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ITV are advertising that the first leaders debates will be shown on ITV HD. Whilst ITV are always short of content for their HD output and many might wonder what the point is of watching a TV debate in HD, it might be rather interesting for political geeks and those with a knowledge of the history of big political debates. The famous debate that all leaders must have in the back of their minds when they are planning how they hope they will resonate with the electorate is the famous Nixon-Kennedy debate. The first debate between them saw Nixon turn ...
Europe is an issue that just hasn't figured in the UK election so far — other than among the headbangers of UKIP, of course. I can understand why none of the three main party leaders wishes to push the subject to the fore, not least David Cameron. But it was interesting to take time-out from active ...
The hysteria from the other main parties about a hung parliament is growing again thanks to the new polls today that showed the gap between Labour and the Conservatives shortening once again. I cant help but feel that that there is a certain amount of panic going around in both camps as this is not the ...
Last Sunday, I went up to Milestones in Basingstoke to take part in the BBC South edition of the Politics Show. If you missed it, it's still available on the iPlayer. The relevant section starts here.
Freed from the need to write or print leaflets tonight, I did a bit of that other time honoured campaign activity - canvassing. This is not the first canvassing I have done since the PM called the election. I did some last week as well. Last week's most memorable canvass was of a lady in Whickham who told me she was once a Labour activists, is now UKIP but is voting for us.Tonight's most
All The letter in last week's Herald from Cllrs. Saint, Seccombe and Mr Zahawi blamed the new foodstore proposals in Shipston on others, claiming 'The foodstore proposal was only introduced because the planners were obliged to consult on developers' aspirations, a diktat imposed by the Government Office of the West Midlands'. This is misleading and responsibility for the proposals lies firmly with the Conservatives at the District Council. Mr Zahawi can perhaps be forgiven for the mistake, as he is new to the area, but the same excuse cannot be given by Cllrs. Saint and Seccombe. The Council is not ...
"Tonight at ten, fair taxes and cleaner politics - the Lib Dem appeal to voters." For the first time in nine election days, the Liberal Democrats are given top billing - though, despite Labour and the Tories getting consistent main BBC headlines for their manifestos, the Lib Dems weren't top during the day. "Later" headlines: BNP given plug for later on. Two supportive quotes from public for them. None against. Unbalanced - as ever, media talk up the BNP way out of proportion to their support. Liberal Democrat Manifesto Launch: Fairness Click here to read the full Liberal Democrat Manifesto, ...
A comparatively late start today as the big event was the manifesto launch at 9.30 at Bloomberg. This isn't the normal press conference location - and just as well. There were hundreds of journalists there (including five BBC correspondents but only one camera to film them all). First up was Sarah Teather to introduce the event, followed by Danny Alexander who chaired the manifesto working group which wrote the document. Then came Vince Cable who gave gravitas to the numbers and finally Nick Clegg. As I mentioned last night, the event was deliberately businesslike in its approach. No projections on ...
I was shocked to read in the Northern Echo that our Labour MP, Dari Taylor, had said about an estate in Thornaby, "you wouldn't have wanted an animal to live here". I don't know how she could not only be so insulting to people who had lived there and done their best to keep it nice, but just whose fault was it ? A Labour Council since 1979. A Labour Governemnt for 13 years. For at least the...
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 14th April ... 2010 General Election Diary Day 9: Frit, frit, frit! (Nick Barlow) Why BBC1 should 'empty chair' David Cameron next Monday: "Occasionally, they could flash up the caption 'You're watching a Panorama special: Jeremy Paxman interviewing David Cameron. David Cameron has declined to appear. Next week, we'll do the same with Gordon Brown if he doesn't turn up.'" A preview of the first leaders' debate on TV (Jonathan ...
Well its the obvious conclusion isn't it? If raising the Income tax threshold disadvantages those at the bottom end of the pay scale then taking away it completely will mean that the poorest will be best of. No that hasn't been suggested? Well maybe its because that removes incentives to start working, Maybe its because we ...
John Barnett, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Dundee West, today welcomed publication of the Party's General Election manifesto. John said, "This manifesto is a radical and responsible blueprint for the future prosperity and integrity of our country - a Liberal Democrat manifesto you can trust; a manifesto for fairness." There are four key themes : Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket A fair chance for every child A fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greenerAnd a fair deal by cleaning up politics John added, "This week we have seen yet again the tired old formulas from ...
Please can any Independents standing in Bracknell or Wokingham get in touch with this blog. Email Dazmando at Bracknellblog@googlemail.com.
On the day that George Osborne is self indulging with Brown's (rightful) admittance that whilst he was Chancellor Labour de-regulated the banking system too far, Ken Clarke (the favourite amongst the Tories) is preaching the need for a laisser faire approach to business – with weak regulation at its heart. Once again, there is no coherent message from the Tories, ...
Tomorrow the voters of Wisbech North - at least those who don't have a postal vote - go to the polls to elect a new county councillor. Electors in Kirkgate ward also have the opportunity to elect a new district and town councillor too. I've been busy in the last few weeks canvassing with and for Dave Patrick, who I believe will make a first class councillor for his home town. He's energetic, determined, and not afraid to stand up for what is right. He'll put the regeneration of Wisbech, and the interests of local people, first. One-party states aren't ...
The Liberal Democrat manifesto for the General Election is now available - online, in print, in an audio version, in an easy read format, and there's even an app for your iPhone or your BlackBerry. You can read the full version, summaries of particular policy areas, or mix your own video from your top three topics. Our manifesto is positive but realistic, ambitious but carefully costed. It concentrates on four main changes the Liberal Democrats - and the Liberal Democrats alone - are offering:Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket A fair chance for every child A fair ...
Dear Fraser, This morning I have launched our General Election manifesto. Every manifesto needs to have an idea at its heart. The basic idea that animates this manifesto is something I have always believed. I believe every single person is extraordinary. The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfill that extraordinary potential. My view - the liberal view - is that government's job is to help them to do it. Not to tell people how to live their lives. But to make their choices possible, to release their potential, no matter who ...
Not having the time to write my own blog tonight I have taken the liberty of lifting this posting from North Thanet Liberal Democrats candidate which is, exactly what it says it is, an Introduction of Laura Murphy and good luck to her and all other candidates in the forthcoming election. PS I was going to detail an extraordinary conversation with a KCC functionary which was indicative of the exclusive anti-democratic attitude the main parties, anyway enough of that later. Copied from Liberal Democrats North Thanet 1.24.24pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 13th Apr 2010 Laura became a community campaigner when ...
As reported in the Hendon Times, the Liberal Democrats have launched our manifesto. It centres on four key policies to bring back fairness: Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket. A fair chance for every child. A fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener. A fair deal for you from politicians. The manifesto details what these policies mean in practice. So, what are the reviews of the manifesto so far in the national press? Well, The Times says: "They have done the best job of all the three main parties in providing a plan for cutting public ...
Wed 14th
21:30
Votes or seats? Why Nick Clegg won't, can't and shouldn't answer that hung Parliament question
Ever since Nick Clegg launched his line on a hung Parliament – that he would talk to the party that won the "strongest mandate" and was keeping all options open – the question has been asked (though not by the public): does that mean the party with most votes or the party with most seats? And ever since Nick has been asked that question, he has studiously refused to answer it. He stonewalled Paxman on Monday, and at the Lib Dem manifesto launch today. And you know what? He's absolutely right to refuse to be drawn. Here's why: the crazy ...
Here's a chance for the BBC to show true political impartiality – next Monday, from 8.30 to 9pm, they should show Jeremy Paxman sitting quietly in a chair with an empty chair opposite him. Occasionally, they could flash up the caption 'You're watching a Panorama special: Jeremy Paxman interviewing David Cameron. David Cameron has declined ...
Today's unveiling of the Lib Dem manifesto 2010 was long awaited and most welcome. Strap lined as 'change that works for you', I've enjoyed pulling out the things that get me really excited about what a Lib Dem government would do for us. My top 10 are (cheating slightly by grouping same topic initiatives together): 1. First £10k earnings to be tax free: because it will cut most of our tax bills by £700 p.a. and increase pensioner revenue by £100 (and reduce the army of officials needed to manage income support monies as fewer people will need them); set ...
Having done a few stumbling minutes on News 24 (I don't enjoy sounding like a cheerleader) .... ... here is my bit about the LD manifesto on Cif at the Polls The Guardian's stable of writers seem very positive too. As you know, I am sceptical about their bank bashing, and there are plenty of things in the ...
When it was announced that there would be televised leaders' debates during this election campaign, I did not share the general euphoria in the blogosphere. My doubts about how Nick Clegg would fare have been largely assuaged by his assured performance so far, and whoever negotiated the arrangements on behalf of the Liberal Democrats deserves several medals. But I am still not convinced that the debates will make great viewing. Everyone knows the story about how Nixon's poor performance in the first televised debate lost him the election to JFK, but they have not played the key role in American ...
Charlotte Gore on the blinkered attitude of Brillo.Chrisjw133 reviews the Lib Dem Blackberry app. Other platforms are available.Dean Whitbread interviews Bridget Fox on Lib Dem TV.Sadie spends a bit of time away from her Tavern on balloon duty.Tom Griffin writing on OurKingdom highlights how the Tories are learning about the perils of the First Past the Post voting system in Northern Ireland. Wednesday bonus is a presentation on Apple's iPad which has recently launched in the US and will launch here soon. There are lots of questions about whether it will take off in the same way as the iPhone ...
For those who don't know me I think they would be quite surprised that i am happiest in a campaign when I am pounding the streets with the team. In an earlier post I think I gave the impression that there are almost two separate campaigns. the local and the national. This is our first real Parliamentary campaign in Hull and I realised today that there is a third. that is the campaign around the candidate. I had a small taste of this third campaign today when I spent a little time with Denis Healy before his interview with two ...
Can any candidate in the country trump Phil "I'm not a racist, but" Woolas for the most revolting looking campaign website? I thought scrolling marquees, flashing text, and badly anti-aliased .gifs died with Geocities, but looking at this effort it appears he's fighting the 1997 campaign all over again, and not just because of the tired old canards about "vote Lib Dem, get Tory". I've heard of producing websites in-house to save money, but Woolas appears to have delegated designing duties to David Blunkett here. Horrible. Just horrible.
Sunday and Monday I was zonked out with some kind of flu, and Lindsay called the out of hours doctor, who prescribed some antibiotics. Tuesday I was better, went to see my GP who prescribed some other medication for my low haemoglobin. Shadia came to lunch (see photograph), and we had a good talk about the situation in Bangladesh. Electricity is being cut off without warning for much of the day in Dhaka, and people who can afford it are buying generators. For many people, this is a more important question than the war crimes trials. Today I was much ...
My trip to Lamport on Saturday - which led me to Shortwood House - was chiefly to see this building. Lamport Rectory was the birthplace of the writes and illustrator Denys Watkins-Pitchford. He was born there in 1905 when his father was the rector. As Wikipedia records: Denys was himself considered to be delicate as a child, and because of this was educated at home, while his younger twin, Roger, was sent away to school. He spent a great deal of time on his own, wandering through the fields, and developed a love of the outdoors, which was to influence ...
The launch of a party's general election manifesto is a big story, so we've been covering it in a series of posts here on The Voice in the last 24 hours. If you're just catching up on our coverage now, here's a summary of the posts: Liberal Democrat manifesto: advance peek – everyone can read the manifesto now, but this post summaries the main points and gives some of the background Liberal Democrat manifesto by numbers – blogging the manifesto launch Lib Dem manifesto launch attracts media plaudits – Stephen reports on the very positive response to the LibDem launch ...
Somehow I forgot to blog about this, but the number of candidates declared to be standing in Luton South has now reached 11 with the addition of Frank Sweeney from the Workers Revolutionary Party. Full list of Luton South candidates
I am assured that every piece of litter was picked up afterwards. And the music is by Eno.
Alas! I will be in Vilnius speaking at an economics conference, so will not be able to watch the first leaders debate- at least not live. It is quite a moment - the first time anything like this has happened in British electoral history. The historic excuse for not doing so was ostensibly because the British system is Parliamentary, not Presidential. However, as power has been centralised on 10 Downing St, so the resistance to the idea of a debate has fallen. It will be - of course- a highly managed affair, though David Cameron tried to pretend today that ...
The new Liberal Democrat party election broadcast has just aired again after the BBC news. You can view it below. Very post apocalpyic in feel and music, maybe the Labour party did use this manifesto cover after all. But all is well as Nick Clegg tells us that there is hope he walks past the car of Sarah Jane Smith's car, the Doctor cannot be far away. Thank god he has changed and no longer has the voice similar to the one over Labour's broadcast last night. Also as Cllr Nick Barlow points out always better to use a party ...
So after speculating that perhaps the Local Conservatives would stop mentioning their criticism of Ed Davey and Susan Kramer for raising the issue of the campaign to Save Kingston hospital I came across this on Politics.co.uk. As you can see it yet again raises the claim of scaremongering, though this has now changed from the original claim ...
So we're nearly a week into the official campaign period, and this has officially been the busiest week of my life! The week really starts and ends on a Sunday with campaign team meeting. A small group of people made up of experienced campaigners, party staff and led by the Chair of the campaign, Rodney Berman, leader of Cardiff Council. We analyse how the last week has gone, and what we plan to do for the next week, yet despite hours of planning it never quite goes to plan. One train running early, or one running late can throw a ...
I am the sort of person who believes in getting nominations in on the first possible date rather than the latest possible date.Nominations opened at 10am today. I arranged for an appointment at 11am and my nomination was accepted at about 11.15am.The party's campaign seems to be going quite well. Labour are criticising our proposals to increase the tax threshold to 10K.Their argument is that it
Well this was launched earlier today, but unfortunately I've been out campaigning all day so no chance to blog, but here are the main points. Civil liberties: * Scrap biometric passports and save £3bn over the course of a Parliament * Regulate CCTV; restore right to protest; scrap ID cards; cut maximum pre-charge detention limit to 14 days Fair politics: * Introduce PR; votes at 16, and fixed-term Parliaments * Devolve power to local Government Fair and Green: * A carbon-neutral Britain by 2050 - 40% of energy from clean, non-carbon emitting sources by 2020, 100% by 2050 * 10-year ...
So all the Manifestos have now been released. Manifestos are naturally used as a PR stunt. but of course the pledges are important. I found the Labour manifesto and Conservative manifesto a bit to wordy with large layout. The Lib Dem manifesto I thought was laid out better using short boxes for each point. As far as the launches went I though David Cameron speech was perhaps the best one. As his big society (big idea) is in principal something I think many people would agree with. I don't agree with some of the methods in getting there however. For ...
Handy to have a bicycle to get round #chelmsford when roads are jammed with traffic
You just have to love this.
Prospective Lib Dem MP for Redcar constituency, Ian Swales, has welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrat manifesto today, saying: "People feel badly let down on Teesside. The Conservatives and Labour have both failed to protect the North's industrial and manufacturing base. They have both pursued an unsustainable economic model dependent on the City of London. Only the Liberal Democrats have put forward the policies needed to build an economy based on innovation and sustainability for jobs that last. We would break up the banks and get them lending again and our plans for creating jobs by investing in green ...
Here it is: Nice use of simple format, but done in an energetic and interesting way. Striking contrast with Labour's broadcast: Clegg is on screen all the time; Brown was absent from Labour's. Have fun speculating whether all those pieces of paper are CGI or whether some poor intern got the fun job of scattering and then gathering [IMG: :-)]
Chris Foote-Wood, Liberal Democrat candidate for Middlesbrough, has stolen a march on his rivals to be the first candidate to hand in his nomination papers today (Wed 14th April). "We are first in the field and we hope to be the first in the ballot on May 6," said Chris, "LibDems were second here last time and we have very chance of beating Labour's Stuart Bell. If elected as MP for Middlesbrough, I will open an office in the town, I will live in the town and hold regular surgeries. I will be the full-time MP for Middlesbrough and will ...
Wednesday: Who's afraid of the Big Bad Paxo? Ironically, it turns out that it is Conservatory PR whizz, Mr Balloon, who is a BIG STREAK OF YELLOW as the news breaks that he has chickened out of facing the grand inquisitor. As Count Pacula asks: "if he won't stand up to Paxman, how can he stand up to Putin?" Liberal Democrat Leader, Captain Clegg, had NO HESITATION in accepting the challenge of facing off against Britain's most formidable sneer, and was judged to have come off well, standing up to bruising questioning, and taking his chance to present our principles. ...
The Luton Today website has a video report on Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's visit to Luton South yesterday. You can watch the video in the original report here; 'VIDEO: 'We're the party to trust' claims Lib Dem leader'. In it Nick says; "The only party who can clean up Westminster politics from top to toe is the Liberal Democrats. "I think there's now a very strong chance that Qurban Hussain will be the MP for Luton South. He's established an incredibly strong reputation on the doorstep. I've visited Luton many times, Vince Cable visited too. He's the one who ...
Luton today have a very good video report of Nick Clegg's visit yesterday to Luton South. You can view it here.
One of my favourite US bloggers finds he supports Lib Dem policies fractionally more than Tory ones:Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have unveiled their manifesto. Check it out here. When I filled out this questionnaire on policy positions, it turned out that I was regarded as 45 percent Lib Dem and 44 percent Tory, with 37 percent Labour. I suspect that's my civil liberties bent and fiscal
Thought for the day in the General Election campaign in Wokingham: what price promises? Lots of parties and lots of individual candidates will be making lots of promises over the next few weeks. None of them are worth the paper they're are written on unless they say how they are going to be achieved and how they are going to be paid for. The Lib Dems are promising fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair future: creating jobs by making Britain greener, and a fair deal - cleaning up politics. We have produced a fully funded set ...
I live in what should be one of the most hotly contested marginal seats in Scotland, Livingston. The incumbent, Jim Devine, is one of the 3 former MPs who have been charged with expenses fraud and whose ongoing court proceedings provide a sombre backdrop to the election campaign. Devine was deselected by Labour last year, leaving Livingston pretty much hung out to dry, without a functioning MP to help people with their problems. On the occasions I raised issues with him, I received responses from his staff which were about as far removed from the point as it was possible ...
David MacLean, the political correspondent of the Leicester Mercury, writes a blog and has picked up a nice snippet about the leaders' rehearsals for the forthcoming debates:The Liberal Democrats are using David Laws as Cameron and Chris Huhne as Brown.
Last night co-editor of Lib Dem Voice, the "independent website for Lib Dems", Mark Pack wrote a post about Luton South in which he made some rather good points; "If a party's leader visits a constituency it doesn't hold three times... ... in the space of a few months, it's a pretty big clue that the party believes it has a strong chance of winning - and almost certainly has polling or canvass data analysis to back it up."
Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics. At the launch, Nick Clegg said: Every manifesto needs to have an idea at its heart. The basic idea that animates this manifesto is something I have always believed. I believe every single person is extraordinary. The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfil that extraordinary potential. My view - the liberal view - is ...
Our Best Policies: The £10k tax threshold - easily the best policy in any of the three manifestos and certainly the most radical. Would vote LibDems for this policy alone. Constitutional change: The power to sack corrupt MPs, reform of the voting system, an elected House of Lords and a Freedom Bill to restore civil liberties etc. Would also vote LibDems for this policy alone... Passing a new Mutuals, Co-operatives and Social Enterprises Bill - Hallelujah! Not quite sure this needs a specific minister though... Rule out the like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system - Good!! Our Worst ...
It appears that David Cameron doesn't fancy having to deal with any difficult questions, and is giving Jeremy Paxman the swerve. Given that I thought that Nick did really well despite Paxman being his usual sneering self, one might almost get the impression that DC didn't think that he could do as well. Actually, now I think about it, he probably couldn't... Big Bird is usually only too happy to answer questions though... and he's certainly more credible... and he isn't a chicken...
Under British law, an election must be held every five years but the Prime Minister can call the election any time within the period. When the Prime Minister decides to call an election, he goes to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. A royal proclamation, despatched from the Palace, dissolves Parliament and announces ...
A business networking group that lists amongst its members Buckingham Palace and the Bank of England has given a donation to the Conservative Party. The D Group describes itself as a "business development network" which "is a publicity-averse business networking organisation with a strong international slant as well as an established national presence throughout Government and business as a whole". It has organised events in the past such as one at which Vince Cable addressed its members. However, despite the presence in its membership list of several organisations which place great store by political impartiality, the Electoral Commission's official records ...
Wed 14th
15:09
Confident Clegg launches #LibDems manifesto built on fairness for extraordinary people
And who exactly is extraordinary - in Nick's words "every single person". I can't begin to describe how hideously bad I'm feeling so this is going to be more of a series of bullet points rather than an attempt at serious analysis. Luckily, someone else has provided some excellent words to describe what drives us as Liberal Democrats and where our principles come from so I'll let the man we elected as leader earn his money! Every manifesto needs to have an idea at its heart. The basic idea that animates this manifesto is something I have always believed. I ...
Wed 14th
15:00Why won't Hampstead & Kilburn Conservatives explain where they got private email data from?
At first it was amusing for Liberal Democrat councillors in Haringey to be getting emails inviting them to come and meet Conservative candidate Chris Philp, particularly as Philp is not standing in Haringey but over the border in Hampstead & Kilburn. Then there were a few chuckles about how the emails kept on getting people's names wrong. So, for example, an email from Chris Philp inviting people to come and meet him and David Cameron was sent to Rachel but addressed to "Dear Walter". Then the emails switched to coming from the national Conservative Party. And this time Rachel was ...
Linda Jack, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, who faces controversial Tory MP Nadine Dorries, is using a US-style online advert to raise funds for her campaign. This kind of thing is new to UK politics and I am unsure whether it will work. But credit must go to Linda for trying such a bold new approach. Have a look and see what you think. —-
I see that "Lord" Alan Sugar, the unpleasant bully of employees, has donated four hundred thousand pounds to the New Labour campaign. All part of why New Labour will never give us a democratic upper chamber. Having promised it three times in their election manifesto and broken the promise every time, i am stunned they have the temerity to offer it again. Jack Straw is of course in charge of Lords "reform". Probably the most corrupt man in the House of Lords - and one of the few to be suspended for corruption - is Straw's bagman, "Lord" Taylor of ...
So we are now firmly into the first full week of the general election campaign and I am lying here horizontally on my bed having put my back out moving large boxes at the weekend. Whilst doing so i thought i would do a little bit of web searching to see what the other ...
So it looks like David Cameron is bottling out of the Panorama programme next Monday. I think rather than scrambling for a new programme, producers of the programme should still run it with an empty chair and 30 minutes of Paxman asking the questions he would pose if David Cameron would have been there.The Tories may well offer excuses, but with the closest election in years you would think they
Chris Mounsey, leader of the fledgling Libertarian Party UK who also blogs at the vituperative (and often very amusing) Devil's Kitchen blog was interviewed on The Daily Politics today by old Brillo himself, Andrew Neil and was given a rough time. I have embedded a copy of the clip below which you can watch for yourself but I just wanted to give my views on what happened and its consequences first. Neil seemed pretty uninterested in the policies of LPUK and instead initially focused on how small the party is (c450 members) and how small they were last year. He ...
Nick Clegg launched the Liberal Democrat manifesto today. Nick Clegg has said that at the heart of the manifesto and Lib Dem plans is the idea that people must be allowed to achieve their potential. This returns the party to its John Stuart Mill roots. Mill believed people should be able to achieve their potential and that would only be possible in an open, free and liberal society. It means that government must get rid of any obstacles that prevents this. One can interpret this in two ways: government removing obstacles and stepping back or government removing obstacles but also ...
Five years ago, I think it's only fair to say, the Lib Dem manifesto launch was not without its hitches. Today's was toruble-free. The website is slick and engaging, the Nick & Vince double-act showcased their complementary skills, and the media response has been almost surprisingly favourable. In the New Statesman, James Macintyre assesses that the Lib Dems are on a roll: The Liberal Democrats, who launched their manifesto this morning, are having an undeniably good week. ... Nick Clegg, who held his own against Jeremy Paxman this week, has undoubtedly matured as leader, just in time for an election ...
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Today, to my suprise and joy, we had the release of the Lib Dem manifesto... On blackberry! For a while I had bemoaned the fact that whilst Labour and Tories had iphone apps (and a blackberry app for the Tories) we had none. Today that all changed and I have to say i'm pretty impressed! It did ...
The most popular choice as an outcome of the General Election is a 'hung parliament'. There is simply no appetite for an out right Labour or Tory victory according to a poll in this morning's Times: The poll, undertaken yesterday and this morning, says that more voters are now hoping for a hung parliament than either a Tory or a Labour outright victory. ... 32 per cent of the public now hope for a hung parliament (as opposed to expecting one), against 28 per cent wanting a Tory majority and 22 per cent a Labour one. This will mean that ...
On Wednesday morning Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hastings & Rye, attended a question and answer session at Reilley House day centre, Amherst Road, Bexhill, with residents of Hastings and St Leonards who have learning disabilities. Nick was at Reilley House at the same time as the Lib Dem manifesto for the ...
Paul Waugh is reporting that David Cameron has backed out of an interview with Jeremy Paxman for Panorama next Monday. Nick Clegg already faced him two days ago (and held his own as I blogged about here). Gordon Brown is still to confirm if he will take part. I'm not sure what Cameron is playing at here. In elections since 1964 the party leaders have all faced a Panorama "big interview". The fact that the Tory leader has backed out breaks with this tradition. I expect the Tories will claim that because of the leader debates there is no need ...
Two party leaders. Two manifesto launches. Two questions asking about financial details. Two leaders turning to their Shadow Chancellor. One Shadow Chancellor answers the question straight away. One Shadow Chancellor, er..., despite having advanced warning is still flipping through the paperwork in front of him when the party leader turns to him and can't answer the question. Can you guess which was Vince Cable and which was George Osborne? Here's a clue:
The election campaign is in full swing now, hence the lack of a new blog for a few days! But what I want to talk about today is the amazing level of support I have received both from party members and from members of the public, glad to hear what I have to say, and to see my wholehearted commitment to the cause of getting strong Liberal representation back on the political map of our constituency! Door knocking over the past few days has revealed many who remember Claire Brooks, who was within 550 votes of winning Skipton in 1974, ...
Follow this link to see the Lib Dem's manifesto in detail. I'll be publishing my own pledges for the people of South Norfolk shortly so watch this space... http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx
One of the things raised in Michael Crick's Newsnight story on Luton South was a criticism that the Liberal Democrats in Luton weren't attacking enough on the issue of disgraced Labour MP Margaret Moran's expenses. This was an unfair criticism. Luton South candidate Qurban Hussain and the Luton Liberal Democrats have been at the forefront of the campaign against Moran's abuse of the expenses system. The evidence can be found online. For example; As far back as last May, as the scandal broke, Qurban Hussain was condemning Margaret Moran over her excessive expense claims; 'Lib Dem challenger condemns Luton South ...
Wed 14th
12:50Attempt to set world record for most enthusiastic backer of election candidate narrowly fails
[IMG: Campaign window April 2010]
Henry Porter has written an excellent piece over at the Guardian's Comment is Free following the launch of the Liberal Democrat manifesto. He looks at what Labour has written in its manifesto about liberty: "We are proud of our record on civil liberties, and have taken the DNA profiles of children off the database and tightened the rules around the use of surveillance – but we are still determined to keep our streets safe." Yeah that is it in its totality, yeah he does point out that what follows after the first comma seem to be issued forth without the ...
David Cameron's people in his Witney constituency seem to have a shakey attitude to democracy too, with the local council taking down posters at the venue for a talk I gave about Murder in Samarkand, on the grounds that it was "political". I suppose if politics - and thinking in general - are banned in Witney, that explains why they vote for David Cameron.
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today launched his party's General Election manifesto, setting out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics. In presenting the section of the manifesto dealing with the economy, Vince Cable emphasised that, in contrast to the other parties' programmes, it was fully costed. Liberal Democrats were being honest with the electorate.
On Monday Lib Dem Voice brought you the story of potty-mouthed Conservative candidate Chris Hawes and his foul language aimed at Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. Yesterday Chris Hawes decided to step down as the Conservative's council candidate for the Leavesden ward of Three Rivers District Council, which in the Lib Dem target constituency of Watford. Watford Conservatives' representaive Peter Ganney emailed the Watford Lib Dems constituency chair, saying: "Chris is embarrassed by what he wrote and has apologised for using such rude words. He has chosen to withdraw his candidature for Three Rivers District Council, Leavesden Ward". Chris Hawes ...
The latest salvo from the InVinceCable We Trust campaign is Vince Cable's Way...a, umm, 'mild' reworking of the crooners' classic My Way. Though think more Sid Vicious than Sinatra... Clearly the video's a lighthearted way to make the serious point at the centre of the InVinceCable campaign: that Vince Cable is the only realistic candidate for chancellor with the credentials to do the job effectively. We realise that this focus on one position in the next Government and one individual amongst all politicians isn't one supported by all, but the potential for a hung parliament, in our view, gives the ...
Sunday morning was another of those rather lovely spring days when the idea of being outside seems pretty attractive, so I was pleased to be off to Malvern to do a spot of canvassing. West Worcestershire is a seat where we've been knocking on the door for a while now, and Richard Burt was in confident mood when we arrived. Stopping only to grab a cup of tea, we were off, accompanied by one of our most recent recruits, Edward Macmillan-Scott, an MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, who left the Conservative Party last year. The only catch with having ...
Nick Clegg has launched a major attack on New Labour's appalling record on civil liberties. This is the first interesting thing anyone in the three main parties has said during this achingly dull campaign. He points out that the notion of liberty does not feature once in New Labour's entire manifesto. Hardly surprising, given their record, but a telling point nonetheless. Adam Boulton of Sky News took me aback at New Labour's manifesto launch by asking a brilliant question, pointing out that Birmingham's new Private Finance Intiative funded hosptial would cost the taxpayer over £2.5 billion in finance charges ...
It's a common feature of online politics, at the national level at least, for unofficial campaigning to reach wider audiences than official campaigning. There's a range of reasons for this - several supporters trying their own thing are more likely to hit the jackpot than one single official team, unofficial efforts often move more quickly than official ones, there's more scope for humour and irreverence if there isn't an "official" label, and so on. Smart internet campaigns therefore not only look to their own work but also to working cooperatively with that the wider mesh of unofficial efforts. There has ...
Dean Whitbread recently interviewed Bridget Fox, the Lib Dem candidate for Islington South and Finsbury. Dean is not a Lib Dem but is a long term blogger and technology enthusiast who also happens to live with the constituency that Bridget is hoping to become the MP for. Dean and Bridget discuss the Digital Economy Act (a subject that Bridget has a particular interest in), the Open Rights Group, ID cards and Palestine amongst other issues. Bridget Fox Interview from Dean Whitbread on Vimeo. There is also a shorter version of the interview available on Youtube here.
In Wokingham we have local elections as well as the General Election. I had been hoping for a clean campaign in both, but already the Conservatives are making completely spurious attacks on us. They are claiming that we wanted to build 13,400 houses in Arborfield. NO WE DID NOT. It's nonsense, but if just dismiss it, someone somewhere will think it must be true. WHICH IT IS NOT. So for the record: The Liberal Democrats' view on development in Wokingham Borough is: 1 We agreed with the public that a new settlement is a better idea than infill and tacking ...
In case I have not mentioned it before, I am a liberal. I find the idea of being reliant on the state for my future wellbeing disturbing, and intrinsically unsatisfying. I sort of expect others to feel the same. Whether it comes from the right (see IEA comment thread) or left, I am repelled by ...
The Liberal Democrat campaign has so far been something of a damp squib, I suspect because those organising it are too much immersed in what passes for politics and the "Westminster Bubble" and too little in the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of those of us outside it. In February Liberal Democrat News published a letter from me which claimed that "what passes for politics at Prime Minister's questions and similar encounters is a huge turn-off for the ordinary voter." and made the following three suggestions for the Campaign: no ill thought out gimmickspatient exposition of our tried and tested policiesgentle ...
Pushed for time, but want to keep up-to-date with how the campaign's going? Here are today's must-reads ... Lib Dems promise 'a fairer Britain' (PA) The Liberal Democrats have launched their General Election manifesto, pledging to build a fairer Britain if elected on May 6. The 109-page document promises fairer taxes, economic reform, a £2.5 billion pupil premium for the poorest children and sweeping constitutional change include a new electoral system. LDV Co-Editor Mark Pack treated Lib Dem Voice readers to a sneak preview last night. Tory lead narrows amid huge voter disenchantment, Times poll finds (The Times) It's pretty ...
As part of his general election tour around the country Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg visited Luton yesterday. He met with Liberal Democrat candidate for Luton South, Qurban Hussain, and together they looked around the factory of 2K Manufacturing, a luton based company that makes products from recycled plastic. Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg speaks to workers at 2K Manufacturing in Luton with Luton South candidate Qurban Hussain. Credit Alex Folkes You can see more photos from this visit here.
Today Nick Clegg and Vince Cable launched the Liberal Democrat manifesto - setting out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics. Nick Clegg said: "Every manifesto needs to have an idea at its heart. The basic idea that animates this manifesto is something I have always believed. I believe every single person is extraordinary. "The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfil that extraordinary potential. "My view - the liberal view - is that government's job ...
Well I just watched the whole of the manifesto launch online. I have not had time to go through all the detail yet but its headlines are to focus on the 4 key themes which I think is the right way to go. There were brief contributions from Sarah Teather, Danny Alexander and Vince Cable (who did well as always) but Nick Clegg's speech about the manifesto and then the way he handled questions from the media afterwards was very good. He was solid on the details, able to go in depth into ways in which savings could be made ...
Select on the right hand side the three topics you are interested in seeing and the video willl automatically start playing. I recommend viewing them all! Also, to read our full manifesto click here.
Four new polls came out last night, published today: YouGov in the Sun ... CON 39%(nc), LAB 31%(-2), LIB DEM 20%(nc) Populus in the Times ... CON 36%(-3), LAB 33%(+1), LIB DEM 21%(nc) ComRes for the Independent/ITV ... CON 36%(-1), LAB 31%(+1), LIB DEM 19%(-1) Angus Reid for Political Betting ... CON 38%(+1), LAB 28%(+2), LIB DEM 22%(nc) What does all this mean for Anthony Wells' UK Polling Report 'poll of polls' average? Well, there's an ever-so-slight narrowing of the gap between Labour and the Tories – or (looked at another way) a slight lengthening of Labour's lead over the ...
Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics.
Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics.
Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics.
Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics.
Launching the Liberal Democrat manifesto this morning Nick Clegg said: "We will hardwire fairness into British society." He outlined the four key principles on which I and my colleague are standing and said: "There isn't a line in this book that we haven't accounted for by savings elsewhere." Going on to insist that he thinks it's the first time a political party has ever produced a manifesto with figures as comprehensive as these. This statement came after Lib Dem economy spokesman Vince Cable had described himself as "the elephant man" the only one of the three parties economic spokesmen to ...
Happy Vaisakhi to all my Sikh friends, I hope the day's celebrations are as colourful and joyous as ...
The 2010 general election campaign is now just over a week old, and much about it so far has been fairly predictable. However one thing has turned out not to be predictable: the way that disenchantment with the British political process is leading to considerable support for a new Parliament where no party has complete control. In fact in my lifetime, no political party has ever attained a majority of the vote, however with the exception of just a few months in 1974 and 1979, the electoral system has usually delivered a majority to the largest minority- except in 1974, ...
For the fourth consecutive year the ICT User satisfaction score has increased, responses yet again show an improved ICT Service from the year before. However, there are some key areas highlighted by the survey for improvement - and this is the important element to drive future investment decisions. Hot on the heels of this year's improved ICT User Satisfaction score, WLDC has been awarded Runner
During the election period, I am going to continue providing the same advice surgeries as I have been for the last few years, so it's business as usual in that sense. I am keen to continue providing the service to Manchester Withington residents throughout the time that Parliament is not in session as just because an ...
O.k. call me a political geek, but I'm loving the election campaign. It's my first one as an active member of a political party, getting out there delivering leaflets, talking to people on the doorstep, e-campaigning via blogs, Twitter and Facebook and putting across the Lib Dems' key messages. Those messages include the argument that you can't trust ...
The Liberal Democrat manifesto by numbers: 9 different formats for the manifesto (hard copy, video, on screen, iPhone app etc.) 6 photos of Nick Clegg 5 pages of index 4 pages of detailed costsing 4 steps to a fairer Britain 3 photos of Vince Cable 0 mentions of chocolate Sarah Teather welcomes people to the launch and then Danny Alexander introduces the manifesto saying, "This manifesto is frank, is detailed and spells out all the difficult financial decisions we will have to make". It's when Vince Cable steps up that the photographs really spring to life. Whilst Sarah and Danny ...
Okay, we all make mistakes and yes, it's good that we admit them. But.....Today we have both the Prime Minister and Ed Balls admitting they failed to regulate the banks sufficiently before the banking crisis. It should be remembered that when Brown was Chancellor he deliberately had a light touch approach to the City. Ed Balls, when city minister, actually welcomed and praised the light touch
I'm sitting on the sofa with cup of tea waiting to tweet to my heart's content through our manifesto launch at 9.30. I have the same sort of excitement that I normally reserve for a Formula One weekend. But then I've long said that Vince Cable is like our Ross Brawn. I doubt that there will be many surprises in the ideas we offer. We make our policy decisions in public and debate them openly after all. I think we'll see our 4 main points on fairer taxes, cleaning up politics, investment in schools and a green economy augmented by ...
Love this story: Ever taken a screwdriver to the innards of a beloved, dying gadget in the hopes of breathing new life into it? Well you shouldn't bother according to the Gadget Helpline, as in many cases there is a much simpler solution; switching it off and back on again. In March the Gadget Helpline asked 1,000 flustered callers to try manually rebooting their hardware, and in 274 cases the problem was fixed. That's over a quarter of gadget-related problems, or 27.4% for those not up to the maths.
Caroline Righton, the Conservative candidate in St Austell & Newquay who was previously implicated in the faking of a message that smeared her Liberal Democrat opponent, Stephen Gilbert, has now turned all elusive again: Caroline Righton, is one of only 7 candidates across the whole south west not to respond to a BBC request to give her view on the issue of fox hunting and has pulled out of the first local radio debate of the campaign. The BBC's Politics Show asked the 110 candidates in the south west what they would do if given a free vote on fox-hunting. ...
Now the Labservatives have launch their two manifestos which seem be high on waffle and gimmickry but low on actual policies, I'm now quite looking forward to the launch of our policy-centric and fully costed manifesto. Unless, the media really do go all out to mislead (they have form) I can't see how this won't be good for us. The preview already released shows how we are highlighting our 4 big changes and keeping things simple and straightforward. Unfotunatelty we still have to use that awful slogan and Nick has to, yet again, shoehorn it into his introduction but you ...
So Gordon Brown has finally, finally admitted what we all knew which was that he made mistakes regarding the regulation of banks which helped contribute to the credit-crunch and ultimately recession. In an ITV interview which will be broadcast tonight he has admitted that he succumbed to lobbying and that: "In the 1990s, the banks they all came to us and said, 'Look, we don't want to be regulated, we want to be free of regulation.' ... And all the complaints I was getting from people was, 'Look you're regulating them too much.' "The truth is that globally and nationally ...
It's time to stick my finger in the air and sense the mood. Here's the latest Monster's Poll... CONSERVATIVES: 38% (N/C) LABOUR: 26% (N/C) LIB DEMS: 23% (+2%) On the surface, there's something not right here. These figures are now being taken across a 30 day window. The changes listed above are from last time, which was over ...
Back at county hotel #chelmsford this time to have a small business briefing with FSB
Where do you get your pillows? What are they like? How do you find ones that suit you? I ask because this week's been a pain in the neck for me - I cricked my neck nastily on Saturday, and have since been in a lot of neck and upper back pain (plus a phlegmy sore throat, but no, I've not considered neck amputation), which means I've been spending rather more time mostly unsuccessfully trying to sleep than usual. And I'm not happy with my pillows - they're just too soft, and I can't find anywhere that sells firm ones. ...
Retiring Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire Malcolm Moss has admitted it will take a 'miracle' for the Conservatives to win a majority in Parliament at the General Election in three weeks' time. For all Cameron's 'rebranding' of the Conservative Party, it appears that more voters would like to see a hung parliament than one with either the Conservatives or Labour in outright control.
Matthew Engel is very funny in the FT today: The Conservative slogan is "Vote for Change. Vote Conservative". There have been moronic slogans in the past, but this is the first ever to be oxymoronic. He goes on: The leader was the eighth speaker, an attempt to counteract the impression that the Tories are a one-man band. ...
isn't it funny that when our government debt is at its highest since the second world war and as we are just come out of the worse recessison since the second world war we find a conservative government that suddenly reveals that actually everything will be better if they don't have to pay for it ...
This time I visited the constituency next door in Faversham to take part in a debate on the environment hosted by Friends of the Earth. Faversham is a beautiful old English town with lots of history and has a small town centre with many small shops. It's a nice place to wander about on an afternoon. I was quite pleased with how the debate went - this was probably my best performance so far - and of course we Liberal Democrats are quite strong on the environment. We were each given five questions to prepare answers for and then the ...
After a spat with an Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury Labour candidate) supporter on OUTeverywhere I reflected on why I actually HATE her. I don't actually HATE Labour MPs – we're all people after all and although I disagree with their policies you can tell when someone's good in committee or a good caseworker. ...
I note that Gordon has apologised for the way he regulated the banks It's a bit like being a non-executive director of a huge company that has suffered a catastrophic loss. The Finance Director for 11 years who became the CEO's job is on the line. He claims to be sorting out the mess and at ...
Do you think everyhing is OK? Want to change anything? If you're not on the electoral register by 20th April you won't be able to vote in the elections on 6th May. If you are 18 or over by 6th May 2010 click on the link below. Yes, if your 18th birthday is on 6th May 2010 you can celebrate by voting! Register to vote Of course if you think everything is fine as it is then there's no need to vote. (But you don't, do you?)
Do you recall Gordon Brown the Prime Minister saying that the banking crisis was brought on my a world wide problem and nothing to do with Gordon Brown the Chancellor? Do you recall Vince Cable warning both Gordon Brown the Chancellor and Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of serious flaws in banking regulation that needed to be dealt with? You probably won't recall George Osborne nodding his ascent of the former and barracking the later. Well in an interview to be aired tonight Gordon Brown has finally admitted that he was wrong. "In the 1990s, the banks they all came ...
ITV correspondent, Gareth Hughes points out on his blog another consequence of the Conservative's decision to veto the Assembly's Housing Legislative Competence Order. It seems that the Tory manifesto published today contains an interesting pledge. They want to: 'Strengthen shared ownership schemes which allow those on low-to-middle incomes to own or part-own their home. We will offer tenants with a record of five years' good behaviour a 10 per cent equity share in their social rented property, which can be cashed in when they want to move up the housing ladder' However, as Gareth points out this policy can only ...
The Liberal Democrat Candidate for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott, has condemned the lack of improvement in some indicators of child poverty under Labour as 'scandalous'. Her comments came after Statistics for Wales released the latest update on the progress made against the Labour-run Assembly Government's Child Poverty Indicators. The figures reveal that of the 31 indicators reviewed 32% show 'little or no progress' since 1999 and 3% of indicators have fallen behind 1999 levels. "These figures show once again that the Labour Administrations in both Cardiff and Westminster have failed to raise children in Wales out of poverty," said Jenny. ...
Satire is always difficult for a blogging politician, it can so easily be misinterpeted or taken literally, so I will not quote extensively from this piece on the Daily Mash regarding the Conservative's manifesto. Just to record that the basic supposition that the Tories have published the first ever hard-back copy of the Daily Mail: Tory deputy chairman, Julian Cook, said: "We thought long and hard about the contents of this manifesto and got absolutely nowhere. Eventually we just phoned up Paul Dacre at the Daily Mail and wrote down everything he said." Read the rest for yourself.
I, and many people of my generation, got a big kick out of seeing Rage Against the Machine get back into the charts recently all because of a Facebook campaign. Well it seems some bright spark has set up a Facebook group to get the Lib Dems into office and it's already got 18,000 ...
Wed 14th
01:11
www.chelmsfordroundtable.org.uk was a long meeting but great to be part of a team that does so much ...
www.chelmsfordroundtable.org.uk was a long meeting but great to be part of a team that does so much good for the community while having a great deal of fun too www. www.
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. Applications to vote by post must also be received no later than ...
David Chaytor is one of the north west MPs who is in court because of his claims for expenses. I think it is outrageous if anyone claims for a mortgage on a property that doesn't have a mortgage and this appears to be the case with Mr Chaytor, but I am not the judge and the jury and everyone is entitled to a defence. He may even be innocent. He was mentioned on the local news tonight because he has managed to get legal aid. The reporter thought that there was a sense of irony in this award because he ...
That is the slightly disappointing conclusion of a study of 75 LiveJournal users being presented at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society today. It is the work of Susan Jamison-Powell from Sheffield Hallam University. She and her fellow researchers looked at a number of factors, including the number of posts each participant had made, the total word count of their blog posts, the tone of those posts - whether they contained negative or positive words - and the number of online friends each participant had made. In addition to this, each of the 75 participants was asked to ...
