt than that. The British political system and the whole clapped out Westminster architecture, and the language that we use about politics, it's completely unsustainable. You either decide to be part of that transition to ...
Malcolm Tucker appears to be writing a series of columns in the Guardian, which considering he is fictional is an impressive feat. It's well known that Tucker is viewed as something of an inspiration to many spin doctors in the Westminster Bubble - Armando Iannucci tells a story that when filming In The Loop it was a senior Whitehall spinner that suggested that Peter Capaldi be filmed leaving the actual 10 Downing Street front door and organized it. On the day of filming, the press pit opposite was full of "special advisers" all cheering for Capaldi. So one has to ...
The new issue of Liberator is on sale at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Birmingham. It includes an article celebrating the daunting fact that I have been writing Lord Bonkers' Dairy for 20 years. I am posting it here in two parts. The second will be up tomorrow. ****** Twenty Years of Lord Bonkers Jonathan Calder Growing up in Market Harborough, it was hard to ignore Lord Bonkers. If you climbed any of the hills that ringed the town then the slender spire of St Asquith's, the gaunt pinnacles of the Home for Well-Behaved Orphans and, most impressive of ...
The much anticipated Formula One Season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain. The rather melodramatic headline is taken from something former driver and now ace tv commentator Martin Brundle said at the end of last season. This year, there is no in race re-fuelling, which means that drivers will have to get used to a car which is much longer to accommodate a fuel tank which contains around 170kg of fuel - around 3 times as much as last year's. Brundle said that handling a car with that much fuel on board was like trying to manoeuvre a pregnant elephant. ...
I am in Birmingham for the Liberal Democrats' spring conference this weekend. The Conference just before a general election is always a bit different. Many people who are usually here are back working in their constituencies. The level of policy debate diminishes as the party concentrates on making it's pitch to the voters. There are no key policy changing debates. No serious rows in the conference hall. Instead a, hopefully clear and persuasive, articulation of our election themes. My key impressions so far are that Birmingham works really well as a party conference venue. The prices are reasonable and not ...
Party business sessions are usually fairly thinly attended at party conference, except back in the days of disaster and near bankrupcy immiediately after the merger which formed the Liberal Democrats. They can however play an important role, particularly where well chosen questions tease out information or get commitments on the record. James Graham's question this morning about the Digital Economy Bill was a good example of this (and would have been even more cruicial has the emergency motions ballot not decided to debate the topic on Sunday morning). And so, here I am back in the conference hall for part ...
It is rare that the main political parties agree on a topic, Basing View is one of those topics. Of course the Lib Dems want renewable energy, grey water recycling and rainwater capture, green roofing etc should all be part of our plans. The Tories are more interested in the short term cash. However we do agree that Basing View needs improvement. The first phase has been to put a foot path through No.1 Basing View to make access easier. This work is well under way with new turf and planting taking place. A resident has tipped me off that ...
I was in the hall for Vince Cable's speech to the Lib Dem conference a little earlier, and one of the things that struck me is how much of a contrast Vince is to Nick Clegg when he speaks. And I mean this very much in a positive sense. Vince speaks soberly about the challenges the ...
I don't know the in and outs of BA cabin crew's dispute with the management of the company and neither do I care. The only fact we the general public need to accept is that the staff union, have held a ballot of members, who have, one presumes after due consideration of the facts, concluded, that industrial action is necessary, having no doubt weighed up the risk of putting the company out business etc. thus making negotiations pointless. To simple minded adherents to the free market, like your average Conservative lackey, the press and some bloggers see Simon Moores appear ...
When the main hall is packed at a Spring Conference, you can be sure it isn't because everyone wants to debate the third clause of the Federal Conference Committee's report, or even (as we heard this morning) discuss the rights and wrongs of holding a conference that clashes with Mothers' Day. No, it's because St. Vince of Twickenham is taking to the stage. The halo may have slipped slightly on occasion, most notably the hastily-revised Mansion Tax proposals made at Bournemouth last September, but for the party faithful it's still Vince who can heal the sick and, if weather conditions ...
Just posted on the Liberal Democrat website: In his speech, Vince Cable said that the Liberal Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility and fairer taxes. The full text of the speech is below: I have a very simple message. We, the Liberal Democrats, were right about the financial crisis. We warned of the dangers and we led the debate ...
Yesterday, to Oxford, for the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture at the Said Business School, in memory of my father, given by Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the Financial services Authority. I was a virtuoso performance, in which he outlined the FSA's new consumer protection strategy. and was followed by an equally coruscating question and answer session. Why the Tories would transfer the FSA to the Bank of England isn't clear to me. The consumer protection functions of the FSA would go to a new Consumer Protection Agency with its own management, premises and IT system, the cost of which ...
Vince Cable has just finished giving his speech to Liberal Democrat party members at Spring Conference in Birmingham. Thanks to the dismal live coverage from the national media, not many people got to see/hear Vince's speech. I live tweeted the speech for those that could gain access to it. Here are the highlights of the ...
Last night a good crowd turned out to hear Paul Burstow MP, Mark Pack, Alex Wilcock and Bridget Fox talk about our new online project, Authoritarianism vs Liberalism and to talk more generally about their work and current campaigns. [IMG: Lib Dem Voice fringe meeting: Make authoritarian MPs pay at the ballot box] As ever, I was there with my trusty Zoom H2 so that we can share the fringe meeting with our listeners at home. Unfortunately in our efforts to demo our new website to our live audience, we were using a mobile internet service that has had the ...
Yasmin Alibhai Brown has just pledged support for the Lib Dems in a discussion on the BBC News Channel this lunch time. Apparently Colin Firth, Kate Winslett, Andrew Motion and Brian Eno have also said they'll be supporting us, though I believe Brian Eno did so in the previous general election. The Lib Dem convert I'm most pleased about, however, is Edward McMillan Scott, MEP. He has left the Conservatives and joined the Liberal Democrats because he cannot stomach the Tories' decision to go in with some appallingly right wing parties in the European Parliament (which are nearer to the ...
THIS is why most of the country wants Vince Cable to be the next Chancellor. Filed under: General Rantings, Liberal Democrats, Politics Tagged: andrew marr, Liberal Democrats, vince cable
As the graphic shows below, its really that close here in Woking between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. We know we are doing all the right things and that we are the only local party that can really enact change in Woking that will make a real difference for local people. I am hopeful that ...
Very sneakily, Clegg's team have found a neat way to turn questions about hung parliaments into a positive message about Lib Dem policy. We saw it on the news today, and I'm sure we'll see it wheeled out again – and again, and again, probably until journalists get bored of asking the question. When asked what the Lib Dems would do in the event of a hung parliament, Nick's strategy is to say what the Lib Dems would want to get from any sort of deal, which mysteriously matches closely with the four key themes. Nick says we would want ...
Not perhaps the most likely of allegations - I'm sure MI5 can commission its own research and ISPs don't need MI5's money to do their own market research either - but then that's what the music industry lobbyists have been suggesting may be the case. In a leaked circular about the Digital Economy Bill sent to music industry interests by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the following comment features: The debate has been given an extra twist with a Talk Talk sponsored survey today, which says that 71% of 18-34 year olds would continue to infringe copyright, in spite of ...
That was the message of Danny Alexander's speech to the Liberal Democrat spring conference this morning. Change – but not just any sort of change: Two ideas will dominate this election campaign: change and fairness. Only one party is arguing at this election for both fairness and change: the Liberal Democrats. Change: because business as usual is not the answer to the economic, political, and environmental crises that we face. Fairness: because too many people in our society are still held back because of the circumstances of their birth, their sex or their parent's bank balance. He repeated a now ...
In a close vote in the conference hall, Lib Dem conference delegates decided to debate "Freedom, Creativity and the Internet" as the single emergency motion to be considered tomorrow. The alternative NHS motion was narrowly edged out. Promoters of the Freedom, Creativity and the Internet motion hope that it will send a clear signal of the Lib Dems both understanding and supporting a liberal position on enforcement of copyright laws online.
Once upon a time, along long time ago when the world was young and green, the sun used to travel through the skies every day, smiling down on all the creatures and plants. Out of all the creatures she saw each day, she liked the birds the best because their shiny feathers reflected all the different colours of her light, sparkling like jewels. The birds spent their days flying through the trees and fishing in the rivers, eating seeds and preening and admiring their feathers in the sunshine. They loved to talk about how beautiful they were, chatter, chatter all ...
I have to say I am seriously wondering if their is a conference on or not? I have seen rare glimpses of Nick Clegg popping up on my television this morning on what appears to be a forum of some kind, but for all intents and purposes, there doesnt appear to be anything of note ...
It is a good line: "From being a liberal Conservative I become a conservative Liberal." Euro-MP Edward Mcmillan-Scott has joined the Liberal Democrats. I like Edward (sound on Palestine) but his words are I think very accurate indeed. I think of him as a Heathite Conservative rather than as an instinctive Liberal. Political parties can often best be judged not by the more temperate views of their leaders but by the opinions of those on the edges. I feel comfortable with the Liberal Democrat 'grassroots' but could not stand being amongst their opposite numbers in the Conservative ranks. That McMillan-Scott ...
Yay! for Spring Conference being featured prominently on Radio 4's midnight news; how convenient that very little else going on in the world was worthy of the attention of the BBC's news editors. BUT - Boo! for the stories that they chose to lead on; the (two-day old) announcement that the delightful Anna Arrowsmith, an auteur in the films de charme genre whose titles include Hug A Hoodie, Take This Down, and A & O Department, has been selected to contest the no-hope seat of Gravesham at the General Election, and the (fortnight-old) unveiling of the official party campaign slogan, ...
A good conference rally is fun to attend and tricky to report on, simply because there should be nothing new. The audience ideally leaves reminded of the key messages and enthused to fight the good fight – there's plenty of time for controversy over the rest of the weekend. As in Bournemouth, the rally took on a glitzy feel: dry ice, bright lights, (relatively) slick presentation. Lorely Burt opened procedings with a few jokes, and promise of holding her seat in Solihull, where the Lib Dems overturned a 9,400 Tory majority last time round. Then a selection of parliamentary candidates ...
Carers Forum Although not on the agenda a slot was provided for Dennis Bartholomew, the Equality Officer for Sutton to update the Forum on new procedures for monitoring hate incidents. It was highlighted that hate incidents can be common against those with a disability as well as the more commonly recognised race hate offences. The suicide ...
...and today is mine, so no proper blog today. But I'll still be out canvassing and delivering at some point, inspired by the thought that we're the only proper major political party, the other two having become marketing companies.
Edward McMillan-Scott's letter informing David Cameron why he is no longer pursuing he appeal against expulsion from the Conservative party contains three reasons which really condemn. Here it is in full. 12 March 2010 Dear David, I am resigning today from my appeal against expulsion from the Conservative party and from the party itself to join the Liberal Democrats for three reasons: 1. I have been around the higher circles of the party long enough, most recently serving on both the Euro-election and general election strategy committees at CCHQ, to know that Euroscepticism is in the hearts of most Conservatives. ...
For some reason the media appear to ignored last night's very successful Liberal Democrat Conference rally with Nick Clegg, Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams and sought to focus instead on the selection of the party's candidate for Gravesham in Kent. Anna Arrowsmith is a successful entrepreneur. It just so happens that her business is of the sort that makes headlines in tabloid newspapers. However, as Nick Clegg pointed out last night, at least her business is legitimate. She has not just be arraigned in the courts accused of fiddling her expenses as an MP. Ms Arrowsmith herself seems very bemused ...
I've an article published on The Guardian's Comment Is Free website to mark the launch of Lib Dem Voice's 'How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP?' website. As the website's sub-heading notes: "A new website ranking MPs' anti-authoritarian credentials reveals that the Liberal Democrats are the party of freedom." No surprise to us Liberals, of course; but it may sometimes comes as a pleasant surprise to liberals thinking of voting Labour/Tory. Anyway, here's the article – there seems to be some, erm, vigorous discussion over at the CiF website, so feel free to join in there. One sure-fire way to ...
It being a fine Saturday, what better excuse is needed for forgetting about our politics and thinking about politics in America again. Hey, it's been a while! The big hooha at the moment in the States surrounds Obama's apparent further drop in support. Approval ratings are tanking, with them now being some way below the 50% ...
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat spring conference this morning, Danny Alexander MP (Vice Chair of the Federal Policy Committee and chair of the party's General Election Manifesto Group) said the party will seek to make further changes to the Digital Economy Bill when it comes to the Commons. The Bill, currently passing through the Lords, has been the subject of much debate (such as here and here) and yesterday Liberal Democrat peers announced plans to table further amendments to the bill. This morning Danny Alexander committed the party to supporting further changes to the Digital Economy Bill, saying: There is ...
Thousands of people are to be offered a special 'free weekend' at visitor attractions in County Durham as a thank you for backing Durham's UK City of Culture bid. Durham Cathedral, The Bowes Museum, Crook Hall Gardens, The Botanic Gardens, Beamish Museum and the Oriental Museum are just some of the main line attractions taking part in a Durham Celebration Weekend on Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21. Residents can pick up vouchers from next Wednesday at Tourist Information Centres and libraries allowing up to six people free entry to most attractions taking part. A special 'passport' is also ...
Hmmm, I'm sure I promised either here or at Y Barcud Oren that I'd post my European Law essay on the difference between the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Constitution, but I can't find the promise. Still, thanks to the surprisingly effective wonders of cut-and-paste, please find enclosed 1,400 words of legally analysed goodness... The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisboni on December 1st, 2009, was the culmination of a decade-long process of reform that started with the failed Constitutional Treatyii. Much of the rhetoric surrounding Lisbon in the UK has focused on the question of whether it ...
Sat 13th
09:25Stephen Tall and Mark Pack on the launch of 'How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP?' website
To co-incide with the launch yesterday by Lib Dem Voice of our new 'How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP?' website – http://rank.libdemvoice.org – two articles apeared in the media ... LibDemVoice blog launches digital tool rating MPs' 'authoritarian' status (PRWeek) 'Although politics is often talked about in terms of left vs right, for a lot of people the liberal/authoritarian spectrum is the more important one,' LibDemVoice editor Mark Pack told PRWeek. 'It's one that tends to get a bit more overlooked but is often what distinguishes people.' Meanwhile Stephen Tall penned an article for The Guardian's Comment Is Free ...
Howard's cartoon from yesterday's Liberal Democrat News.
It's been a while since we last reminded readers about this, so now seems a good time to publish the information again. You may have noticed that next to some people's comments is a small picture of themselves, such as: If you want a picture to appear next to your comments you need to do two things. Visit Gravatar.com, create an account and upload a picture. Post a comment, ensuring that your email address that you've used on Gravatar is the same one that you've put in the comment field. One thing to watch out for – the Gravatar displayed ...
Cross-posted from Lib Dem Voice ... In just under an hour's time, the Lib Dem Voice spring conference fringe takes place in Birmingham, marking the official launch of our new website: How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP? The site's web address is http://rank.libdemvoice.org. (We will be uploading the podcast of the Lib Dem Voice fringe meeting here as soon as possible.) How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP? has a very simple aim: to provide an easy way for the public to find out online how liberal or authoritarian are the views of their MP according to his or ...
During the week I did this guest post for Left Foot Forward: You judge a set of tax proposals by who gets what money. It sounds obvious, doesn't it? Who could possibly object to that? Well, for a start - me. The reason is highlighted by Will Straw's analysis of the key policy goals laid down by Nick Clegg. Looking at the Liberal Democrat proposals to raise the basic threshold to £10,000 and so take millions out of the income tax system all together, Will judged it on the basis of who gets what in their pocket (or rather, a ...
The Birmingham Mail reports: He's recently been touted as a Lib Dem supporter after attending one of their parties at the House of Commons, but Rory admits that, professionally speaking, he doesn't want them to do well in the general election - because he can't take off Nick Clegg. "I struggle with David Cameron, but I find Clegg particularly difficult to master," confesses the impressionist and satirical comic, who is about to embark on his first tour in five years. "I imagined meeting him at the party and him asking 'Can you do me?' I was going to say 'No, ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] Once again the council's case work stats have been released for the last two quarters - and it's some interesting reading! This time it has proved very useful, because Labour were trying to suggest that my ward colleague Daisy was to busy to do basic ward work... I think the numbers speak for themselves [IMG: ;)] [IMG: 10 chart] As you can see 5 of the top 10 councillors are Lib Dems and two of those are also potential MP's after the next general election (Being Daisy Benson for Reading West and Gareth Epps for Reading East)! I ...
The emergency motion to LibDem conference on 'Freedom, creativity and the internet' has passed its first hurdle, having been approved by our Federal Conference Committee for debate. Although slightly shortened to meet the criteria for emergency motions, it's added a request for a proper policy working group on the issues, which if passed means we can ...
Interesting article in today's Times regarding the relationship between the Conservative Leader and his Shadow Chancellor. Curiously, considering the election is so close, David Cameron seems to be hinting that George Osborne might not be his first choice for Chancellor if he becomes Prime Minister: In an interview with Sir Trevor McDonald to be broadcast tomorrow, Mr Cameron acknowledges that although the pair are friends, "we recognise that there are tensions in any political relationship". Asked if he could dismiss Mr Osborne, the Tory leader says: "Yes, and we've had that conversation. He is a good friend but we've had ...
If you've read Iain's post about Anna Arrowsmith "The LibDem Candidate Who Supports Labour" there's one little detail you won't have seen. The shocking piece of text saying that Anna Arrrowsmith supports Labour is ... six years old. Yes verily, it's shocking news that the party has selected as a candidate someone who was a Labour supporter six years ago [IMG: :-)] Hat-tip and further details: this comment from Alex Macfie
Lib Dem Voice have launched a new tool showing how authoritarian or liberal your MP has been over it is based on 10 key round of votes over the life of the current Parliament on 10 issues. A liberal approach earned 0 points an authoritarian stance 10. The issues were (read more details here): ID Cards (Vote 18 October 2005)Control Orders (3 March 2009)MP's Expenses - exception from Freedom of Information request (20 April and 18 May 2007) Extradition Act 2003 vote on review (15 July 2009)DNA Database - protecting the innocent (19 January 2010)Abolition of Parliament Bill (Legislative and ...
The problem with power is that is goes to people's heads. The more power they have the greater capacity for self deception. There is a false belief in their own competence that blind them to the reality. Here are a few examples In 2008 Hillngdon lost £20 million in the financial collapse of Iceland. To date we have only recovered £3-4m of that. When I criticised the Council at the time I was howled down by them saying it was fully recoverable. We now have the spectacle of them trying to capitalise £4 million of losses which even they now ...
Westminster City Council has cancelled the tendering of its four-year parking contract after a legal flaw and must start again from scratch. How much has this error alone cost council tax payers? The council had already named Mouchel as the winner of the £50million contract to provide parking enforcement services across the borough, but had to ...
Naomi's story: Many, many times have I been grateful for the quick and safe reactions of the staff of the Whittington A&E. Just one story? I run a group for mothers and babies nearby. One afternoon, a toddler knocked over a mug of very hot tea. His mother tried to comfort him, but he was obviously in pain. I suggested she hurry to the Whittington A&E, and said I'd come and meet her there after the meeting. When I got there, she was in a separate room with her son. A doctor arrived and dealt with the burn with an ...
2009 was a long year for crisis hit Anne Moffat, the Labour MP for East Lothian, where the Liberal Democrats are second and where Labour's Scottish leader, Iain Gray's Scottish Parliament's seat is. Moffat's re-selection as the MP started back in 2008 and still the saga goes on and on and on. In the latest twist Labour's ruling body, the NEC, will have the final say on Moffat's re-selection, but has now allowed a full meeting of the local party membership enabling members to vote on the issue in the next few days. It appears that the NEC will announce ...
St Mungo's, the very large homeless hostel of Arlington Close (off Ennersdale Road) is hosting an open day event in conjunction with the Safer Neighbourhood Team for Lewisham Central. This event is set for next Friday 19th March, 4pm to 8pm. In the words of PCSO Andy Griffey: This will give you a chance to look around the ...
OK, me, OK, ignore the fact that you're not at Conference having a good time, and that you're going to lose more than half your week's wage this week because of your stupid innards just at the point when your rent is due, and that you can't get to sleep to night due to a fabulous combination of the insomnia that's been plaguing you all week and excruciating pain and needing the loo every five minutes... There must be some good stuff... 1, I looked at analytics today. Who knew that if you post to a blog, people will read ...
St Albans City and District Council is to meet with Tesco to discuss the future use of its London Road site following the supermarket's decision to abandon plans to build a large store on the land and to relocate its city centre store to the old Woolworths building in St Peter's Street, St Albans. The Council is planning to consult with Tesco on the future use of the site, as part of its work on the emerging Core Strategy for the Local Development Framework (LDF) for St Albans City and District. The LDF incorporates work undertaken last year on the ...
[IMG: cyberman] Last night's Newsnight (see below) led on the LibDem protocols in the event of a hung Parliament. Chris Huhne stood up to the plate to answer Gavin Esler's questions off the back of a pretty jaw dropping package by Michael Crick. Chris said that he understood a conference resolution passed in Southport in 1998 applies to the party post-May 6th if there's no overall majority in the House of Commons. This would mean that Nick would require a 75% majority of BOTH LibDem MPs and 75% of the Federal Executive before (according to Crick) Nick could "do a ...
So another person has been driven to an early grave by the bullying behaviour of so called neighbours. According to the Independent the gentleman concerned had been bullied for a decade Ms Davies said her neighbour was targeted because of his learning difficulties, adding: "They would torment him all the time. Sometimes ...
Generally I like to get comments as they make me think more deeply about what I have written. On Wednesday I wrote about health insurance and got a comment in three parts. The first agreed with what I had written. There are some instances when private insurance should be taken out. We may disagree on the detail but that's fine. We are all different. The second point was about why we go to hospital. I mentioned going with a scratch, but this could be anything from a scratch to a Monty Python scratch which is more like the loss of ...
Douglas Carswell, the Tory MP for Harwich, has claimed that the Conservatives are the party of the Levellers! The Levellers (not the band) were an important faction before and during the English Civil War of the mid-17th century. I studied them, and others, in my degree, and going back over my notes I can't see anything that links them with the tiniest thread within modern Tory political philosophy. Their manifesto, the "Agreement of the People" was inherently republican and democratic. Just the sort of thing to be supported by the present Tory front-bench!
