Another Tory airbrushing story, but it is not on the scale of Southport and Sefton Central accidental airbrushing of Tory candidates. It took them weeks to notice!
Catch-up special on Saturday 20 March (details including repeat slots here) and then its the first new episode on Monday 22 March, 9pm on Five. Previous episodes are available to watch via Demand Five.
I love this show, and Holly loves the books so much that her copy of the original one is completely knackered now... They should totally bring it out on DVD. But until then, there's always this YouTube channel... My March Sponsor is Mark Reckons. I wonder what his favourite obscure kids' TV show is?
This evening I attended a public consultation meeting to gauge public views towards the Council's developing tree strategy which was held at St Joseph's Convent School in Upper Redlands Road. The meeting was organised by the Redlands GLOBE group which campaigns locally on environmental issues and a good number of residents turned out. This gives you an inkling as to how important the street environment and trees in particular are to local residents in our community. Over the past few years a large number of trees in streets around Redlands - this loss has been widely felt - particularly in ...
Just as the Libdems announce A Campaign for Body Confidence, the Conservative candidate for Gosport, Caroline Dinenage, was air brushing her photo for a billboard. However, unlike Cameron's airbrushing, this seems to reflect a cultural attitude within the local Tory party of Gosport. If we cast our mind back, a few months ago, the Chairman of the ...
Paperwork in the morning, and then out after lunch to meet St Laurence residents. I had some interesting and useful conversations. But a relatively new, relatively new volunteer had the scoop of the day. On one the last doors he knocked on he found a lady who initially told him that she was going to vote for another party. By the time he left, she had decided not only that she was going to vote Liberal Democrat, but that she was going to display a poster, and start coming to Liberal Democrat coffee mornings. After the door knocking session we ...
Tomorrow (Wednesday 17th March) between 7 and 9pm, Dr Deborah Long, Plantlife Scotland's Conservation Officer, based at the University of Stirling, will give a talk on Plant Conservation. Taking place at the Botanic Garden, entrance is free.
I was out fairly early to walk down to Old Leigh. A good-sized team met to knock on doors. Some very enjoyable conversations - and just a good place to be in the sunshine. After this, I called in at the Leigh Coffee morning, just around the corner from my flat. this is the way Liberal Democrats raise money: no Ashcroft for the Lib Dems. For once I left some time in the schedule to watch rugby, and went to the Broker to see England and Scotland play an old-fashioned bore-draw. Not sure I will bother next time.
The admirable Jonathan Glancey is interviewed about this campaign in a podcast on the Guardian website.
Seems the diggers are out in force by the shops. New design by the overpass. I seem to remember making comments on the state and layout of the shops 6 months ago. Good to see improvements starting to take place. What comes around goes around.
It seems Conservative politicians can't stop being airbrushed – always without their knowledge of course. The Mail has the story of Caroline Dinenage, Conservative candidate for Gosport: The digital makeover was initially denied by Miss Dinenage, who hopes to replace outgoing MP Sir Peter Viggers – notorious for his duck island expenses claim. 'By virtue of the fact it's so big it's slightly pixelated,' she insisted. 'It does look different but it's not airbrushed.' But her assistant Glenn Duggan admitted the image had been changed without her knowledge, adding: 'It has been done to make it more visually attractive for ...
Stephen Rhodes, a presenter on BBC Three Counties Radio, has today announced he is to run as an independent candidate for the Luton South seat at the general election. That is according to local news sources: 'Radio presenter to stand as election candidate'. This brings the number of independents with the declared intention of standing in Luton South up to four. With the three main parties, UKIP and the Greens that all adds up to a lot of choice for the residents of the constituency. According to Wikipedia one of his qualifications for representing Luton in Parliament, alongside an admitedly ...
When David Cameron described himself as a liberal conservative commentators and opponents weren't sure what to make of it. I have wondered if he is a one-nation Tory with a libertarian streak or perhaps more a Whig with a touch of conservatism. But listening to and reading comments by the Cameroon faction of the Conservative party makes me think I now understand what he means. My suspicion is that Cameron and his cabinet, if they become the next government, will want to govern as classical liberals. By that, I mean they intend to be fairly hands off and let things ...
This was first shown on BBC East in 2008. Deep joy to the eardroves.
Tue 16th
21:04
Electoral Commission publishes draft guidance on whether counts should be held on Thursday evening
With Parliament expected to pass legislation placing an onus on Returning Officers to start general election counts shortly after the polls close, rather than wait until Friday morning, the Electoral Commission has published a draft of the guidance it will be required to issue. The key points of the guidance are: If plans are already well advanced for election counts involving starting to count on the Friday, then it may be reasonable for the (Acting) Returning Officer to argue that it is too late for them to change plans. However, given the legal obligation to take reasonable steps to start ...
OK, after a draw against Australia (moral victory), in which some people had the nerve to argue against Heinz's Germanness, I'm going with the much more German-named Peter Thomas. Specifically a track from The Erotic World Of The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra. But I'm unsure as to which one to go for, the genuinely deranged ...
The Peterborough Evening Telegraph walks off with Headline of the Day.
Canvassing in Sacriston today. Highlight = lunch in Community centre (all day brekkie) ironically the site of Lab MP's monthly half hour with the people. No sausages but extra bacon. Every cloud
Jennie Rigg explains why you should vote, and vote Lib Dem.Mark Pack writing on The Wardman Wire explains how Twitter can be used as a local campaigning tool.Anthony Barnett writing on OurKingdom explains how The Lib Dems are behaving like a party in countries that are better governed than our own.Paul Waugh explains how the Speaker has put the backs of some Tory MPs up.Emma Burnell explains how political correctness is actually just an attempt to consign hate speech to the dustbin of history. And as a Tuesday bonus, here is something I came across today. One of the joys ...
So asks Ross Lydall over in the Evening Standard: How many voters are ready to turn against their MP over the expenses scandal? A fascinating battle in a hotly-contested north London constituency looks set to provide some answers. On one side is Labour whip Dawn Butler. On the other is Lib-Dem MP Sarah Teather. They have been thrown together in a new seat as a result of boundary changes, and there is now a fight to the death to see which one returns to Westminster after the election to represent Brent Central... What Ms Teather, described as a "saint" by ...
Firstly, an update on Print PEP! for those who are wondering why it's taken so long: Simply, my Scribus problems escalated – at some point a system update replaced a load of my fonts with similarly-named ones, and confused it enough that I didn't just have to redo the last 15 pages and add in a ...
As the train rushed through mid-Essex, ace Returning Officer Mark Valladares reflected over his glass of Fleurie. It had been a difficult year in his mission to bring democracy to Liberal Youth but there was a sense that, this time, he might have found a solution that worked. At least, this time the blood stains had been cleaned up before rumours started, the assassination squad had slipped into the night unnoticed and, all in all, it looked like a tidy job. Oh yes, there had been issues. Ottawa had only come through at the last moment, there were newspaper articles ...
Excellent to see Evan Harris, the MP for Oxford West & Abingdon, become the latest Liberal Democrat MP on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DrEvanHarris I've also added him to my list of all Liberal Democrat MPs on Twitter, which lets you follow them all in one place: http://twitter.com/#/list/markpack/libdem-mps
The opinion polls are up-and-down day-in-day-out at the moment, making it almost impossible to say with any confidence whether we are firmly in hung parliament territory, or whether the most likely result is still a Tory victory at the coming general election. But one thing is beyond doubt: the last six months has seen a substantial narrowing in the Tories' opinion poll lead. In October 2009, the Tories were polling at around 42%, Labour at 28% – a convincing Tory lead of 14%. Last month, the Tories were at 39%, Labour at 31%, a 3% swing from the Tories to ...
Southport Tories are in special measures with their elected chair ousted by the party centrally. Now news reaches us of another Lancashire Tory association suffering unwarranted interference. You think Central Office would learn. You can't go around pretending to preach localism and then run your own organisation in a quasi Stalinist fashion.................................
More than half-a-centurty ago The Economist published an essay Cyril Northcote Parkinson that coined the adage "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". From this he developed a mathematical equation which described the rate that bureaucracies expand over time. The prime example he used to support and illustrate this "law" was the number of employees at the Colonial Office while Britain's overseas empire declined. Parkinson explained this growth by two forces, first was that an "official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals" and second "officials make work for each other". His humorous, but nevertheless valid, ...
I'm following the example of Jeff and shamefully borrowing one of his phrases in return, in about 24 hours I fully expect to be 'applying the sunscreen' and start to pre-moderate comments on this blog. Watch this space to find out the reason why. This will only be the second time in the almost five years I've been blogging that I have pre-moderated comments on this blog. The last time ran from 26th to 30th September 2005 (I'll let you google for yourself what might possibly have been going on then). It is not a decision that I am taking ...
46 Redlands Road Planning Application - Appeal Last year I led a local campaign against plans to redevelop 46 Redlands Road into 10 flats which was well supported by local residents. You will recall that last December Members voted unanimously to reject the proposal on the grounds that if developed it could have a detrimental impact on the character of the immediate area and the three Conservation Areas it lies adjacent to. I'm sorry to have to report (and you may already be aware) that an Appeal has been received by Reading Borough Council's Planning Department. The appeal is on ...
A consultation is currently underway regarding the formulation of a Community Trust in North Cambridge. One of the aims of the new trust will be to raise student attainment and aspirations in the Arbury, East Chesterton and Kings Hedges areas of North Cambridge; to promote and develop a culture of high aspiration and achievement, securing continuous improvement toward excellence. The document related to this consultation is available online: North Cambridge Community Trust - March 2010 Consultation Document (Download - PDF) This document is intended for the students, parents/carers and staff of the schools involved and the Community of the Wards ...
Political Scrapbook has the story: The constituency of Hyndburn, Lancashire has been left "without a functioning Conservative Association" after its entire leadership resigned in protest at a selection shortlist forced upon them by Tory high command. The list excluded the Conservative leader of Hyndburn Borough Council, Peter Britcliffe, who had made no secret of his desire to contest the seat. You can read the full story here. Andy Rankine is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hyndburn. You can get in touch, read news or offer to help via his Facebook page or the local party website. PS Hyndburn Council is ...
So, my hopefully-soon-to-be-ex-MP has had his letter regarding the DEBill fired off to him today, and I must say I am amazed that there has been a reply already, albeit from one of his assistants, who happens to be a Labour councillor I've been known to have the odd beer with. Looks very palliative but I fear Dave won't be able to convince Terry that the Bill needs more time, let alone kicking out and burying in fifty feet of quicklime. Have a look and make up your own minds; I get the feeling it's last-minute electioneering, and if so ...
I have to say that Jennie puts the urgency of action well while everyone's favourite Elephant sums up the Lib Dem debate from Sunday (plus other stuff) well. I just want to emphasise the need for you to write to your MP about this, the danger is that the already authoritarian Labour party are going to attempt to rush this draconian bill through the House without proper scrutiny, consultation or debate. If the internet literate in the Liberal Democrats had to call their own representatives to task over their illiberialism in trying to cut the illiberial nature of this bill ...
Yesterday I linked to Dillow's piece which argued that the government doesn't choose its deficit; the deficit is chosen for it by the decisions of the private sector to save. You will be familiar from earlier posts of his (e.g. this one) that GDP can be disaggregated into expenditure components (consumption and investment and net exports), ...
By Alex Foster | Published 16th March 2010 - 12:36 pm on Liberal Democrat Voice So despite conference taking our peers out for a friendly word in their shell-like, it seems the Digital Economy Bill has successfully cleared the hurdles in the House of Lords. Some industry experts are relying on the bill passing simply because it runs out of time, the MPs fail to scrutinize it, and it gets through thanks to the wash-up. So now is the time to write to your MP to insist the bill gets a proper hearing in the Commons. 38 Degrees have information ...
In his last annual report, the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson stated one fact very effectively: Being physically active is crucial to good health. If a medication existed that had a similar effect on preventing disease, it would be hailed as a miracle cure.
Last month, the Voice linked to the first part of a campaign diary by Jamie Saddler, the 23 year-old Lib Dem candidate for Wirral South, which has been commissioned by Catch21, an organisation trying to get more young people interested in politics. The latest instalment has just gone online – here's an excerpt: Although it got somewhat lost last week in the fanfare of conference, and the continued media frenzy around hypothetical hung parliaments, the Lib Dems launched a manifesto for young people. Our central proposal is to introduce a guarantee that young people will be back into education, employment ...
In a speech to the IPPR think-tank this morning, Nick Clegg set out how the Lib Dems would tackle the UK's enormous budget deficit. For a while now the Lib Dems have taken a simple approach to this issue: to be upfront about the need for (large) spending cuts once the economy has recovered, and ...
Writing a short note of thanks I pause, a doubt crossing my mind. "Ulrike IS a female name, isn't it?" I ask two (female) assistants. They THINK it is but aren't 100 per cent sure. So I do a search on the internet, and am quickly assured that 'Ulrike' is 45,616 times more likely to be the name of a female than of a man. Sometimes the web does remind you just how clever it is.
I've been getting concerned lately with heat. The temperature kind, that is. With the increase in the number of servers I run 24/7 I'm not only doing my bit for global warming but also for the heating of my server room which is, at present, the small bedroom. Not that it has had a bed in it for over 40 years, but it still gets called that! So during the winter the fans have been cooling the machines and warming the room, which spills over into heating the house a bit. But last summer — with only two servers — ...
The book 'Why vote Lib Dem' – edited by Danny Alexander MP, with a foreword by Nick Clegg, and contribututions from 26 individuals – is selling fast. Its publisher (one Iain Dale, Esq) reports that it "is outselling Why Vote Conservative by a factor of 9 and Why Vote Labour by a factor 25. Indeed, so popular is the LibDem book that we have almost sold out of the entire print run, meaning that we will have to reprint after only ten days of sales." He speculates that one reason might be the Lib Dems' minor coup in persuading Colin ...
Right now, I feel like that nation (hat-tip ChartPorn): scared of uninterrupted text. Which is why I have not done justice to Paul's erudite and challenging essay about what 'intelligent libertarians' should demand of financial regulation. But I recommend reading it, particularly if you think you can work out what Hobbes, Schumpeter, and of course ...
I've been busy catching up with stuff since getting back from Birmingham on Sunday. Conference was very enjoyable and my impression was that it was also politically successful. Not yet managed to write about some of the interesting things that came out of it. But I did have my camera with me, so to give you a flavour of the weekend, here is a somewhat random selection of photos of politicians making speeches. View these photos on Flickr.
Nick Clegg addressed the ippr this morning to set out his approach to the single biggest problem facing all three major political parties in the coming weeks and months: how to keep the support of the British people given the need for huge public spending cuts to tackle the deficit. We're re-printing Nick's speech in full, below, but here are the key points which struck me: Re-iterating Vince Cable's five conditions to take account of before cutting public spending: the rate of growth; the level of unemployment; credit conditions; the extent of spare capacity in the economy and the cost ...
Dear Matthew Taylor, I am writing with the deepest concern about the Digital Economy Bill which passed it's 3rd reading in the House of lords yesterday afternoon - and now unless MPs ensure it's debated, it will be pushed into law without any ov...
In First Minister's Questions today I raised the fact that in 2009 the Welsh Ambulance Service took more than twenty minutes to respond to 9,242 category A emergency incidents. This includes patients who are suffering from emergencies such as heart attacks, where every minute counts. The target is that in an emergency the response should be within eight minutes and response time has a significant impact on survival rates. The ambulance service is still dogged by historic debt and a recent independent review found that it is underfunded to the tune of £5 million per year. Delays in off-loading patients ...
I'm going to put this simply, so that everyone understands. If this bill passes, Peter Mandleson will have the power to cut off YOUR internet. Not just your home internet, but your work internet, your school or uni's internet, ANY person or body's internet, because someone who uses your connection IS SUSPECTED of downloading copyrighted software. There's no court, no burden of proof, no appeal. Your entire family's internet could get cut off because your kid does something stupid. Your entire workplace could get cut off because of that one dude in sales. This, like many other new Labour laws ...
Fine words from Nick Clegg at the conference at the weekend.. I wonder if he noticed the huge support for the emergancy motion on Internet Freedom, our Front Bench in the lords chose to ignore it and it looks like Nick Clegg is too... nothing is s...
The Guardian reported last Friday that the uber-union UNITE is to get its members canvassing one another on behalf of the Labour Party. In spite of justified criticism of the Government throughout the parliamentary cycle, UNITE always comes out for Labour when an election's nigh – it never learns! Its members' publication (paid for out of the political levy, or not?) is full of pro-Labour propaganda. I believe it behoves a trade union to campaign for policies that would help its members, not nail its colours to the mast of just one political party, regardless of whether it's doing working ...
It significant -although rare-that Steve Richards decided to write about Lib Dems this morning in the Independent. I've always thought he is one of the journalists who would benefit from a little 'reality orientation'. His analysis is deeply mired in an acceptance of two party politics and the reality of the electors voting habits has not led him to appreciate a more pluralist politics. Nevertheless bludgeoned by wall to wall coverage of the possibility of a hung parliament he has turned his attention to the Lib Dems -well partially turned his attention. If he fails to understand the Lib Dems ...
This weekend was Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham (you can see coverage of it at www.LibDems.org.uk). As it was in Birmingham the West Midlands Liberal Democrats had a stand at it.
Looks like my hopes for the OLF Training Centre have realized: What is the OLF Training Centre? The centre was orignally set up for our exisiting business of education for th fitness professional. However, when we moved to Hither Green we soon realised that the area was in need of a gym! So we ...
[IMG: ballot-box-763573.jpg] It is looking increasingly likely that the General election will be on the same day as the local elections. Whilst all the media interest has been about Brown, Clegg, Cameron and Westminster, we shouldn't forget that the local elections will have serious consequences as well. In Bury we have a Conservative administration that is desperate to hang onto power despite a string of high profile mistakes and u-turns. In Prestwich where the Lib Dems hold all 9 council seats and will be defending three seats, we are hoping residents will show their support for the hard work we ...
Last month I knocked on doors on Bede Walk as part of our regular effort to keep in touch with constituents all year round. We have spent a lot of time helping residents in this area since 2006 as they tended to be overlooked by the Labour Council. This extended to me getting them a new road sign as before it was difficult for people making deliveries to find them! When I spoke to them last month residents complained about a number of issues and expressed their general dissatisfaction with the way that Labour is running the Council in Reading.I took up the issues residents raised ...
I've been sent details of some provisional dates for activities for children and young people during the Easter holidays. Whilst the details need to be confirmed the early indications are that two dates will be in the North Area: Friday 9th April - St Albans Rec/ Meadows community centreMonday 12th April - Brownsfield community centre, ChestertonOther venues and dates are... Wednesday 7th April - Trumpington RecThursday 8th April - Coleridge Road Rec - wilderness themedSaturday 10th April - Jesus Green - sports/skating themedWednesday 14th April - Cherry Hinton HallFriday 16th April 11am-2pm- Lammas LandFriday 16th April 2pm-5pm - Ditton Fields ...
Two things that happened on Thursday may shape Chorlton's future for some time to come. During the day, Stretford Mall went into administration and , during the evening, Tesco had their plans for a very large supermarket approved. The Mall (Arndale as I know it) is still operating, but is in severe decline and has been for some time. The Tesco development will hit trade in Chorlton by at least 10%. Trade has already been hit by 30% by the unfair parking charges. Businesses are going to the wall and more support is needed. I have written to the Government ...
So despite conference taking our peers out for a friendly word in their shell-like, it seems the Digital Economy Bill has successfully cleared the hurdles in the House of Lords. Some industry experts are relying on the bill passing simply because it runs out of time, the MPs fail to scrutinize it, and it gets through thanks to the wash-up. So now is the time to write to your MP to insist the bill gets a proper hearing in the Commons. 38 Degrees have information and a campaign to help you do that.
Or so authoritative rumour has it. The opening date is May or June.
My friend Emma has recently started political blogging. I have known her for years and know that she is a very committed and passionate Labour activist. She is also extremely articulate and argues her case with a clarity you don't often see online. I for one am looking forward to reading her future blogposts. I suggest you bookmark her Scarlet Standard blog right now.
In my (occasionally humble) opinion the BBC is one of the very best things about living on this island. The news coverage is second to none; radio, documentary, drama and comedy output is far superior to the British commercial networks; the website is just about the best there is, and you only have to suffer ...
As the election draws closer and the polls seem firmly stuck in or near hung-parliament territory, the latest Guardian/ICM poll suggests that the prospect of no one party having an absolute majority isn't scaring voters as much as Labour and the Conservatives might like. As the Guardian reports: Voters remain unconvinced by the Conservative alternative, with 29% thinking a clear Tory victory would be best. Only 18% think Britain would be best served by a strong Labour win this spring. Both groups are outnumbered by the 44% who want a hung parliament in which the government works with smaller parties ...
Cornwall Council has acknowledged that abolishing weekly rubbish collections is still on the cards. On page 40 of the agenda for today's Environment Scrutiny Committee is the Council's latest position on abolishing weekly bin collections. It states: Frequency of collection of different materials The move to alternate weekly collections of recyclable and residual waste in some parts of the country has attracted significant media attention and a mixed reaction from residents. However it would be wrong to rule out all options at this stage as in a number of areas a well introduced change has led to significant performance improvements ...
Jenny Watson is Chair of the Electoral Commission, the organisation which oversees the conduct of elections, including the general election, in the UK. Today I have sent her the following letter: Jenny Watson Chair, The Electoral Commission Dear Jenny Electoral Law allows for organisations which are not political parties to campaign during general elections in order to influence voters into supporting or opposing various policies. In effect, these so-called 'third parties' are often barely concealed campaigns for a particular party and the original intention of allowing such campaigns, though admirable, has been lost as they become merely an attack dog ...
Mark Pack comments on Jo Swinson's report to conference here.
A first for me. A group called Courage Playing Blind wrote and performed the music for this video I shot for Ian Lindley, candidate in North Durham. I've never worked on a video with a music soundtrack before so this is a bit raw and looking at it today, having edited it yesterday, there are bits I feel I should have done differently and I need to sort the sound levels more
I am supporting new Self Care Campaign launched by the NHS which is calling on people to use the NHS at the point of need, not demand. This has come about because of the catastrophic impact that the "worried well" are having on NHS ...
For those like Plaid Cymru who are in denial about the impact of the recession and debt control measures on the Welsh budget the Wales Audit Office have brought us all down to earth with what seems to be a conservative estimate of how much public spending will have to be cut here. Gillian Body, the Auditor General for Wales, said the NHS, councils and the police will have to work in "radically different ways" to face cuts of about £1.5bn over the next three years. Her report warned that if organisations do not change, "they will simply run out ...
Over at The Guardian website, Michael Moore, Lib Dem spokesman on international development, will be live online and answering readers' questions about aid and development from 11am today, Tuesday. Here's how it's being trailed: Last year, the Liberal Democrats set out their thoughts on international development in a policy paper, which outlined support for the aid target of 0.7% of GDP, a call for renewed efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals and an acknowledgement that aid sometimes fails and that perhaps financial aid is not the most effective way of delivering support. At 11am (GMT) on Tuesday, 16 March, ...
Are the interests of Welsh language fourth channel, S4C synonymous with those of the Welsh nation and the Welsh language? I only ask because an article in this morning's Daily Post has the channel's Chair suggesting that these matters are inseparable and that by implication S4C should therefore be above criticism. John Walter Jones has questioned the motive behind the leak of the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) research which revealed that fewer than one in five of its programmes attracted more than 10,000 viewers. 196 of 890 programmes sampled were zero-rated for viewers, or had below 1,000 viewers. He ...
I really rate Nick Clegg, especially his performance over the last year, but I worry that our mixed messages on spending cuts are going to come back to haunt us. Remember back to the Lib Dem Conference last year, when there was much talk about the adjective "savage"? Yes, young Nick had decided we would frame ...
It is usually companies getting it wrong on Twitter that makes the news, but over the weekend there was an excellent example of a member of staff using Twitter to sort a problem, keep a vocal customer happy and improve the reputation of the firm. Entrepreneur and TV star Duncan Bannatyne tweeted that his wife had left a dress on a Virgin train by mistake: Mrs Bannatyne has just arrived, she left her dress on the 8.47 Virgin train from Milton Keynes to Euston Big reward if found From there is started to look bad for Virgin's reputation as Duncan ...
Regular readers of The Voice may be familiar with my correspondence with the Cabinet Office and the tales of how the Cabinet Office has lost correspondence, failed to comply with data protection access requests and ignored requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. In short, the Cabinet Office's administration is frequently chaotic and on several occasions the Cabinet Office has broken the law. A sample of this was contained in my previous post: I've also put in two Freedom of Information requests about the Cabinet Office's records of complaints about emails sent via their website going astray. The first ...
Agitators and Cowley Street should be rightly proud of themselves at the amount of exposure we've gained by sheer fair minded bolshiness. It had to be done as a matter of natural justice and the right to hear the third narrative. Question Time is unfortunately not in the gift of the BBC and we await with ...
Iain Martin is the Wall Street Journal blogger-in-residence. Here he takes issue with unnecessary public announcements. Note the two comments, so far, that don't entirely agree with his argument. Perhaps it is age and the grumpiness that comes with it, but I have noticed more and more public announcements over the last few years. When you travel the underground, they never tire of telling you what to do.
Lib Dem Voice has produced an analysis of the voting records of our parliamentarian representatives. Based on criteria that reflect civil liberty issues they have a ranked MPs out of a hundred on how authoritarian or liberal they are. You can look at the ranking here and the criteria they have used here. This is not an independent study so one needs to look at the criteria and ranking on that basis. But still it is a fascinating list and many Conservatives are listed alongside Lib Dems. Of course, how you judge the list will also depend on your political ...
Liberal Democrat Voice has identified 10 key votes from the 2005-10 Parliament in order to rank all MPs according to how liberal or authoritarian their record is. All MPs are marked out of 100: the higher their score the more authoritarian they are. The lower their score the more liberal is their voting record. Try it out, look up your MP and share their score via Twitter/Facebook at rank.libdemvoice.org
There are reports this morning that the AA thinks petrol prices could reach an all time high of £1.20 per litre in the next few weeks. As Mike Smithson points out this morning, many people in the marginals are particularly sensitive to fuel prices. There is a 3 pence rise in fuel duty due to come in on 1st April. The fact that Gordon Brown has pushed the election so late means that these budget chickens are starting to come home to roost. The AA has urged the Chancellor to delay this increase and I expect he will do. However ...
Lib Dem Voice launched our new website – How Liberal / Authoritarian is your MP? – at the party's spring conference last weekend. LDV has identified 10 key votes from the 2005-10 Parliament – ranging from ID cards and freedom of speech to freedom of information and trial without jury – in order to rank all MPs according to how liberal or authoritarian their record is. All MPs are marked out of 100: the higher their score the more authoritarian they are. The lower their score the more liberal is their voting record. 39 MPs recorded a score of 100/100, ...
Liberal Democrat Spring Conference last Sunday passed plans to clean up politics and urgently create a fairer and more local political system. The proposals include: · A fairer voting system · A requirement for those who stand for Parliament or sit in the House of Lords to pay tax in Britain · A fully elected second chamber · The right for voters to sack their MP. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Manifesto Chair, Danny Alexander said: " Our broken political system desperately needs to be cleaned up. Public confidence in politics is at an all time low, and the way the country ...
The Porter Parry Tory leaderenes on Sefton Council are at it again. What was it that Lord Acton said about power. Like some dragon in a tale from the dark ages the Tory Leadership is being placated by sacrifices. Cllr Roberts has the 'blackspot' and is standing down and it is being whispered that a former Tory Leader-Eric Storey-is also in line for a visit. Cllr Roberts is not a man I cannot recall ever having ever heard speak on the council-not even to ask to have the window open. He has done sterling work for the Tories propping up ...
Good morning, and welcome to Daily View. I'm standing in for your usual Tuesday host because Sara was rushed into hospital yesterday. Get well soon, Sara. March 16th in history saw the resignation of Harold Wilson in 1976; in 1995, Mississippi finally ratified the 13th Amendment and officially outlawed slavery in US. Today is the birthday of Isabelle Huppert and Jimmy Nail. 2 Big Stories Police investigate Labour MP Ashok Kumar's death Police and doctors are investigating the death of a Labour MP whose body was found at his home yesterday. Dr Ashok Kumar, 53, had been working as normal, ...
As I was flicking through the internet this morning, or browsing the web I came across (excuse the pun) this gem of a story. The latest advertising slogan being used in the Greater Manchester area is "Sperm donation - Have you got the balls? Strong swimmers required". Leaflets and posters are being sent to 30 sports clubs and venues in Greater Manchester. I wonder if Wayne Rooney has got one of the fliers? I will resist as a Chelsea fan making any jokes. I can picture the men of Greater Manchester puffing their chest out out, "of course we ave ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on the Environment and Sustainability, Mike German has branded the Welsh Assembly Government's 'Energy Policy Statement' as a brazen and ambitious attempt but said that based on its current record the policy will do little to change our energy landscape. "After two years of consultations, discussions and hard work from all stakeholders, the Welsh Government Energy Policy Statement is a disappointment" says Mr German. "It is a brazen and ambitious attempt by the Government but is low on firm plans and specific actions and is full of warm words and rhetoric that we have heard ...
I wrote about the David Cameron poster campaign in January. I was struck by the way that image was far more important than content. It was the way that his airbrushed face dominated the message which was about the NHS. I knew the content was contentious in Tory circles because a Conservative MEP had told me that the NHS was a mistake. I am sure that he is not on his own in that view. This month I was struck by Julie from Llandudno who had changed her mind about Tory policies when I could see gaping holes in them. ...
In this case, a specific person has asked the question. My friend TeaKay is a very intelligent boy, but he is politically disinterested. He feels guilty about it, and wants me to persuade him to vote Lib Dem. Well, technically, he said:A challenge to anyone of a vaguely political nature who happens by this post. That challenge can be summed up in just two words: Sway me I am a blank canvas. Convince me that your party is the one for me; the one next to which I should place my pencilled 'X' come voting day.Which means that anyone reading ...
Sunday: We've all been to Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in my new favourite city: BRUM, named after the famous CAR. And what a BRILLIANT Conference the Liberal Democrats have had there! I've got LOADS to tell you: all the BIG IDEAS, a fair start, fair tax, fair politics and a fair amount of investment in green jobs too; lovely Sarah and Mr Vince; the economics and the promise of HOPE. Daddy Alex gave a speech at Auntie Helen's fringe event and Daddy Richard was, for the first time ever, a voting representative which meant actually shaping new Liberal Democrat policy! ...
