The situation in Thailand seems to be gradually becoming more and more chaotic. After days of protest involving peacefully taken blood being daubed on government buildings real blood has been spilt in the last few days and the latest estimates seem to indicate that 21 people have been killed and as many as 900 injured ...
The nominations for the local elections were published today. Since there has been no local literature at all in my area from Labour or the Conservatives, today was the day to learn who is standing against us. It was yet another eyebrow raising session.In Whickham North, Labour's candidate is Paul Tinnion. He used to be one of the leading lights in the Labour group and I have to say I had a great
In the mad, mad world of Tory election claims, the most amusing I have found is that of the Tory from Tunbridge Wells in Kent who is standing in Blaydon. He claims most of our leaflets are printed in London. So, when I was in our office this morning in Whickham, which is in Blaydon constituency, (which is not in London but on Tyneside) I snapped a couple of shots of our group leader Cllr Noel
I've had a really long but very positive day of campaigning around Chorlton. But the highlight of my day was going along to the Chorlton History Group this afternoon at the Horse and Jockey. I was invited by Ida Bradshaw who I often enjoy chatting with about local history. I learnt lots of facts and stories about Chorlton that I had never heard before. I partiality enjoyed Bernard Leach's talk about a short lived community newspaper from the mid-1980s called "Chorlton Green". Although 1980s Chorlton is only very recent history it marked a significant shift locally with Chorlton transforming from ...
Welcome to our first live debate post of this general election campaign, whilst I've already done one on the Chancellor's debates, that was before the election was called. Again, the same disclaimer as last time, any errors are entirely my own as this was written live as I watched it and my opinions are based ...
A bit of early morning delivery followed by time in the office with our new volunteer office manager Amelia, who quickly got me organsised! Then out on the doorsteps in Winlaton. A good night with a positive reception. I heard from a pensioner annoyed with tax credits as claiming one pushed him beyod a benefit threshold meanning he had more money deducted from his income than the benefit gained. Then I talked to the owner of a small IT firm who was concerned about the costs being loaded on his business and how he felt Labour had a very anti ...
The young lawyer Jo Shaw was formally adopted as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Holborn and St Pancras in North London this evening at a packed event addressed by former New Statesman editor, John Kampfner. Mr Kampfner — who is now CEO of Index on Censorship — came out as a Liberal Democrat at a ...
Writing on Liberal Democrat Voice, Mark Pack informs us that the state now has the right to intercept anyone's post without informing them. And this new power got through the Commons during the wash up process without any debate. In view of this we had better hope that Jock's Place is on to something when he argues that all the laws that have come out of Westminster since 1999 are consitutionally invalid. St Aidan to Abbey Manor presents videos of the three party leaders talking about how they see the church and faith groups: "I have to say that Clegg ...
Is it just me, or are the polls not really changing that much? Tories seem to be in the high 3os, occasionally touching 40, Labour in the low 30s, occasionally dropping behind with Lib Dems around 19 or 20 with every result seeming to fluctuate around in the margin of error. But, there's still 3 ...
Earlier this evening I attended a meeting of the Council's Cabinet to present detailed recommendations from a joint review into children's health carried out by the Housing, Community Care and Scrutiny Panel (which I chair) and the Education and Children's Services Scrutiny Panel. Follow the link above to read our recommendations. This is something I've been working on with other councillors and officers for some time - in addition to my role as a ward councillor, a PPC and alongside a full-time job. There is no dedicated health scrutiny panel in Reading and very little resources dedicated to support scrutiny ...
Today it was the manifestoes (and note I use the plural). This is because not only did Labour launch their manifesto (in a hospital that has yet to be opened raising the eyebrows of Francis Maude (Conservative for Horsham) who has written to the Cabinet Secretary reminding him that under electoral laws the manifesto launch should not have been held there) but the Communist Party of Great Britain also launched their manifesto today. Candidates so far nominated for Horsham constituency Aldridge, Harry (United Kingdom Independence Party) Duggan, Jim (Peace Party) Skadder, Andrew (Labour) Maude, Francis (Conservative) McDonald, Daniel (British National ...
ICM: Con 37% Lab 31% Lib Dem 20% Others 12% Opinium: Con 39% Lab 31% Lib Dem 17% Others 13% Communicate Research: Con 37% Lab 30% Lib Dem 20% Others 13% You Gov: Con 39% Lab 33% Lib Dem 20% Others 8% Average: Con 38% Lab 31% Lib Dem 19% Others 12% Forecast House of Commons (on national uniform swing) Conservatives 300 seats (+90 seats) Labour 270 seats (-79 seats) Liberal Democrats 47 seats (-15 seats) Others 33 seats (+4 seats) Hung Parliament (Conservatives short by 26 seats)
Just started reading the Labour Manifesto, still a way to go mind. The first thing that has angered me was on the contents page, amongst the ten chapter headings was a horrible dog-whistle one pandering to the likes of the Daily Mail, entitled Crime and immigration. Why, oh why, oh why, have they been so irresponsible as to link these two, admittedly important, issues and conflating them in the public mind. There is crime, and there is immigration, but the two have sweet Fanny Adams in common.
According to Jock Coats all the laws made in the last ten years are null and void. You can read why here.
By a happy coincidence this morning the sun shone on Yarm, Stockton Lib Dems went out to talk about Fair Taxes there while Vince Cable and Nick Clegg launched the policy in a press conference. We'd have happily shared the sunshine with them!Jacquie Bell was interviewed by local radio for their constituency profile and then we got on with sharing the good news of our policy. It certainly had a
Gordon Brown (Labour) This General Election is fought as our troops are bravely fighting to defend the safety of the British people and the security of the world in Afghanistan. They bring great pride and credit to our country: we honour and will always support them (Source: Labour Manifesto) David Cameron (Conservative) You do, it's just such a shock you can't really come to terms with it to start with. But, bit by bit, you start to think, 'Well, I need to get on with my life'. And to me my life is politics, it's public service, it's what I ...
Stephanie Flanders: there's nothing new in it. Everything carefully costed, trying to reinforce the message that they are the safe pair of hands. The IFS has a note but it mostly reflects on the past 13 years (better public services, worse efficiency, some of that probably unavoidable, the future difficult) in a way that is fairly ...
After my initial concerns, worried old Hector that I am, I am feeling mightily relieved and not a little impressed that Nick acquitted himself well in the face of Paxo's grilling. My fears about Paxman's general approach were borne out, he was obviously trying to pigeon hole and re-enforce establishment lies with his general "so, you are in favour of murdering the first-born, moving on..." tricks. I think Nick generally coped with these well but I would have appreciated greater push back on the "LibDem MPs saying different things in different part of the country" lie that he was trying ...
After a slightly hesitant start Nick Clegg warmed to the Paxo interview (BBC1 8:30 p.m. this evening) and made it clear that he believes it's the British voters who are the bosses who will decide who should win the election, not the journalists. I liked the way the way he said that if the electorate say they don't want to give the job of governing Britain to one party outright then the different parties need to work together. I liked the way he made the four Lib Dem central policies clear and I liked the way he said a vote ...
A while back I decided to link to several libertarian blogs including 'Devil's Kitchen'. I also added Labour, Conservative and Green blogs. It isn't because I read them all or agree with them all but I thought it was right to have a spread of opinions on politics. As any attentive readers will know, I am interested in liberal ideas and libertarians certainly have a lot to say about their definition of classical liberalism. I am now removing my link to 'Devil's Kitchen' and feel I should explain why. I am sure the writers on the blog won't care and ...
During the election campaign Lib Dem Voice is each day highlighting six blog-posts from the Lib Dem Blogs Aggregator which we think are well worth reading. Here's our pick from 12th April ... National Insurance: are the Tories this useless? (Mat Bowles) Haven't had your fill of the NIC debate yet? Mat takes a fair and balanced look: "Note that when Vince has attacked the Tories on this, he's not argued with them too much over the NI stuff; he's argued with them over how they're going to pay for it; he's right to say that the money they're using ...
Currently down Dixon Street in Lincoln we have the privilege of two Tory posters. However glancing at them whilst in the car I seem to be coming back with these messages: Never Vote Tory [IMG: Never Vote Tory] Vote For Me [IMG: Vote For Me] Of course on May 6th I'll be voting Liberal Democrat.
North Durham candidate, people and song (bit of)
This evening I attended the committee meeting of River Crescent Residents' Association. A number of local issues were discussed and it was good to note that the pavement improvements on Perth Road (south side) east of Riverside Place are now underway - see below :
North Durham Lib Dems Facebook Page
From her 1966 album "Born a Woman" :
I've just finished watching Jeremy Paxman grill Nick Clegg live on BBC1 (presumably on iPlayer later). There are three reasons Lib Dems can be pleased with Nick's performance: 1. Most importantly, Nick acquitted himself very well. In spite of some tough questions, combined with Paxman's trademark habit of never allowing an interviewee to finish a sentence, Nick handled the detail well, but never forgot to paint the bigger picture. The impression left was a of a politician well in command of policy, and firm in his principles. 2. Then there's the fact that Nick actually dared to take the Paxman ...
Dear Fraser, This morning, at our first press conference of the campaign, Vince Cable and I announced the fair tax policy at the heart of our General Election manifesto (that will be launched soon). Under Labour, the tax system is complex, unwieldy and, most of all, unfair. This has to change. The Liberal Democrats will rebalance our tax system to make it fair once and for all. Under the Liberal Democrats the income tax threshold will be raised to £10,000, meaning most taxpayers will see their income tax bills cut by £700. We are setting out where every last pound ...
One of the occupational hazards of being out on the campaign trail is interaction with our furry K9 friends. Sometimes it ends in tears. One of my colleagues ended up in hospital and out of action for a while a few years back after a nasty savaging! The trick is to eye up every house carefully as your walking to it. Is the door ajar? Is the back gate open? Dog toys in the garden? All vital clues to lurking dogs either around the corner or (even worse) sitting quietly right behind the letterbox waiting to have you fingers off. ...
He didn't just survive his interview with Jeremy Paxman. He bossed it and got over all the points he wanted to make. The question is whether the two other leaders will have the courage to be interviewed by him too.
Missing in action? Where is Chris Grayling? Conservative Central Office have no comment to make! Grayling's vile anti-gay comments make him an understandable casualty of the election effort and the 'ohh my god he said what' feeling that must have gone through Conservative central office staff minds, but surely as a senior front bench MP he should ...
[IMG: mc-and-ds2] Menzies Campbell's election campaign got off to a flying start following its launch by Lord David Steel, former Leader of the Liberal Party and the Scottish Parliament's first Presiding Officer, in St Andrews. Lord Steel spoke of the many qualities that has made Sir Menzies the effective and hardworking Member of Parliament for North East Fife for the past 23 years and supported his candidacy for this General Election. Menzies Campbell said: "It has been my privilege to have served as the Member of Parliament for North East Fife since 1987 and with your support I hope to ...
I was aghast when I heard the news on the radio this evening that MPs on fraud charges are entitled to legal aid. Along, no doubt, with 90% of the Country, something Cameron latched on to with alacrity. With the speed of a Daily Mail reporter and just as little finesse. However, some basic research into the story provides a (fairly) reasonable explanation. Currently Legal Aid in the UK is not "
I am impressed – never thought I would make it into the esteemed list, but somehow I have managed it! Click here to see where I came! Thanks to everyone who reads my blog for helping me get into the golden dozen!!
So you thought we had ratified the Lisbon Treaty do you? Perhaps you thought you could no longer smoke in your local, or let your pack of hounds do what hounds do. Maybe even you thought ID cards had been legitimised by Act of Parliament? Yes? Well it appears as though there may be a faint glimmer that actually we've all been dreaming for a decade, that Labour's famous thousands of new criminal offences, all the piles of regulation they have heaped on us, even, perhaps, the debt they have piled up on our credit to bail out the bankers ...
A new survey about how many people have been reached by the online campaigning of political parties has been written up in the media as a bad news story – even though the data shows online campaigning reaching not that many fewer people than offline campaigning. The Nesta survey found 21% of people saying they could recall emails, adverts or websites from the political parties. This compares with 27% of the electorate who say in the recent Brunel survey that they have been reached by the offline campaigning of political parties. Neither number is as high as would be good ...
As NextLeft pointed out on Twitter, Labour's manifesto launch included a promise about electoral registration: Labour will act 'and legislate if necessary' to end 'unacceptable situation were 3m eligible voters cannot vote because not registered' Anyone who qualifies to register is already legally obliged to, so what might this reference to possible legislation mean? It could mean making the punishment for non-registration more stringent. It's rare for someone to be prosecuted and it would be very much in line with the style of Labour's approach to other issues to go for tougher punishments. However, whilst the reasons for non-registration have ...
[IMG: Beautiful day for canvassing 12.04.2010] I took this snap whilst out campaigning today with Becci, Christina and Richard. If was perhaps the best day of the campaign so far. The response on the doorstep was great. So many people seem genuinely to have given up on Labour and the Conservatives, and many are happy to back the Lib Dems - which is great news. [IMG: Stuart in the Radio Plymouth studio 12.04.2010] I was also in the studio of Radio Plymouth 106.7FM today (check out their website and listen live HERE) to record a one-minute pitch to ...
This is the Swan at Lamport. As you will see, it is "passionate about food". Now where have I heard that before? Sure enough, the menu included a starter of scallops with belly pork, though it should be black pudding for the full cliche. The food was good but not brilliant, and the portions were a little small for the price. Still, that does allow those of us trying to lose weight to enjoy three courses without being greedy. I read somewhere - I think it was in Arthur Mee's Northamptonshire - that Lamport was thought the bleakest place on ...
Sheila's story: I have so many examples of when my family has needed an A&E hospital close at hand and frankly not for trivial reasons. My eldest son stumbled, aged 5, into a rose branch which resulted in a deep cut millimetres from his eye - we rushed him to the Whittington A&E department and they dealt within him within minutes of this serious accident. He was terrified so having an A&E close at hand made a huge difference. My husband is a diabetic and has been taken to the A&E department unconscious on several occasions over many years. He ...
I had up to this point convinced myself that here in the ward of Kingston and surbiton people would be pretty convinced of the benifits of immigration. New Malden has the largest Korean community in the uk, we also have very large tamil and a Muslim community who's name excapes me. So when I was out ...
Lib Dem MP for Torbay, Adrian Sanders, has joined Twitter today as @adrianfortorbay. That takes the total number of Liberal Democrat MPs on Twitter just over the half-way mark, with 32 out of 63 tweeting. You can follow them all via the list at http://twitter.com/#list/markpack/libdem-mps
Here at the Voice we get sent many promotional emails from companies looking for some free publicity. Generally we ignore them. But, just occasionally, they're too creative, inventive and fun to ignore. Congratulations then to designers and developers Fancy for coming up with the David Heath action figure, inspired by their local MP for Somerton and Frome. As they explain: Nailing our colours to the mast, we thought we'd produce a line of action figures extolling his many virtues and capturing the essence of our hard-working local MP So how can LDV readers get their hands on their very own ...
Following the self-defenestration of Steve MacLennan it was inevitable that there would be a hunt for other candidates who have sent questionable messages through Twitter. Writing on Lib Dem Voice, Ryan Cullen has found one in the shape of Chris Hawes, Tory candidate for the Leavesden ward of Three Rivers Council. Still, at least Hawes was abusing Nick Clegg rather than the workers, as Labour PPC MacLennan was. But the dangers of Twitter can be more subtle. Kevin McKeever, the Labour PPC for Harborough, left a pile of leaflets in some sheltered accommodation here in Market Harborough on Saturday morning ...
With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day - for any reason.
With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day - for any reason.
With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day - for any reason.
With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day - for any reason.
You really do not know what you're going to get... Like what has come to be known as the Cadbury Law. Unveiled in Labour's election manifesto the law "would put curbs on hostile takeovers of businesses deemed to be of national interest" and has been proposed as a reaction to the public outrage over Kraft's takeover of Cadbury's. Not a moment too soon after it was unveiled the law is already being slammed by business leaders. The plans include changing British takeover regulations to insist that two-thirds of shareholders must approve big transactions, as opposed to the simple majority required ...
Well, I shall be watching the 30 minute Paxman interview of Nick Clegg on BBC1 tonight at 8:30pm but I approach it with trepidation. Whilst I have confidence in Nick, Paxman is a scary prospect. Firstly his recent treatment of LibDems has been utterly appalling which has been noticed by other bloggers (can't find the links sorry) but also noticed by my aunt who randomly compained of his sneering at LibDems on the phone just now! Also, a "gaffe" at the beginning of the campaign could haunt our campaign throughout. Now I'm not saying that Nick will make one but ...
At a time of severe economic restraint it's almost reassuring that Kent Council have got money to burn, on pointless PR exercises. Some time ago I asked KCC's press or PR department, to tell me how the council had managed to spend around £600 per enquiry on the pointless, needless and utterly wasteful Kent Health Watch advice line. No surprise that the KCC PR wallahs took forever to reply and even less surprising that the answer was little more than the drivel that I had expected. The NHS have in place procedures to deal with and consult on issues, that ...
Back in 2007 this blog covered the ultimately successful efforts of the regulars at the Lewes Arms in Lewes to persuade its new owner, Greene King, to continue serving Harvey's beers. That East Sussex pub seems to be continuing in its idiosyncratic way. Toque covers its annual spaniel race and Roz South has some photographs of the event.
This how today's Sun reports the story: A LIB-DEM MP has called in cops after an anonymous smear campaign was launched against her. Trouble-makers claiming to represent the East Dunbartonshire Taxpayers' Alliance have sent letters to hundreds of voters across the region blackening the name of Jo Swinson, who is standing again on May 6. ... Ms Swinson said: "I've reported it to the police and they are investigating because the anonymous nature of this makes it illegal. It is clearly designed to damage my chances but I think a lot of people have seen through it." She saddedd [sic]: ...
The Labour Manifesto contains a pledge to give every household in the country a broadband speed of at least 16.8 megabits! Unfortunately this is just the result of those tech-savvy Labourites confusing megabits with megabytes. The Register has the full story.
We all know that, under Labour, the gap between rich and poor has grown even larger than it was when they took office. If you think back to the Thatcher years and the mantra of 'trickle-down' economics which itself presided over an increasing under-class, you'll appreciate what an indictment of the last 13 years that ...
When the Scotsman decided to write an article on election law – more specifically, the definitions and the constraints on what a political party and each candidate may do as set out in two much-amended pieces of legislation, the Representation of the Peoples Act 1983 and the Political Parties and Elections Act 2000 – they knew who to ask: LDV's Co-Editor Mark Pack, the inspiration for LDV's sister site the Election Law Channel. Here's an excerpt, focusing on spending limits: Mark Pack of Mandate Communications, and formerly of the Liberal Democrats, says the major difference is that TV advertising is ...
One of the great defences of our shit electoral system is to say that it is "simple" for voters to both understand and to use. Just get your ballot paper, smear it with a cross (or a smiley face; Returning Officers are very tolerant!) in the appropriate box, and you're done. Later, we count them ...
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg on Thursday revealed the £13.4bn VAT bombshell at the heart of the Tories' tax plans Analysis of the Conservatives' proposed tax cuts or reversals shows that they will cost over £13.5bn a year in 2011-12 prices - yet just £100m has been specifically identified to fund them. This leaves a £13.4bn black hole, equivalent to a 3% rise in the standard rate of VAT. This would mean an extra tax of £389 on the average household. The Liberal Democrats have fully-costed plans to raise the starting threshold for income tax to £10,000 - this would ...
Not out and about in Buckhurst Hill, but still campaigning on behalf of Peter Spencer and Ann Haigh today. Over the past decade the way our politicians have communicated with the electorate has changed. Whether it is still through the traditional leaflets or other new methods such as letters, emails etc, one of the things that hasn't changed is the need for politicians to get their message over.
In my post yesterday I pointed out a few things which I felt were being overlooked by the swarms of commentators and media folk who are trying to predict the outcome of this election. Specifically, I explained my view that we would end up with a hung parliament of some description. In fact, I am ...
I was just driving home when I heard on the radio that the three Labour MPs facing criminal charge (Devine, Chaytor and Morley) are to get legal aid to defend their case. Conservative leader David Cameron said "Granting legal aid to the MPs was a complete outrage". Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said "People will be dismayed that former MP s are going to get legal aid in their expenses cases". I could not agree more. Using tax payers money for people who are wealthy and given the outrage in the public on the expenses scandle could not be timed ...
A press conference, a visit to a school holiday club and some homework mon the train for Nick Clegg today. First up was the launch of the Party's tax plans at a press conference with Vince Cable. At the heart of the campaign is the plan to raise the basic tax allowance to £10,000. As Nick put it: Under our plans, a husband and wife where only one is working will gain £700. Under the Tory plans this will be just £300. Under our plans, a husband and wife where both are working will gain £1400. Under the Tory plans ...
Up to now I have been mainly blogging on what I'm up to in my council ward in Winnersh, which happens to be slap bang in the middle of Wokingham constituency. From now until May 7th I'm going to be blogging about the General Election, in which I'm standing as the Lib Dem candidate. And what do I think of it so far? No, not rubbish, but a lot of hot air and a lot of ducking and diving. From commentators as well as politicians. From all the door-knocking I have done it is clear people in Wokingham are ready ...
Lovely sunny day today. We spent most of it canvassing and delivering around Penrith whilst hearing rumours of other candidates in Kirkby Stephen! Whilst on our travels we saw this beautiful 1940s Harley Davidson which we simply have to share with you. I am now off to Kirkby Stephen for Question Time, with Churches Together.
Bracknells PPC's from 4 of the parties Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and UKIP can be heard on On BBC Berkshires Andrew Peach show. Link below http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00771bg From 2 hours and 1 minute into the program so please fast forward to this point and check it out. Phillip Lee was also on BBC's 'The Politics South Show' This can be watched here about 50 minutes in
Sunday morning, started the day at Long Marton with a Big Breakfast in aid of the village hall. It's just a shame we can't go back to the "cafe" everyday. It's a great village hall, being restored by local people. Every village needs a church, a hall and a pub. Long Marton has all three and long may it continue!
Mon 12th
16:45
LDVideo #GE2010 Election Special: Clegg promises fair tax system, warns of unrest over cuts
Been too busy campaigning to watch the TV news this week? Then catch up here with three videos showing Nick Clegg on his election travels ... Nick Clegg promises 'fair' tax system – attacks Labour over its "outrageously unfair" tax system Clegg warns of unrest over cuts – Nick says Britain could be hit by "serious social strife" if Labour or the Tories win the election and introduce severe spending cuts.
The BBC reports: A Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate has withdrawn from the general election amid a police investigation, the party said. David Murray was standing for The Wrekin seat in Shropshire. A Lib Dem spokesman confirmed he was no longer contesting the seat but said he could not comment further "due to an on-going police investigation". West Mercia Police said it could not comment or confirm if Mr Murray was being investigated. The Lib Dem spokesman said: "Mr Murray, on the advice of the party, has withdrawn as the candidate in the forthcoming election. We are unable to comment ...
Well, I have only had time to read Julian Glover's verdict ("statist mush"), watch the nauseating video and read the BBC summary. I wish I could say I was impressed – I think Britain wants and needs a hung parliament, and that means Labour putting up a better fight. But I think Glover's verdict looks ...
Congratulations go from all at the Voice to David Ford, the leader of Alliance, the Northern Ireland sister party of the Liberal Democrats. The Northern Irish Assembly has voted David in as Justice Minister as other parties failed to find cross-community support. The BBC reports Before appointing a new minister, MLAs passed a vote to increase the number of devolved ministries at Stormont, to include the new Department of Justice. Mr Ford will be in charge of the department with more than 4,000 employees and a budget of nearly £1.5bn. He is the first Northern Ireland Justice minister since Westminster ...
Just weeks before crucial elections the Labour party in Andover has already given up the fight. In the by-election for the vacant Anna ward borough council seat they haven't bothered to nominate a candidate, leaving the election a three way contest between the Lib Dem candidate Tony Evans, a Tory and a UKIP candidate. This follows previous poor performances by Andover Labour in the 2009 county elections they came 4th with just 6% of votes cast and in the 2007 borough elections when they fielded just 5 candidates for 15 seats and gained less that 10% of the vote. This ...
Pushed for time, but want to keep up-to-date with how the campaign's going? Here are today's must-reads ... Lib Dems to accuse Labour of failing to deliver fair taxes (Guardian) Tax is the issue of the day for the Lib Dems, with the party launching an attack on Labour for increasing taxes on the poor over the last 13 years: According to party analysis of Treasury figures, the poorest 20% of people are losing more of their income in tax than they did in 1997, while the richest 20% are paying less. ... Clegg will say: "On the day Labour ...
Had a comment passed back to me today by my mum. One of her friends, who is a local voter, has apparently opined that nobody is going to vote for me because I have 'all that ironwork' in my face. Well, yes, I have a small eyebrow piercing, and my tongue is pierced. Now, aside from the question of whether this has any impact whatsoever on my ability to represent local people and/or hold the local council to account - and I would posit that it doesn't - the guy in question is someone who is to be regularly found ...
Please see the original post. I have now had a reply: Thanks for contacting the BBC regarding our election coverage and the story of Lord Adonis and so-called 'tactical voting'. In our overall Editorial guidelines relating to election coverage we don't make a distinction between what you describe as a 'process' rather than a policy issue. Given the general state of the ...
Mon 12th
15:20Lib Dems on Labour's manifesto: "Every Labour manifesto since 1997 has been full of promises they ha...
Here's Lib Dem manifesto author Danny Alexander's first take on the launch of Labour's manifesto: Every Labour manifesto since 1997 has been full of promises they have broken. They simply can't be trusted to do a single thing they say. The tax system is less fair than when Labour came to power. The only party that is committed to making Britain fairer is the Liberal Democrats." And to support Danny's comments, the party has today issued a report card self-explanatorily titled Labour's Broken Promises comparing Labour's 2001 manifesto pledges with the reality almost a decade on. Here's what it says: ...
A quick visual summary of the Labour Party manifesto launched today, courtesy of the Wordle tool, showing which words feature most frequently: [IMG: Labour manifesto - Wordle analysis] Most notable is the relative rarity of "families" despite the way in which saying "hard working families" has become almost an addiction for many British politicians in the last few years. Public services, in general and specifically, also feature heavily, whilst the economy and tax take a much smaller role in the overall word balance. Cross-posted from the Mandate blog.
Vince Cable's interview on the BBC has got some Tory bloggers excited. Take a look for yourself and judge. My guess is that if Osbourne had done as well he would have been acclaimed as the new messiah
This is from Labour's 2005 manifesto: [IMG: Extract from Labour's 2005 general election manifesto]
Commenting on the multi-million pound investment in coastal tourism projects by the Welsh government Heritage Minister during a General election campaign, Eleanor Burnham, Welsh Lib Dem Shadow Heritage Minister said: "While this money for coastal tourism projects is welcomed, the timing of this announcement is blatant electioneering from the Labour-Plaid government. "Why have they waited until the election to announce this money? People will see straight though this stunt and the Labour and Plaid Cymru government should have more respect for the people of Wales. Their votes cannot be bought by electioneering stunts like this. "If sweetening the people of ...
In Japan, April 8th is 'Buddha's Birthday' and the 'Flower Festival' celebrations in streets and temples across the land add some lovely Spring colour to the occasion. For those of you who would still like to take the opportunity to wish him many happy returns (pun intended), the rest of eastern Asia will be celebrating Buddha's birthday on May 21st, in line with the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. Hopefully, this week's by-election results are free of any karmic connotations - of one principal and one Town Council by-election reported to ALDC, we took last place in both. The single principal ...
Earlier today Gordon Brown launched the Labour manifesto with the words, we're in the "future business". Now me being a sci-fi fan know there are two types of future as I tweeted*. There is the Utopian sort look at Star Trek for an example where the earth lives in harmony. Or there is the apocalyptic type see Mad Max for a prime example. Therefore one has to wonder if these may well be the cover of their manifesto before airbrushing. * Apoligies for the predictive text error at the start.
Commenting on Labour's manifesto launch, Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "Peter Hain and Labour's hollow promises are a con and the people of Wales shouldn't be duped by them. "They are promising to rebuild the economy yet Gordon Brown was a key architect of one of the biggest depressions since 1930s. They promised to halve child poverty by 2010 yet thousands of children still live in poverty in Wales and the figures are rising. They promised to restore our trust in politics but over the last 13 years they have presided over expenses scandal after expenses ...
The new Labour PEB is surprisingly good. It's obviously pretty cheap and it's a bit too long but the message it gets across is very clever. It gets straight to the point and if people are willing to sit and watch it for the whole length then I imagine it will play pretty well with voters. Every election tends to come down to the economy and this one will more than most. If Labour can win peoples trust on this issue then they have the election in the bag. Unfortunately I think they lost peoples trust a long time ago. ...
Living in Warsaw has been a very strange experience since the air crash in Smolensk, Russia on Saturday which claimed the life of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria. The details of the tragedy have been well documented by the various news outlets and will continue to be carried for the next few days. 15 MPs including two deputy speakers of the Polish Parliament, the heads of the armed forces, the head of the National Bank of Poland and countless other civil servants, dignitaries and relatives of those who died at the original Katyn massacre were also ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 164th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (4th-10th April, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. New Lib Dem poster on Nich ...
Hopi hopes to woo me over to the Labour side (as a long term project*). His excellent blog may be the best chance of doing so, but that is still not saying much. Despite my support for much of what they have done – notably Keynesianism in a deflation-slump – Labour under Brown has been ...
Ghastly news from Hungary on such a sombre day commemorating the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Jobbik, the far-right party has gained one-in-six votes in this week-end's Hungarian elections. Jobbik is described as being ...
Saturday: Hang on a minute! We thought the Big Fish people were doing "Song of the Space Whale"! Here's Daddy's review: They do say: "If voting changed anything, they'd drop you down a mile long chute into the belly of a space beast..." or something like that anyway. This is splatter-gun satire mixed with a punningly literal interpretation of "steampunk": literal in the sense of splicing the steam-age ocean-liner-gone-to-seed look of Starship UK (with its unorthodox and non-technological "engine") with the Sex Pistols. God here being the Doctor, saving the Queen and her loyal fascist regime of smilers and winders. ...
I just got phone interviewed by the local press about standing for the council. The journalist seemed very nice, but, you know, journalist, so I'm waiting to see what they actually print... Hope I didn't say anything that my agent will shout at me for. Knowing me, I probably did. Oh well, honesty and forthrightness is one of my platforms... ANYWAY. One of the things she wanted was a good picture of me. I like the one I have on my Facebook profile, but it's probably not big enough or high enough quality. Anybody got any good piccies of me ...
Mon 12th
12:52
Maybe Someone Should Teach The Local Conservatives The Difference Between Singlar and Plural
A basic English lesson (from someone who is Dyslexic). One person who is a member of the liberal democrats is a lib Dem, or a Liberal Democrat. More than one person who is a member of the liberal democrat party are a group of lib Dems. You'd think that most people would know this however today ...
Last Friday BBC 2's nightly news programme Newsnight paid a visit to Luton South and I was pleased to be interviewed by the infamous(!) Michael Crick. He seemed surprised that our leaflets didn't contain much about our disgraced MP, as we all know we have been campaigning hard about this issue but this campaign is about so much more than just Margaret Moran! I was greatly pleased to be informed by Michael that we have had far more literature out than either Labour or the Conservatives. Also, I noticed that neither of their candidates have mentioned Newsnight on their websites ...
I was watching a re-run of episode 126 of the West Wing the other evening. The Santos campaign were low on funds and discussing one last throw of the dice with an 'attack ad'. Josh had come up with ad advert with a chicken aimed at pushing the two front runners into a debate with his candidate. Sensibly the campaign decided not to run with it and against all the conventional wisdom to stay positive. It strikes me that there are some fairly obvious parallels. LynneFeathrstone picked one up this morning referring to a report in the Guardian and locally ...
I was out all yesterday campaigning and have been experiencing the various parties poster displays across a couple of different constituencies. Now I'm not talking about the posters that the parties unveil to the media with the huge hype that goes with them. I'm talking about the hundreds of posters that ordinary people put up in their windows and gardens to support something they believe in. All too often these posters are dismissed by political pundits as meaningless and we are told that they only appeal to party activists. They may be right but I find this so patronising to ...
There's an extensive piece in today's edition of The Scotsman, which includes some observations from myself: Constraints on election practices tick all the boxes for the fairest of fights... In 2005, total Labour spending was £17.94m, including £1.64m in Scotland; Conservatives spent £17.85m including £1.32m in Scotland; Liberal Democrats laid out £4.32m including £435,000 in Scotland; and the SNP spent £193,000 in Scotland. Profligate though these figures may appear at a time when it can be assumed that the majority of candidates standing will be arguing the looming need to spend less, they are extremely modest in comparison with other ...
A nice little tongue-in-cheek move from the unofficial campaign to make Vince Cable Chancellor: [IMG: Vince Cable campaign hits Foursquare]
Since the start of the campaign last week I have been busy talking with and meeting my fellow Luton South residents. I have been out campaigning in every area of our town as I firmly believe that our next MP has to be a representative for our whole town, rather than previous MPs who have been only concerned by narrow interests. It is clear from meeting with fellow residents that for them this election is about much more than Margaret Moran and how Labour have let our community down, but instead about our town's future. Instead, people are concerned about ...
The ramming through of the Digital Economy Bill during Parliament's 'wash-up' period has got the most attention, online at least. However there is another measure that was forced through, and this one without even a proper vote, which should have people up in arms. A change to Section 106 of the Postal Services Act 2000 might not at first sound that important, but the change means that in future postal operators (such as the Royal Mail) can decide to detain any item of post and send it on to Customs and Excise for inspection. Previously this could be done, but ...
HatTip to LeftOutside for alerting me to a great new blog called Rock and a Hard Place – and hattip to that blog for highlighting least-surprising-story-of-campaign part 1: UKIP candidate found blurting racist nonsense ont' Internet. Rock and a Hard Place has that natural wit that makes an instant hit to the RSS button an ...
You can sum up Gordon Brown's manifesto launch speech in just a few words: More of the same. Brown thinks this is a good thing. The people in the room thought this was a good thing. Frankly I thought it was arrogant. How dare he promise us fairness and political reform when Labour have had 13 ...
At the weekend, Comment is Free ran this piece from me which was a follow up to my poll reading tips post: Election 2010: It ain't just that swing Cif reader glassfet asked why 'uniform national swing' probably won't help to predict the result. Here's why. The number of seats each party wins is only very loosely related to how many votes it gets across the country. Usually more votes means more seats and vice versa, but not always. In 1997, for example, the Liberal Democrat vote share fell slightly but the number of seats won leapt upwards. That is ...
[IMG: gas-mains.jpg] The temporary traffic lights for the replacement gas mains on Mole Road in Sindlesham are causing mayhem. Not because they are wrongly phased, but because of Bearwood Road. The one-way part of Mole Road for the gas mains work comes almost to the junction with Bearwood Road. So when the light goes green, cars come from Arborfield through the one-way bit and then have to stop because traffic turning right at the mini-roundabout from Bearwood Road has priority. Which means when the light goes green for traffic coming from the crossroads, no-one can move because cars coming from ...
Esther Rantzen, the independent candidate for Luton South, writes a regular diary article for the Daily Mail. Her latest one recounts her encounters with naked men on Luton's doorsteps; "And there are moments of embarrassment. I had no idea how many men open the front door stark naked. 'Congratulations,' I said to the first one. 'You're my first nude.' The bits I could see above the letter box blushed prettily. The second male nude was pierced so unexpectedly that I was rendered completely speechless. I just grabbed my leaflets and ran away." You can read more here; 'Naked men on ...
Its been widely reported today that the Tories have set up a website - www.stopthescaremongering.com - which they are encouraging voters to visit. They want people to demand an apology for what they call a "sick" Labour leaflet warning that the Tories would damage provision for cancer sufferers. Sorry - but wasn't it the Tories who were trying to terrify the country witless a couple of weeks ago that anything other than a huge Tory majority at the General Election would have the £ tumbling and the city in meltdown. Now thats proper scaremongering if you ask me. At the ...
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg today launched Lib Dem proposals for fair taxes. Readers of this blog and people that have spoken to me will know that I am passionate about the need to reduce inequality in Reading so that everyone can thrive wherever they live and whatever their bank balance. This is because since moving to Reading seven years ago I was struck by the real poverty I saw in a so-called 'boom town'. The Economist confirmed this picture in this article a few weeks ago.I was disgusted that under a Labour government and Labour council areas of the ...
Dear Lord Adonis (may I call you Andrew...?), I read with interest your views on the similarities between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. It is with grace that Lib Dems accept your praise for Liberal politicians of the past, from Gladstone to Keynes and Beveridge via Lloyd George - many thanks for the history lesson, much appreciated. In return, most Liberal Democrats have no trouble acknowledging that in your 13 years in power, New Labour has introduced some progressive measures, including legislation on civil partnerships, the Freedom of Information Act and some constitutional and Parliamentary reforms (we shall revisit the ...
I rather hope that David Cameron's proposal last week that senior public service salaries should be capped at no more that 20 times that lowest paid in the orgainisation will prove an "own goal." First, it is clearly ill thought out. Although some senior public servants, particularly local authority and hospital trust chief executives, have broken the public service ethic by demanding, or at least receiving, excessive salaries, if the "lowest paid" in their organisation is paid the minimum wage (presently £5.80 an hour, which works out at £12 064 per annum for a 40 hour week,) there are actually ...
There is an article in the Sunday Times about yet more pressure being brought to bear on Wikileaks as they prepare to release another damning video of American massacre, this time in Afghanistan. But what caught my eye was yet another example of the propaganda doublespeak with which our wars of occupation are justified. American aircraft dropped 500lb and 1,000lb bombs on a suspected militant compound People in Central Asia live in traditional courtyard houses, with rooms opening onto a central yard and an enclosing wall. This is because of the extreme heat of summer, and livestock are sometimes ...
I see both the tired old party's are continuing with their puerile and immature tactics. Over on the blog of the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate we have the customary, repetitive and tedious cliché of 'it's a two-horse race'. Meanwhile insults continue with the Conservative candidate being labeled a 'chicken' because of the belief she does not ...
Am posting my CiF article here - with my own original heading - just to safeguard it for eternity. I was very pleased with the comments on CiF - 73 positive and 3 negative. But less pleased with the Guardian's treatment of the article. It was never referenced on any of the main pages. It was linked from the CiF front page for only 14 hours - 11 of which hours were between 10pm and 9am. By contrast, for example, a rubbish right wing article from Charles Crawford claiming that David Cameron's East European allied parties are not really objectionable, ...
Just read the Guardian piece on how both Gordon Brown and David Cameron have failed to respond to a Newsnight invitation to be interviewed by Jeremy Paxman. The deadline was today apparently. Nick Clegg accepted straight off! So - two of the three men who would be Prime Minister are obviously cowardy cowardy custards! Guess that leaves only one option then!
I had an e mail from a constituent the other day pointing out that the available biographical material about myself is a bit on the thin side and that people might want to know more about me as a person. There will be more biographical material in some of the leaflets going out, and I have added a biographical section to www.garstonld.org.uk. However I thought I'd add a bit here too, so here goes. If you are the sort of person who finds this irrelevant...no need to read on. I am 50 and I live in Garston (Under the Bridge). ...
I didn't know whether to write this or not because one of my friends who is currently undergoing cancer treatment received one of these disgusting cards a few days ago. To say I'm disgusted would be quite an understatement. This truly represents the lowest of the low when it comes to political campaigning. Targeting vulnerable people with such a negative message as this is horrible. Andy Reeves sums up what I feel very well in his post here. There is a place for robust political campaigning but this issue is not it. There are of course more important questions here. ...
This message will only make sense to one person but because the letter is anonymous I can't think of any other way of replying. This is just to assure you that the issue you raised, plus the follow up details, has been passed on to the relevant people and I'll be staying in touch with them to remind them to pursue it. Thanks for being in touch
On Friday the new and traditional media were full of the tale of Stuart MacLennan, whose foul tirades led to his removal as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Moray. Amongst those leading the calls for his removal were the head on the Conservative's press office, Henry Macrory and the Conservative Party leader David Cameron, who described the remarks as "pretty appalling". So you might wonder what the Conservative hierarchy might think of a candidate who posted this: The blog is the work of Watford Conservative campaigner and council candidate, Chris Hawes. Not that Chris Hawes has the greatest judgement: he ...
Compare and contrast:
Curious leaflet from the Conservatives delivered today. Under 'Improving the life of Older People' it talks about stopping 'any move to take away Accident & Emergency or Maternity provision'.
The next PACT (Partners and Community Together) meeting is this Wednesday at St Barnabus Church Hall atart 7pm All Welcome More information HERE
Nominations will be officially out this at noon today, but Epping Forest, efficient as usual, have already published the candidates on their website. A quick browse through show that there are very few BNP candidates this time. And those councillors who are up for re-election are not standing a second time.Now I know that councillors can't be around all the time. Some feel they have spent long
Forty-nine years ago the Soviet Union successfully launched a manned spaceship-satellite into orbit around the Earth, and thus began one of the most exciting chapters in human history. Major Yuri Gagarin became the first human to slip "the surly bonds ...
Mon 12th
08:57
Peter Hain and Labour's hollow promises are a con and the people of Wales shouldn't be duped by them
Labour are launching their manifesto today and it is the same old story. Grand ambitions, with little prospect of them being realised. Peter Hain and Labour's hollow promises are a con and the people of Wales shouldn't be duped by them. They are promising to rebuild the economy yet Gordon Brown was a key architect of one of the biggest depressions since 1930s. They promised to halve child poverty by 2010 yet thousands of children still live in poverty in Wales and the figures are rising. They promised to restore our trust in politics but over the last 13 years ...
The BBC are leading this morning on claims by the opposition parties that two assembly government ministers are abusing their position by announcing £17.5m in tourism grants during the general election campaign. The money will fund schemes in Swansea Bay, Pembrokeshire and Gwynedd and will include three new visitor centres, including one at Aberdaron on the Llŷn Peninsula and new facilities at Dale, Porthgain and Coppett Hall in Pembrokeshire. Ministers said the centres will provide top-class, environmentally friendly facilities for people to enjoy the coast by foot or water and experience water sports. However, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the ...
The deadlines coming up this week are: Proclamation of dissolution / issue of general election writ: Monday 12 April Statement of persons nominated for local government election: Noon on Monday 12 April Receipt of general election writ: (Probable date) Tuesday 13 April Publication of notice of general election: (Probable date) Tuesday 13 April Deadline for withdrawal of nominations for local government election: Noon on Tuesday 13 April Deadline for appointment of election agents for local government election: Noon on Tuesday 13 April General election nominations begin: (Probable date) 10am on Wednesday 14 April (date will be day after publication of ...
I've set up a list of the Twitter accounts of candidates and others involved in the general election campaign in the Luton South constituency. http://twitter.com/andymstrange/luton-south If you spot any I've missed you can suggest them by commenting to this post. The Twitter hashtag for Luton South is #LutonS (taken from this list http://bit.ly/GE2010).
A certain Conservative tweeter this morning suggested that they needed "...to get the message across, a vote for LibDems = a vote for Labour. The idea of Clegg & Cable playing politics is scary! #GE10" it's nice to know that on the morning when we announce our tax plans and that is what the twittersphere is ...
Nick Robinson explains how his reporting is balanced, with a chocolate analogy: Do you get much sleep during the campaign? Not a lot. You go from 7am in your suit, asking questions in Westminster, through to 10.30pm. It's a long day. My crash point is just after the six o'clock news when the bar of chocolate and ...
In case you are wondering how the town's Jehovah's Witnesses are getting on, this was the scene on Saturday morning. I was a little like a barn raising with high-visibility jackets.
I didn't watch the Simpsons until my housemate at Uni sat me down in front of a TV and wouldn't let me leave. 16 years later this clip still makes me chuckle. Classic Simpsons.........
A belated post from yesterday on the stump Yesterday was what I would call one of those bog standard days of a foot slogger in an election campaigning. You get up early you load up the boot of a car and just keep going. I delivered in three wards yesterday in North, East and West Hull. One of the good things about the good weather is that you get a lot of people in their gardens (good for people contact, bad for speed!) What amazes me is the reaction I get when I am walking down the path; thee is ...
The Liberal Democrats have published research that shows the amount of tax paid by the poorest has gone up under Labour. According to their analysis of Treasury figures, the poorest 20% of people are losing more of their income in tax than they did in 1997, while the richest 20% are paying less: The party's research shows in 1997, the poorest 20% of households had a gross income of £7,300 each and paid £2,760 in tax, meaning they paid 37.8% of their income in tax. However, the richest 20% of households then had a gross income of £48,720 each and ...
Did you know that the poorest 20% of the population are paying a higher proportion of their income in tax now than in 1997? Did you know that the richest 20% of the population are paying a lower proportion of their income in tax now than in 1997? So when Gordon Brown attacks the Tories for giving tax breaks to the rich he should look at his own record. That is why today Nick Clegg is talking about a fairer tax for Britain. Lifting the personal allowance threshold to £10,000 putting £700 into the pockets of low to middle earners. ...
@timlovejoy was that the "adult" remake? in reply to timlovejoy # RT @jupitusphillip: Electoral Commission to announce 'Votes For Pets' to resolve marginals. #electionfacts # dear Apple, when asking if I want to update iTunes please don't autotick "Download Safari" as well. tvm # @rickysline1978 overhyped in reply to rickysline1978 # @doctorvee you can "download" the mp3 audio from the BBC, just tricky to do it in an automated podcast way. in reply to doctorvee # BENDTNER!!!!!!!!!! # according to Fox Sports the game is being played at Camp New # @mrchrisaddison You can watch it on http://www.tvcatchup.com/ in reply ...
Each candidate for a Parliamentary Election needs to be proposed and seconded plus gather the assent of 8 other individuals living in the constituency. While some parties may do this as a quick grab the first ten activists they can I think this is a time for a little bit of personal time with the members or supporters of the party that are going to sign. It is a change of pace. When you are out canvassing you generally want to find out a few basic answers and more on to the next door. When you are delivering you tend ...
OK, for those under a brick, headline news most of the last week has been the argument between the two Labservative parties over the planned National Insurance increase. It's dull and longwinded; palpably obviously, no one commenting on it in the media seems to actually understang it at all. Boy George Gideon Osborne doesn't. I suspect Darling does, but is keeping schtum for political reasons, and I'm pretty sure Vince is doing the same. Why would they both do this? Y'see, unless my understanding of economics generally is completely off base (and I've been trying to do a lot of ...
Yet more worry warting from local Conservatives crossed my radar tonight from my esteemed fellow blogger, Simon Ashall claiming on his blog Horsell's Mouth that Liberal Democrats in Woking are writing 'baseless rubbish' about the "importance of locality because they have little else to recommend their candidate". Oh contraire Simon! We have plenty with which ...
After speaking at an Hispanic church in Canning Town last evening, I was taken to meet several hundred members of London's Portuguese community at a Gala Awards Ceremony and concert in the magnificent Great Hall of the Battersea Arts Centre. The Gala was organised by the Portuguese-language newspaper As Noticias, which serves Portuguese expats in ...
Another day, another visit to Reading West constituency from a senior Labour figure - yesterday it was Deputy Leader Harriet Harman. Labour must be really worried about losing here. And from the feedback we're getting - they should be.I spoke to one gentleman on the doorstep in West Reading who said he had supported Martin Salter at previous elections. I pointed out he was standing down. "That's the problem" he replied. And it is clearly a huge problem for Labour in Reading. The same resident told me he wasn't planning on voting Labour this time. Many people I've been speaking ...
So today Labour releases its manifesto and its understood it contains a promise not raise income tax. Well that makes me a feel a whole lot better now doesn't it? Well no actually it doesn't. Like millions of other people around the country I am being daily smacked with other little gems of taxes thanks to ...
Wendy Taylor, candidate for Newcastle East (currently held by Labour Chief Whip Nick Brown) speaks to the meeting.Newcastle North candidate Ron Beadle runs out of fingers to count the number of council seats won by the Lib Dems from Labour in recent years in Newcastle.A unanimous vote for the candidates.Meeting chaired by City Council Leader John ShipleyGareth Kane from Newcastle Central waiting
I've come across another example of appalling journalism in the reporting of the election in Luton South. This time from the 'News of the World' so I shouldn't be that surprised, but is it too much to ask that they get the basic facts right? The article in question is here: 'Battleground UK: Paul McNamara in Luton South' I am only guessing here, but from the looks of it Mr McNamara, who is their 'defence correspondent', did a quick Google search for some background, jumped on the train to Luton, spent an hour or so interviewing Esther and a couple ...
Unless you've been in a flotation tank or on an uninhabited island in the outer Hebrides for the last week, you can't help but have noticed that the general election campaign is well under way across the country, and thus it's time for politics junkies like myself to rejoice regardless of what the outcome is likely to be. Now while I know that old Bob McKenzie and his bit of cardboard was always more accurate than any amount of cavorting by Peter Snow presenting dancing CGI Charles Kennedys, I'm a sucker for graphs and tables and interactive numbercrunching and this ...
[IMG: My foot] It's my foot. It's OK, as feet go – you're not getting the worst of it in a photo, as it's real downside is the smell, not what it looks like. It has a tough, tough toenail on my big toe that is increasingly difficult to cut through, even using my father's cast-off, heavy-duty chiropody shears. They are not quite as blistered as perhaps they ought to be at this stage in a campaign in which I am foot-soldier. There's something funky going on underneath my toes that leads to dead skin sloughing off periodically, and, as ...
There are blogs that go into great detail about the amount of time given to particular candidates in political programmes. Their raison d'etre is to inform us that their particular favourite is treated badly. One way of doing this is to count the number of interruptions that each of the panellists receives on shows such as Question Time. For me this sort of analysis is a waste of time. David Dimbleby's job is to keep people on the right track or to delve deeper. Interruptions may be entirely appropriate and have nothing to do with bias. I prefer qualitative research ...
[IMG: Mark Littlewood and Vince Cable] A week or two ago I thought the Tories had it....They were the ones who were talking about the need for spending cuts... And the need for them NOW.... That seemed credible to me and I thought they were on to something. Ok Ok the liberals were talking about cuts ... and we had been more specific about where the cuts would come from....and Vince is ...well Vince.... but we seemed reluctant to commit to them anytime soon - and that worried me. I could not (still dont) get why we weren't the "totally ...
Today's offering is from Kiwiblog, and takes us through the Sunday papers editorials looking at the general election from New Zealand.
A few days ago I blogged about concerns raised by locals about parking at Reading Girls School. I raised the matter with the Council's planning enforcement team and I recently recieved this reply: "Thank you for your enquiries concerning potential planning issues relating to Reading Girls School...Planning permission has been granted for the 'Erection of a part single, part two storey 1320 square metre Further Education Vocational Centre for girls' at Reading Girls School (07/01567/REG3). The approved site plan includes the provision of 32 (marked) car parking spaces in a location to the rear of the school and adjacent 1-11 Bede ...
