Just a quick factual post on this as I need to update my list of candidates for Luton South but I want to give the fascists as little publicity as I can get away with. The British National Party has announced that it will be standing candidates in both constituencies in Luton in the general election. Their candidate for Luton South will be Tony Blakey, which brings the total number of declared candidates in the constituency to ten.
At the end of a fairly average day of council work, family matters and campaign work it was good to get out to something completely different. In the theatre at ARC Jon Spooner of Unlimited Theatre spent an hour explaining some of the complexities of Quantum physics to an audience, some of whom hadn't studied science in any shape or form for many years. It was interesting, challenging, funny
The Liberal Democrats have now withdrawn their support for the Digital Economy Bill, in a revision of the original plan to vote against certain elements in the "washup" (the last-minute rush to pass laws without debate or detailed scrutiny at the end of a Parliament). Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip announced on Twitter earlier: I have told the Govt we won't support the Digital Economy Bill as drafted. There is not enough time for MPs to examine it in detail. The Guardian takes up the story: The Liberal Democrats have called for the Digital Economy bill to be scrapped ...
Tue 30th
22:44
65 years of voting #labservative? And they want five more?! Take a look at http://www.labservative.c...
65 years of voting #labservative? And they want five more?! Take a look at http://www.labservative.com/ Labservative www.labservative.com for more of the same
This is a public service announcement Can I stress to all my local readers in Thorpe Marriott who come home from Norwich on the Reepham Road to be very careful of a massive pot hole on the Reepham Road as you head back to Thorpe Marriott. The pot hole is about 50 yard before the turning in to Long Dale on the Reepham Road. I have reported the pot hole but given Norfolk County Council's recent record on fixing pot holes in this area, it may take some time.
I promise there'll be several proper posts this week (two book reviews, a comics post and probably a politics one). In particular, I've decided that I'm going to do at least one comics post every week from now on – I've been neglecting that side of things too much. But for now, some links: Lawrence Miles ...
The NHS, dealing with unemployment, cutting the deficit - Steve responds to an interesting range of questions from readers of The Independent: Read the article here
The Libdem's new Labservative campaign is a very thoughtful campaign. Instead of treating the public as ignorant, the campaign blends both Labour's and the Tories' record to illustrate the parties' collective failure. Consider Labour's promises when taking office in 1997, specifically constitutional reform. 13 years later, we still have an unelected House of Lords (the 'new' proposals ...
Did you hear Ben Page, the Chief Executive of Ipsos/MORI on the BBC news say that "if the general public wake up to a hung parliament, a minority of about 35% or so will think it is a good idea and will want to see people working together". Doesn't everyone want to see people working together? He went on to say "but the majority of the poplulation want to see either a Labour majority or a Conservative majority". The problem with this is that he could just as easily have said that a minority of about 35% is often the ...
After defeating plans to build 3 story apartments at the end of Frances Road last year, residents are once again under threat. In plans submitted last year the small cul-de-sac off Bounty Road was faced with some 13 properties being built on the derelict 24 Winchester Road site. Those plans were rejected at the first stage and developers have taken on board many of the issues raised. They have now submitted new plans you can see here. Frances Road is narrow and only has on street parking down both sides of the road making it a single carriageway. Once again ...
Following concerns raised by residents about damage to the bus stop on the north side of Hawkhill, east of the Sinderins junction, I raised the concern with the City Council and have received the following feedback from the City Development Department: "I have asked the contractor to go and check the said bus stop this morning with a view to replacing the perspex. He will also check the issue with the wiring, which I am led to believe is the solar powered wiring from the battery inside the pole. This is not an electrical issue. I am also hopeful that ...
As part of the ongoing development of the Birmingham City Council website, you can now create an online Customer Account that is intended to make it easier to access services in one place on the website. The online account is designed to allow users:secure access to request Council services any time of the day or week;the ability to fill out forms quickly by saving your personal details; andto
The Liberal Democrats have now withdrawn their support for the Digital Economy Bill, in a revision of the original plan to vote against certain elements in the "washup" (the last-minute rush to pass laws without debate or detailed scrutiny at the end of a Parliament). Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip announced on Twitter earlier: I have told the Govt we won't support the Digital Economy Bill as drafted. There is not enough time for MPs to examine it in detail. The Guardian takes up the story: The Liberal Democrats have called for the Digital Economy bill to be scrapped ...
Tue 30th
21:43
A Response: Do Christians make good Liberal Democrats? Do faith and politics mix or sit together
There has been a comment on the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum group on ACT for some time that asks Do Christians make good Liberal Democrats? Do faith and politics mix or sit together ? Being a Christian and a member of the Lib Dems I want to suggest that in Both cases this is true and in
From: philip.stephens - philip.stephens.hat.ft.com.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) Date: 30 March, 2010 Subject: 'Honest Vince' yes; fast and loose no Dear Philip, Thank you for your article in today's FT, Now 'Honest Vince' plays fast and loose. It was very much a column of two halves, the first praising Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable, the second seeking to bury him. I'm guessing the source for most of your attacks on the Lib Dems' pledge to cut taxes by lifting the personal allowance to £10,000 was ...
Yesterday, I commented on the Audit Scotland Best Value 2 report on Dundee City Council, and I suggested a reduction in the number of committees - specifically : " ... there be a reduction in the number of committees with the merger of the Audit and Risk Management Sub-Committee and the Improvement and Efficiency Sub-Committee into the Scrutiny Committee. These committees have fairly similar remits and it is all overly cumbersome, top-heavy and bureaucratic. In the current financial climate, the council should be streamlining and should be striving for efficiency." Today's Improvement and Efficiency Sub-Committee had 8 councillors at it, ...
Tue 30th
21:17Just back from catching up with the Liberal Youth and skatepark campaign gang. Discussed ideas for f...
Just back from catching up with the Liberal Youth and skatepark campaign gang. Discussed ideas for fundraising and future skatepark plans Petition for a new safe skatepark in Chelmsford Chelmsford needs a new skatepark
I have received complaints from constituents about the worn white lines/road markings at the West Port roundabout, that is clearly a matter of concern in terms of road safety. I raised the matter with the City Council and have received the following positive response : "These deficiencies were identified under a road safety audit and work is planned as new works in the next financial year. The roundabout was re-textured to improve the surface for vehicles. The renewal of road markings will be complemented by new anti skid surfacing."
There's almost universal agreement that Vince walked away with the gold medal in the Channel Four Ask the Chancellors debate last night: see the Guardian, the Telegraph, the New Statesman, Channel Four, the Financial Times, the Spectator and the Independent. That's some achievement, when Cable - given his reputation - had the most to lose from the programme. By contrast, expectations of the Conservatives' George Osborne were generally so low that any performance in which he didn't actually trip over his own shoelaces and burst into tears would be seen as a triumph - and he still managed to end ...
OK, so her cooking programme isn't much cop and you all know her grandfather was Roald Dahl. But did you know that her other grandfather was Stanley Holloway?
At last, an improvement for passengers travelling between Norwich and London, which includes Stowmarket. National Express East Anglia have announced that they will be introducing free wifi on trains later this year. However, this should not be seen as an unusually generous gesture on their part, as they aren't paying for it. So, I should thank Norfolk County Council, Suffolk County Council and the East of England Development Authority. Powerpoints would be nice too, but I'm not getting my hopes up...
A hearing to decide whether homes can be built on former allotment land in Bath has ruled in favour of the development. Developer Thomas Wheeler appealed to the Planning Inspectorate last year after Bath and North East Somerset Council refused permission to build 10 homes at the site in Fairfield Park. And following a hearing, the government inspector decided to grant permission for the housing. The Claremont Residents' Association and local councillors had argued that the land at Southbourne Gardens is the area's village green and should be returned to allotment use. They opposed the application, which will see the ...
I have had quite a number of West End constituents ask about what improvements are planned to bus ticketing - for example, making purchasing bus passes easier and more flexible, in the way the Oyster Card facility in London operates. I contacted Lawrence Davie, Managing Director of National Express Dundee, about this and he has given me a helpful update : "Following on from the successful introduction of the new electronic ticketing machines which now accept the smart concession cards NX DUNDEE is looking at introducing smartcard technology to replace its current season cards and multiple journey products. Managing Director ...
Did you watch Ask the Chancellors last night, with the Lib Dems' Vince Cable centre stage? If you didn't ... then you can watch it in full via the Channel 4 website, or some of Vince's best bits via Lib Dem Voice's YouTube channel. If you did ... then we've assembled all the Lib Dem blogosphere reaction in one handy-to-skim-and-click post so that you can catch up with all the post-match analysis. First up, here are the live-blogs: Jonathan Calder live blog at Liberal England Mark Pack live blog at Lib Dem Voice Mark Thompson's live chat at Mark Reckons ...
In the Last few weeks my Blog seams to have suddenly taken off and I have had more hits then I've had previously both on any day or any week. There are various reason for this, not least because of getting on the Lib Dem blog list which seams to have directed many people to
If you're not doing anything on Thursday evening, and you're in the area, you might want to pop along to Liberal Drinks. But don't drink TOO much, because bright and early on Friday morning, we're nipping over to Bradford East to do some envelope stuffing with El Presidente, at which there will apparently be hot cross buns, and an Easter Bunny naming competition for Holly to win ;) If you need details for the Bradford East Envelope Stuffing Extravaganza, let me know and I'll email you. Party politics linkage:If you missed last night's Ask the Chancellors debate on channel 4 ...
With thanks to Adam Findlay of Wave 102 who sent me information about a new House of Lords report released yesterday, having had the opportunity today to read this, it is good that it emphasises the need for greater clarity in the digital radio upgrade plan, and it also highlights public confusion and industry uncertainty, with calls for every new radio to contain FM and digital (DAB and DAB+). (See http://tinyurl.com/digitalradiolatest). It also says the government needs to put in place a radio scrappage scheme for old FM radio sets and a fund to help poorer people make the switch. ...
On the BBC's tech blog, Rory Cellan-Jones takes a look at the use of crowdsourcing techniques by the UK political parties. Mark Pack, former head of new media at the Liberal Democrats, reviews the piece and asks 'crowd sourcing: the political future or a load of hype?' Crowdsourcing, or harnessing the wisdom of the crowd, is simply how much of the World Wide Web works. It is the spontaneous order that Hayek talked about. The UK political parties may not be getting it right, may be in a transition or may have hit it. We can't know just yet. The ...
In his blog, Faisal Islam provides a fascinating insight into what happened in the spin room after the Channel 4 News Chancellor's debate. Read it here.
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has cleared Sarah Teather of allegations that she broke Parliamentary expense rules. You may remember those claims being enthusiastically hawked around by Tory Bear and others as if they were copper-bottomed fact; actually their claims were more like a rusty colander. As the local newspaper reports of the Commissioner: He discontinued the inquiry because he had no grounds for believing that claims Ms Teather made from parliamentary funds for her office provided support to the cost of the Lib Dem party... Brent Liberal Democrats said the party contributed over and above its usage of the office, ...
Well okay, he didn't. But in his speech today he did say that change was a vacuous term. This line of attack was directed at David Cameron. Of course, as Guido Fawkes points out, it was the campaign theme Labour used in 1997. Famously, it was part of the Obama narrative during his presidential campaign: change you can believe in. What to make of all this? Well, the use of language merely reflects where people are in the political cycle.
It's the new political party that is sweeping Britain. In fact, it's a classy new web-based campaign from the Liberal Democrats. The picture above comes from the Labservative website. And there is a Labservative video too...
Boy oh boy, today is a good day to be a Lib Dem supporter. Talk about good things coming in threes; we've had Vince's big spotlight number last night, and today that's been followed by the launch of the "Labservative" campaign - far stronger than the vacillating messages of "change that works for you" - and most importantly we've now learnt that the Parliamentary Party will not now be backing the Digital Economy Bill, which I think can be chalked up as a major victory for the membership; when was the last time that Labour or the Conservatives in Westminster ...
Earlier today Stephen covered the launch of www.labservative.com saying, The Labservative pitch is clear enough: Labour and the Tories are way too similar, and neither is capable of producing change. It's a familiar enough Lib Dem campaign charge. It's a pleasantly unfamiliar position for the party to be making the point in a wittily Web 2.0 way. Well done, Cowley Street! The site is already doing very well at garnering coverage – and positive coverage no less (did someone mutter CashGordon?): Lib Dems target 'Labservatives' with guerilla advertising campaign – The Guardian The Lib Dems have launched quite an effective ...
There's a brilliant piece in the Independent by Steve Richards laying into the Tories' changes in economic "strategy": For an opposition that has changed quite so often, tonally and in policy terms, government must seem something of a nightmarish prospect, however badly it wants to win. In power, policies cannot be altered in the way that in opposition words can be unsaid. Perhaps the Conservatives could have won convincingly by arguing for tax cuts from the beginning, as David Davis did in the 2005 leadership contest. Maybe they could have won by sticking with Labour's tax-and-spend plans. Possibly they could ...
J's story: I am epileptic. Once I had a very serious fit in which I was unconscious for half an hour, and an ambulance had to be called. On numerous other occasions I have had fits in which I was injured, needing a hospital trip. I am hugely grateful that on all these occasions, there was a good A&E just a short distance away. A trip to the Royal Free or the North Middlesex would have taken at least twice as long; the roads from Crouch End to the Royal Free are messy, while the North Middlesex is further yet. ...
Driving past the new houses on the Steeplechase site in West Dyke Road, we were horrified to see that they have been spoilt by British Gas, who have stuck their horrible pipework all over the outside of them. Why on earth have they been allowded to get away with this?
The new rules that MPs will have to live by post-election were published yesterday. One big surprise was no rule banning MPs from employing spouses. One argument against such a rule was, reportedly, put forward by Phil Cole, husband of former minister Caroline Flint. He has apparently said that the rule would require "bedroom police". Maybe, or maybe it would just require MPs to be honest. Just a thought.
Posted by Chris: I have just been in the newly re-opened fish and chip shop in Westmorland Road, The Small Fry. They are excellent; the batter is first class and I do like the crinkle cut chips. I didn't check the vinegar but I feel sure it is not watered down like some in the area.
I watched this last night and it was so clear that Vince Cable trounced the other two completely! Well done!
Yeah the Labservative's had a rather bad day last night. But here is what they stand for. You know there is a way to avoid more of the same, vote Liberal Democrat, or do more and get involved in many ways including like the newest member of my local party did today and join us.
Monday: The world-weary member of the Government, knowing that they're going to lose and just going through the motions; the smug Opposition candidate, so certain that they are entitled to walk into office and so clearly demonstrating their unfitness to do so, with all the same old, tired, prepared lines that just ring false; and the Liberal Democrat who's a star. Yes, it's the 1997 Stevenage Election Debate between doomed Conservatory Mr Tim Wood; power-dressing Hard Labour wannabe Mrs Barbie wife-of-the-millionaire-author-Ken Follet; and Daddy Alex! Well, they do say History repeats itself, first in the Grauniad, then on Channel Four. ...
or is that somehow? Everyone read Chris Dillow's post about the GDP figures. As ever, he teases out an aspect unlikely to have been covered by the meedja. This is that the Corporate Surplus has hit a record. The point I want to zero in on is this: The counterpart to the corporate sector's massive surplus is, ...
One of the most controversial bills going through Parliament during this session has been the Digital Economy Bill. The Lib Dems have taken a pretty sceptical view throughout the process, but fairly recently two Lib Dem peers introduced an amendment that was greeted with outrage by a large number of party activists - not to mention 'the internet' more widely - due to its apparent attempt to block entire websites. The fact that these peers were attempting to get rid of the government's original measures, which would see individuals' internet connections cut off based on nothing more than suspicion, went ...
In his piece entitled "Back to the Future". Martin Wolf of the Financial Times hits most nails on the head. He also sets a challenge for those who want to do more than occupy the green benches to the right of the Speaker's chair. He believes that Labour and Conservative politicians have simply turned their backs on the need to fashion and campaign for economic and social policies that equip the UK to meet the challenges of the decade ahead. The formula for economic growth that emerged under Thatcher, which was inherited and uncritically maintained by Blair and Brown, relied ...
I watched the Channel 4 chancellors debate while chatting on MarkReckons Live debate here and watched the Twitter debate live during the program. I was struck by how supporters from each party thought there man did best and their man won. I also read this Tweet from Iain Dale after it was all over 'So, LibDems think Cable won, Lefties think Darling did and Tories think Osborne did. Wow. Thanks for that chaps. Would never have thunk it.' Yep Iain this is how many supporters always react (not all but many). Well this is the problem with us supporters of ...
One aspect of yesterday's 'Ask the Chancellors' debate which drew my attention in particular was the brief, but heated exchange on personal care for the elderly. As someone in his mid-forties, it is an issue which I expect to exercise me more as old age and infirmity approach. My parents are part of that generation whose call upon the NHS and local government provided social care is beginning to put genuine pressure on the resources of both. They were told that they would be looked after, and that's what they expected. On the other hand, my nephew and nieces will ...
I'm writing to tell you that I've seen the light (www.lighterlater.org) - and I hope you will too. Everybody loves the sunshine, but right now we set our clocks so that we get less of it in our lives than we could. For big parts of the year, most of us sleep through hours of sunlight in the mornings and then use expensive and energy-hungry electric lighting to keep out the dark nights. By moving Britain's clocks forwards by one hour throughout the year, we could brighten up our days with an average of 55 minutes of extra useable sunlight ...
Great news today - after I blogged a few weeks about our campaign to bring long-term empty property 35 Christchurch Road into use I have been contacted by two people who have told me they have recently signed tenancy contracts and along with 8 others they are set to move into this property later this year. I have checked this info out with the empty homes officer at Reading Borough Council and fingers crossed it looks to be going ahead. I'm sure residents for miles around will welcome the return of this beautiful, historic building back into use. With 6,000 people on the housing ...
What's that old French phrase, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose - basically shorthand for things just stay the same. A bit like the last 65 years in British politics! Today the Labservatives sprung into action with their election manifesto launch. Soome good points in there, well made. They have some snazzy posters. My personal favourite is "You might not trust us but at least you know us." You can even follow their leader, Gorvid Camerown, on Twitter. The only thing that's missing is a campaign song. Will and Helen had better get working on that one:-) It's ...
Welcome to this latest LDVideo instalment, highlighting video clips from last night's Ask The Chancellors debate on Channel 4. Vince not only speaks the most sense but provokes the best reaction from the audience, getting more rounds of applause and even warm laughter. On bank bonuses: available on YouTube here. I warned of the recession: Available on YouTube here. George Osborne's savings are "fictional": Available on YouTube here. Inheritance tax: what should be done? Available on YouTube here. "Pinstripe Scargills" Available on YouTube here. If you'd like to watch the whole show, it's available online for the next 29 days ...
... had I had a long CIF piece on the Chancellor's debate. This was to be my closing paras: ———————– Who do you think expressed these sentiments: "I wish you well in your job search – I think the government can help ... Inequality matters ... We believe very much in the tax credit system ...
* Victory Vince: Cable Wins Channel 4 Chancellors Debate - http://libdems4parliament.org.uk/news/4.html
So, http://tonyblair4labour.org/ is all about how Tony Blair wants people to vote Labour. But what's this in the Terms + Conditions? Commentary and other materials posted on our Website, including all information about Tony Blair, are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed. And more: We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to our Website. In other words, "Vote Labour", "But don't rely on that advice" and "Don't blame me for the consequences if you do vote Labour". Oops. One to file in the ...
Just back from meeting with my good friend and Eastern Region MEP Andrew Duff. He was keen to learn about Labour's broken promise not to build on Stopsley Common. While we believe the Swimming Pool would be a fantastic resource for the town, the location Labour have chosen is totally inappropriate due to it's location next to Vale Cemetery and Crematorium. The traffic impact on local roads and the difficulty of Lutonians in the rest of the town getting to it - the people who will actually benefit from the site are not Lutonians, even though we will be paying ...
I've been doing some work to find out what's going on at the former Bankfield House site on Banks Road. Since the building was demolished it's become a bit of a tip and the fencing has been damaged several times. I've spoken to several residents who were worried that it was giving a bad impression of the neighbourhood. People have obviously felt free to lob cans and other rubbish over the fence! Others have felt it OK to paint offensive slogans on the fencing. So I've been in touch with the agents for the land owners to see what can ...
The planning application for the new mast plus extra cabinets on Brodie Avenue has been turned down. Some local people may be aware of this but in case not here are some of the details. Firstly it would look bad. The extra cabinets and the height of the mast would all have "a significant adverse effect in terms of visual amenity" What's more, the mast wouldn't have achieved the improved coverage supposedly required. The three Cressington Councillors opposed this application when it came in. One of my main concerns was the plan to add more cabinets in the central reservation ...
Last night's meeting finished just too late to even think about blogging by the time I'd responded to phone calls, eaten and written a few emails! The new steering group is well and truly formed now and campaign ideas were buzzing round the room. It's not going to be easy for the committee to coordinate it all but I'm sure they'll have a good try and the campaign will be a success - it's got to
Lib Dems still reeling from Vince Cable's debate victory in Ask the Chancellors, have another reason to be reeling today ... the party has launched a subversive multimedia viral ad campaign – www.labservative.com – and it's a 24-carat success. The Labservative pitch is clear enough: Labour and the Tories are way too similar, and neither is capable of producing change. It's a familiar enough Lib Dem campaign charge. It's a pleasantly unfamiliar position for the party to be making the point in a wittily Web 2.0 way. Well done, Cowley Street! Here's the video: And here's one of the posters: ...
Okay, let's be clear. I am not a fan of the government's drug policy. I believe Gordon Brown's refusal to consider other regulatory approaches endangers this nation's health, our security, our economy and any ambitions he might have for a better society. But I do think that some of my drug policy reform colleagues have misjudged both public opinion and the interests of public safety on the mephedrone issue. I have no reason to assume that Alan Johnson has done anything but follow the advice given to him by Les Iversen, the current chair of the ACMD. Teenagers have been ...
I make not apology for posting a second story about housing. At today's meeting I asked Housing Cabinet Member Mark Kaczmarek about the banding system used to classify people on the housing waiting list. Applicants are graded either gold, silver or bronze, depending on their assessed level of need with gold being the highest. Higher level applicants automatically beat lower level applicants when bids for houses are assessed. I wanted to know whether the council would consider reviewing the system following the recent experiences of one Launceston resident. This 90 year old lady has recently been made homeless. She was ...
The link is to the FT Alphaville blog today. This looks at the range of interest being charged on particular sovereign debt in the Eurozone. Greece is now paying 5.9% interest on its new 7 year debt. Germany pays 3.25% less than that. Italy is only paying 0.45% more than Germany, Spain 0.61% and Portugal 1.14%.UK Gilts are currently yielding 3.64%. That compares to Germany's 2.65%,
One of the biggest debates at today's meeting was over the introduction by the Council of a centralised Homechoice system to replace the old Homefinder for council and social housing. My colleague John Turner had a copy of the first advert - from Saturday's Western Morning News - in which just 17 properties were advertised. There are more than 8000 people on the waiting list. Many members questioned whether the Saturday WMN was the best place for these adverts. I blogged about this earlier and the improvements that I had helped to secure, but it is still far from ideal. ...
The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Darling and George Osborne. The Channel 4 vote results are at http://tinyurl.com/yza4m6a and place Vince Cable clearly ahead of both the Labour and Conservative contenders: 36% Vince Cable 32% Alistair Darling 32% George Osborne BBC Commentator Nick Robinson said on the 10 o'clock news that "it was Vince Cable who generated the most applause." A separate Yougov / Channel 4 ...
At today's full Council meeting, I raised the issue of parking permits, specifically the centralisation which means that parking permits are not available direct from local One Stop Shops as they were in most of Cornwall and also the abolition of the North Cornwall Parking Permit that 372 people currently use. I asked who took the decision on the loss of service at One Stop Shops and was told by Cabinet Member Graeme Hicks that this was an officer decision. Cllr Hicks did, to his credit, appear to admit that this might have been a mistake and he promised that ...
Welcome the Labservatives:
Rory Cellan-Jones has written one of the best posts I've read this year on the internet and political campaigning – i.e. it takes the impact of the internet seriously but doesn't swallow all the hype. He starts: Are the political parties now too impoverished – or just too bone idle – to do the basic work of research and campaigning by themselves? Or do they really believe in the wisdom of crowds? 
I ask because both Labour and the Conservatives appear to have caught the crowdsourcing bug. The rest of the article is a good piece of analysis, not taking ...
Loving the Lib Dems' new viral campaign Labservative.com which shows how hopeless and interchangeable the Labour and Conservative parties are: "We've taken the first step on our unstoppable stroll to victory with the launch of a brand new advertising campaign. Of course, we don't need a campaign at all - after 13 consecutive General Election victories we can be forgiven a smidgen of complacency. But though our triumph may be inevitable, we're leaving nothing to chance. Number 10 is where we belong. Besides, all our stuff's there and the garden looks lovely at this time of year." Labservative supporters can ...
I was greatly amused earlier when I saw this website, advertising the Labservative Party. Of course, unfortunately the Labservatives aren't a real party (aww), they are a spoof party serving to highlight a worrying trend that this blog also highlighted a few weeks back (here), that of the see-saw nature of British Politics. Labservative is ...
Last week I reported that there was a very real danger that Launceston Post Office would have to close for a period over the summer as the landlord had not been in touch with the current operators about an extension to the lease. The deadline given then was close of play last night. I am now told that there have been discussions between the different parties and a lease extension has been agreed. Phew.
It's nearly three years since Blair was pushed out by Labour. Remember the relief all those "socialists" in the Labour party exhibited when he went? Phew, he's gone! Three years on and Labour are desperate to have him back. How things have changed. Blair was deeply unpopular when he left, amongst most of the electorate as well as the Labour party. Brown however has trumped that record. Now the
Jonathan Rutherford and Richard S. Grayson are the editors of a new book, After the Crash Re-inventing the Left in Britain, available to download as an e-book here. Here they write about why they think all progressive voters need to join together to defeat neo-liberalism in all walks of life. The election approaches and Britain begins the long haul out of deep recession. In such a crisis, one would expect an alternative to neo-liberalism to be riding high in the polls. Instead, the party which is ahead, the Conservative Party, offers no alternative. The Labour leadership differ only by degrees. ...
The Lib Dems have set up a spoof website highlighting the similarities between the two old parties and their cosy relationship for 65 years in government. This is quite a departure for us and I welcome a bit of levity so early on in the election campaign that isn't an attack on any individual personality. There is a link from this website to the Lib Dems' main site and the slogan used there is 'if you want real change, vote for it'. Naturally, I couldn't agree more but perhaps what strikes me the most is how this slogan works far ...
A blog post by Duncan Stott at Split Horizons is garnering some interest today. It suggests that there may be some unwanted consequences of criminalising mephedrone, or as it is more commonly known here in Angus, bubbles. Duncan suggests that: Mephedrone users will continue to use mephedrone. They like the feeling that the drug provides, and will continue to seek (and may be addicted) to the high it provides. Instead of suppliers who were complying with the law, mephedrone will now be provided to them by criminal gangs, who will command an inflated, untaxed premium for the drug. Some addicts ...
This morning I took part in the FitBrit Challenge for Men's Fitness Magazine. The Challenge was devised by experts at Men's Fitness and FitnessFirst Gyms to test all areas of fitness: speed, cardio endurance, upper and lower body strength, explosive power and core stability using eight challenges. The challenge (for men) consists of: Rowing (500m); Seated Shoulder ...
Watching the "Ask the Chancellors" debate on channel 4 last night I once again heard Vince Cable commit to increased spending on mental health services: "If we save money on NHS admin it should first go to neglected areas like mental health." Mental health is not a fashionable area of service provision but I have heard Vince work this commitment into interviews on television before and I have to say it fills me with pride every time it happens. Mental health services are not something that will come up in focus groups. Nor are they something that focus will be ...
[IMG: ask-the-chancellors-image-2-5493365971] Vince has got his mojo back, and some..... OK, lets be honest, "Ask The Chancellors", was little more than a supporting bout ahead of the main show - the leaders debate. A useful rehearsal for all three parties and a way for Channel 4 to get a slice of the TV political debate "action". But given all that, it is hard to see how Vince could have done much better... Am I the only one who thinks that this ups the pressure on Nick for "the main event"? It seems pretty clear that Vince was THE man last ...
[IMG: Oue zebra crossing is incomplete] Our long waiting for zebra crossing seems to have halted on Bathwick Hill. I started campaigning for a zebra crossing outside the Bathwick Parade shops in January 2007, sending questions to the council, organising petitions and demonstrations. With the zebra agreed and budgetted, like many others I am surprised that the workers seem to have given up with the job half finished. The stripes have been painted, the poles erected (in really inconvenient places) and electricity cables laid. However, we are missing the belisha beacons and no one has been at the site for ...
[IMG: Vote Labservative] "It's clear to me that you shouldn't be allowed to govern the country unless you've been in government before. That's the only way we'll get real change in this country." "People forget that Labservatism has been going for 65 years. Britain is the country it is because of the Labservative party and I for one am proud of our unequalled record of boom and bust, endless political scandal and most of all, the erosion of our civil liberties. If I had my way we'd ban all the other parties." "Imagine if there were two main parties with ...
Britain's first ever "Chancellor's Debate" on TV last night clearly showed Vince Cable as the audience's favourite. They applauded Vince a lot more, and he was the only one who made them laugh too. However it wasn't just about going down well with the audience. It was also about being honest about the current financial climate, being open to working with the other parties and showing the best ways of rescuing Britain, no laughing matter for the thousands who have lost their jobs. Vince was best at that too. Televised "Chancellors' Debate"
Here is the youtube video of the piece that the Daily Politics show did on the Manchester Withington seat and which was broadcast on BBC2 on Tuesday 23rd March. I was interviewed outside The Ewing School that is to be closed by the Labour-run Council and has been a real dividing line between the Lib Dems ...
Users of the multi storey car park on Beaumont Street will be aware that its hours of operation are 0700 to 2100; these times are displayed on the tariff boards adjacent to the ticket machines. Currently, the practice of locking the roller shutters on the ground floor at night ceased. Recently there have been a number of incidents involving car drivers using the ground floor as a meeting place
The Liberal Democrats have today launched a satirical website for the Labservatives, highlighting the similarities between Labour and the Conservatives: We've taken the first step on our unstoppable stroll to victory with the launch of a brand new advertising campaign. Of course, we don't need a campaign at all - after 13 consecutive General Election victories we can be forgiven a smidgen of complacency. But though our triumph may be inevitable, we're leaving nothing to chance. Number 10 is where we belong. Besides, all our stuff's there and the garden looks lovely at this time of year. The site has ...
Even amongst political parties there used to be an unwritten rule that if you are going to make promises at an election then you should at least make an effort to demonstrate how you are going to pay for them. It is for this reason that the Tories are so wary about being too specific on what they will do if they ever reach government, that Tony Blair famously promised to match Tory spending plans for two years in 1997 and why the Liberal Democrats always seek to get their figures checked by the Institute of Fiscal Studies. It is ...
This is quite a creative attack on the status quo.
It has taken a bit of time but today the Liberal Democrats launched a campaign that gets the web and how viral marketing works. Even Guido Fawkes is impressed. Their Labservative website is here and below is the YouTube video.
I've just sent off my comments on the application to sell alcohol at the Grassendale Service Station on Aigburth Road. This is the garage that applied before, back in 2008. At the time they were turned down after a day long committee meeting. I can't see that much has changed quite frankly so I am opposing this again. The only difference is that a law change means that Councillors now can object (the previous rules meant that we could only really read out comments from other people which was frustrating to say the least) We (the three Lib Dem Councillors ...
A pretty obvious statement to make on this site, "In Vince Cable We Trust", but it's also the name for a new campaign established by a small group of marketing, communications and technology professionals with the single stated aim of making Vince Cable the next Chancellor of the Exchequer. The group is apolitical. In fact, despite being the leader of this merry band, I have voted for all three main parties at some point in my life. But with all government departments' policy making being strangled by the emptiness of the public purse, the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
When announcing that the latest fad drug Mephedrone and its close analogues known as "cathinones" were going to be banned, that legislation would be tabled today to bring that into effect and that it would be illegal "within weeks" he also, I noticed, claimed that he expected "all party support". Liberal Democrat MPs and Peers (if peers are part of this process) should not give Johnson the comfort of such "all party support". We have repeated in our policy agreed that prohibition is a blunt instrument that does not work. Most recently, at last autumn's South Central Regional Conference Margaret ...
I found ths posted on another blog – and it made me laugh sooooo much! If you did not grow up in the UK (or, in my instance, New Zealand, where we had something similar), the irony will be lost on you. However, if you are laughing by the 2 second mark, well you will ...
As the credits rolled on the Channel 4 Chancellor's debate last night, a text message was fired off to the Gauge Opinion members' mobiles. Within minutes the verdict was in and it was a clear victory for Vince Cable. 52% felt that the Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson won the debate with 15% giving the nod to George Osbourne and only 11% identifying the current Chancellor as the winner. However, 22% couldn't decide between the three. We are also beginning to make donations to our partner charities now for everyone that takes part. I am currently in Bangladesh, doing some work ...
While I was speaking at a meeting of Luton Federation of Small Businesses, the first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Darling and George Osborne. The Channel 4 vote results are here and place Vince Cable as clearly ahead of both the Labour and Conservative contenders: 36% Vince Cable32% Alistair Darling32% George OsborneBBC Commentator Nick Robinson said on the 10 o'clock news that "it was Vince Cable who ...
Current Secretary of Sate for Transport, Lord Adonis rightly gets praise from across the political spectrum. Although there's by no means cross-party agreement on some transport issues (think Heathrow for a start), Adonis is generally respected even when he is disagreed with. Whilst he has an extremely strong claim to have been the best Labour transport minister since 1997, some of the competition for that accolade is not exactly stiff. Indeed, the publication a few days ago of another cross-party Select Committee report into the failings of part-privatisation on the London Underground reminds me of just how bad Labour MP ...
Just to keep the world up to date with, you know, stuff: Economist's View: nothing but disinflation in the US Krugman disses John Kay's regular suggestion of Narrow Banking as the answer. Without namechecking Kay. Chris Giles finds the Chancellors' Debate a 'depressing consensus'. Whereas Bagehot thinks they were a good thing for democracy. Paul cleverly compares Blond to ...
This year's local and General elections are now just weeks away and doubtless all parties are hitting the streets to find new supporters and remind the existing ones to vote on May 6. So, I bring you tales from the campaign trail, a series of regular installments baring all about what it's like to run for election (tough, but worth it) and how easy it is to actually make a difference when you put your mind to it. For part one, I'll explain why I decided to get involved in the first place. My tale begins with my first day ...
The Conservatives are damned quite unequivocally by Steve Richards in the Independent today. He criticises the party as 'amateurish' and in particular condemns the making of policy on the hoof. Richards notes: Policies quickly made are becoming Cameron's defining theme. He announced a bank tax the weekend before last to the surprise of the shadow Cabinet. Now he has to work out the details, along with the marriage tax allowance and the rest of the incoherent, contradictory package. And then goes on: The inconsistency exposes the lack of principle. The Conservatives have changed their economic policies more often than under ...
On reflection, what I wrote last night was wrong. No, not in thinking that Vince Cable won the debate (see numerous comments in the mainstream media from left and right to back that up or the fact that he got more rounds of applause than the other two combined). No, not in praising the chairing of the debate (that was done extremely well). But in quoting the online poll run by Channel 4. Online poll. Anyone can vote. Self-selecting participants. Not a balanced sample. And so on. Yes, it's nice to see that Vince Cable came out on top, but ...
Tomorrow night (Wednesday 31st March) at 7pm there will be a chance for local people to see inside the Council offices. To arrange a place on the tour, please ring Lisa Hooper on 01454 863858.
Let's start off with the sentence you'd expect me to write: Vince Cable won last night's Channel 4 Ask the Chancellors debate. There, I've said it. Of course, it's not just me saying it. It's also The Guardian ("Vince Cable draws first blood"), the Telegraph (both Ben Brogan and Janet Daley), New Statesman ("Cable triumphs"), Channel 4 (Cable "man of the match"), Financial Times, Spectator and Independent ("Cable comes out on top"). And I've probably missed a few others. Vince Cable Vince started off with two big advantages, and two big disadvantages. First, the advantages: he understands the economy, and ...
So Andy Burnham has decided a 10% death tax won't fly. I'm sorry about that. As a 57 year old with an 84 year old mum, funding care for the elderly is an issue that affects me personally, and of all the solutions on the table the 10% tax seemed the best deal. This is why I like the 10% tax: The average price of a property in the UK is £168,000 (which happens to be roughly what I and my brother expect to inherit from my mother). The average stay in a care home is three years, at £20,000 ...
Finally the Conservatives in Aberdeen South have realised that the general election is a two horse race between the Labour MP and Liberal Democrat John Sleigh. Mark Jones the Conservative candidate for Aberdeen South has announced his shock resignation. In today's Press and Journal they cover the story in full, however it has come out of the blue because his campaign manager didn't even know. Frank Webster, who helped run Mr Jones's campaign, was surprised when the Press and Journal told him of his decision to stand down. Mark Jones had stood in a variety of places in the past; ...
Today just 2250 years ago, the first sighting of what we now know as Halley's Comet was recorded Eric Clapton becomes eligible to draw his pension, whilst it's also 'Happy Birthday' to fellow sexagenarians Robbie Coltrane (60), Eddie Jordan (62) and Mervyn King (63). Once this day in 1978, the Conservative Party announced it had recruited advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi to revamp its image and get its political message across ahead of the General Election. Politicians both within the opposition and in Prime Minister Jim Callaghan's government criticised the Tory stance, describing it as 'frivolous'. Fourteen years later we ...
Philip Stephens makes a not particularly successful attempt in today's FT to discredit Vince Cable and his tax plans. Lib Dem tax policy is to raise the threshold at which you begin to pay income tax from £6,500 to £10,000, thereby relieving around 3.5 million people of paying any income tax at all. This would ...
If you haven't already seen last night's "Ask The Chancellors" debate by Channel 4, you can watch it here - http://bit.ly/bJTsMN. It's great viewing and well worth the hour. Before the show I predicted that "Cable wouldn't dominate, Darling would be solid and that Osborne would be better than expected". Looking back I think I got 2 out of 3 right. I thought it would be hard for Cable to live up to expectations and for Osborne not to exceed them. In part that was right, Osborne wasn't the car crash that many expected, but it is damning if we ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: AWElogo] The Environment Agency has submitted a report to the AWE Local Liaison Committee suggesting that AWE Burghfield had been discharging water into the Burghfield brook, which didn't comply with strict pH limits. This was in breach of that Water Resources Act 1991, and was linked to construction activities on site. This adds to the numerous minor water pollution incidents which were reported from both the Burghfield and Aldermaston AWE sites. Liberal Democrat Norman Baker MP, who has campaigned on the issue of Nuclear Weapons, uncovered that around 4000 abnormal events ("actions that causes a deviation from ...
Tue 30th
09:00
Spring's in the air - the sun's out at last - but let's make the days lighter later with 10:10
Over the last week my balconies and my (landlord's) front garden (which I've commandeered for food growing) have finally spring into action. Yesterday I planted potatoes, sage and edible nasturtiums, which will provide huge amounts of beautiful (see the photo below), peppery salad for most of the year. I'm amazed to find lettuces which made it through the snow. My broccoli is shooting up. All the fruit bushes are budding. And I've been able to make a constant supply of "balcony pesto" (greens from the balcony, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and olive oil) ever since the snow melted. Happy, sunny ...
Social care is one of those subjects in politics that not many people like talking about. Just like planning for death, no one really likes to think that they, too, will get old one day, and so it gets pushed to the back of the mind. The healthy thing in recent months has been the fact ...
As you know, I was a bit impressed with our boy last night. But don't take my word for the fact that he was good. He didn't have quite so far to go to convince me, but he gets a fair bit of praise from some hard nosed journalists. Obviously the Torygraph is going to back the Tories but even Benedict Brogan couldn't deny that Vince had done well, or, rather, "defended his saintly mantle". He has the cheek to accuse Vince of exploiting voter cynicism when the Tories' whole broken Britain narrative attempts to deceive and scare. The Herald ...
Il pleure dans mon coeur Comme il pleut sur la ville; Quelle est cette langueur Qui pénètre mon coeur? The beautiful quatrain above is by Paul Verlaine, who along with Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, and Stéphane Mallarmé are my favourite ...
In his final statement, George Osborne said this in response to Vince Cable: "With the greatest respect to Vince, there's not going to be a Liberal Democrat government after the next election." This can be read in two ways. The first is a typical Tory-Labour sneer at a smaller party who are outside the establishment. The second is more revealing, and I think more accurate: it seemed to me a tacit recognition of the fact that Vince Cable is by far and away the best candidate for the job, but that because he is unlikely to be offered it by ...
Only missed the beginning of the Ask the Chancellors debate last night but it was truely a night for Vince Cable. He knocked Mssrs. Darling and Osborne out of the water on the deficit, the banks and taxation. This isn't just my opinion, the interweb is full of commentators declaring King Vince as the winner. Take for instance this of Channel4's Factcheck: Cathy Newman's verdict Vince Cable reinforced his reputation - telling the truth for example on the income gap being worse than when the Tories left office. Alistair Darling, on the other hand, boobed on the death tax. And ...
Last week, I bumped into Gareth Epps, Lib Dem PPC for Reading East at Reading railway station. I took the opportunity to grab a quick interview with him. We discussed his campaign, Glee Club, the railways (a subject Gareth is very familiar with working in the industry and also apt given our location) and how Gareth found David Cameron as an opponent when he stood for the Lib Dems in Witney in 2001:
A new video from WORLDbytes.
I should have had more faith in the sainted Vince. Just before the debate last evening, I posted a pessimistic preview in which I doubted his ability to live up to his billing. Vince Cable was routinely excellent, often rising above the petty squabbling of the other two, and equally often willing to agree with one or both of them, something that made him look magnanimous and statesmanlike. He got in some good jokes and clearly showed that the Lib Dem fiscal policy is far more detailed on cuts and far more fair on tax (especially with the £10,000 income ...
An interesting story has appeared in this mornings Hull Daily Mail. Apparently, Former Education Secretary Alan Johnson has told local schoolchildren that GCSEs might be scrapped. He was attending a question and answer session at Hessle High School when he said: "Raising the school leaving age to 18 stops the GCSE being a school leaving exam. Maybe we will get rid of the GCSE." This is a fascinating statement from the not normally gaff prone MP. Is this a personal opinion or a slip of the tongue which is revealing the future direction of education in the country? If it ...
On Sunday I dropped my children off to visit their Father and Grandparents in Essex and with an afternoon to spare (and no leaflets to deliver or doors) my other half and I went to Frinton on Sea. It was a rare moment of sun, fresh sea breeze and a leisurely walk along the sea front to Walton on the Naze and back. Battery recharged after a long week. Just as in a former life when I used to have a knack of pointing out that French fishermen hadn't blockaded Calais for a while (and then they inevitably did ........) ...
So, the big debate is over, and the dust has settled. Time to mark the contenders, I think, and, in a nod towards modern culture, the marks are inspired by 'Dancing on Ice'... Alistair Darling artistic impression - 4.2 technical merit - 4.8 He clearly doesn't rate George Osborne, and was only too keen to attack his proposals on National Insurance Contributions. Indeed, his attacks displayed a sense of passion that has seldom surfaced in the recent past. He does give the impression that he is grimly determined to fix the economy, and one sensed that, if it were down ...
Tue 30th
07:12
Nevres Kemal - Haringey Whistleblower - to stand as a Liberal Democrat in Council Elections May 6!
Nevres Kemal was a whistle blower who warned that Haringey Social Services were failing in their child protection practises. In fact, she had come to me about her concerns at one point, and I had taken her case together with two others (privately to avoid publicity or politics) to the then Leader of Haringey Council, George Meehan and the then Chief Executive, Ita O'Donovan. The point all three cases demonstrated was that when someone, in this case Nevres as a social worker, another the Governor parent in a school and the other parents of a young boy with health problems, ...
Those of us who can get a round in at the Eli Jenkins midweek, spend Sunday morning at Riverside market or contribute to Wales Home, know that very few fellow bubble-ettes are non politically aligned. In fact a significant number of lobbyists are ex-party hacks, having served time behind the red brick or below the chimneys. Yet most wear these colours lightly in their new incarnations, placing their professional duties to new employers ahead of political point-scoring. It's an issue that's caught up in the recent spiral of bad press regarding the relationship between politicians, parties and lobbyists. In fact, ...
I have started canvassing for the general election and have been joined by Sarah, my assistant in the European Parliament, who is French and has taken a few days holiday to experience the British political culture. I introduced her to the art of election canvassing and she proved to be a natural. We were in a Lib Dem held seat and the MP took Sarah away from the main road down a short cul-de-sac. They returned to the canvassing team and the MP gave the details to the person holding the board: "First house, Lib Dem and will take a ...
I do write quickly But there might be a longer one coming out later. Off for Radio Newcastle now. UPDATE: Polly Toynbee thought similarly, and my verdict yesterday on the whole efficiency savings cuts thingie: if credibility was the real prize, Osborne was already hamstrung by his extraordinary tax give-away earlier in the day. How can he ...
"The Labour government led us into this mess. They have done severe damage to pensions and savings, they have wasted a vast amount of money on over-centralised public services. "The Tories presided over two big recessions in office, they wasted most of the North Sea oil revenue, they sold off the family silver on the cheap. Now they want to have another turn to get their noses in the trough and reward their rich backers. "The Liberal Democrats are different. We got this crisis basically right. We are not beholden to either the super rich or militant unions." [IMG: Check ...
I have yet to watch the Chancellors debate however I have already picked up on a couple of things from the media coverage. Firstly Osborne's announcement that he wouldn't raise NI has turned out to be a very good move as it has stolen the impetuous of the debate. Instead of this being about debating Labours budget (despite
Bexley / Lewisham /Dartford Food Not Bombs is a group set up by some people I know that get unwanted food to the people that matter. Please go to their website and take a look. Donate food. If you are from the local press please give them some publicity. Thank you.
Why don't the Tories put him on all their posters and literature?
Just checking the Conservative Home site's article on the Chancellors debate – seems that a lot of people are talking about Vince Cable. Let's be clear if they didn' t think him a threat they wouldn't mention him. Let's remember another thing – tonight was a historic night for the Liberal Democrats: a) We took part with ...
At the same time as "the Chancellors" were making their arguments on Channel 4 this evening, in the Riverside Conference Centre in Luton the candidates for Luton South were also debating the issues in front of a business audience. The local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses had organised a hustings for tonight. My spies report back to me that, while Vince Cable was the clear winner in London, things were a lot closer here in Luton. I am told that the meeting was well attended and that all the candidates put on a good performance but with no ...
.....one has to ask what is the question?
and Ricky Martin's Gay!
I was invited to attend 'Your Questions' event at Haybridge High School, based upon the BBC 'Question Time' programme. It was the culmination of a two month political literacy project, organised by students with the support of staff, the Parliamentary Education Service and CCE. The aim is to get the students to understand politics and prepare them for voting in ...
If you have been to any main event in the entertainment or sporting arenas then you would have come across ticket touts. They sell tickets to those who have travelled to the event but have not managed to buy there own ticket. The touts are happy because they have made money. Those who buy off the touts are happy because they managed to get into the event. Everyone is happy. The problem with this is that genuine fans don't get to see the show. The people who do get to see it are the people who can afford to pay ...
I guess it was never going to be a bloodbath, or indeed a session with any bloodletting. The Chancellors' debate saw no blood on the floor. But for the political anoraks, it was great stuff. And if there was a clapometer, Vince would be the winner. His dry wit was fired at Osborne on one memorable occasion in particular. In typical Vince style it was balanced, with an attack on the "fiction" of
