This is a first for me. Three blogs on the same day. However I was moved to write a letter to my local paper, the Morecambe Visitor. Here it is... I know that there is a serious side to the headline in The Visitor (28th April) "MBIs expel their ex-leader" but I was amused that you could be expelled by independents. Can Evelyn Archer stand as an independent in the next local elections? How can anyone stop her? The irony is that the independents were elected because of their leaflets opposing party politics at a time when party politicians were ...
Three national opinion polls published tonight: YouGov in the Sun ... CON 34%(+1), LAB 27%(-2), LIB DEM 31%(+3) Harris in Metro ... CON 32%(-2), LAB 25%(-1), LIB DEM 30%(+1) ComRes for ITV/ITN ... CON 36%(+3), LAB 29%(nc), LDEM 26%(-3) The ComRes poll, though the last officially to be published, was the first I heard about (under embargo) – it's fair to say, I had a slight sinking feeling in my stomach: was this the end of the Lib Dem surge? Well, it may be: but significantly two other polls show the party still at 30% or more. We should remember ...
I'm probably not the only one who wondered why the YouGov poll after the last leaders debate gave Cameron such a high rating when his onscreen performance was dreadful. It turns out this internet poll was taken between just 9.27pm and 9.31 pm. Which means that, voting opened immediately after David Cameron finished his closing ...
to Chris Grayling on the Today programme about Crime
The Liberal Democrats are on course to sharply increase their number of MPs, largely at Labour's expense, a Guardian/ICM poll suggests today. The unique ICM poll of voters in seats within the Lib Dems' grasp suggests the party's vote is climbing more strongly in Labour-held marginal seats than in Conservative ones. The poll, carried out ...
Well done Jose Mourinho who has pulled off an amazing result . His Inter Milan side knocked a very strong Barcelona team out of the Champions League. This means Inter go into their first European Cup final since they were beaten by Ajax in 1972. On their way to that final they knocked Celtic out in the semis in the first penalty shoot out in European Cup history. It seems remarkable today to think just how good the Celtic sides of the 60's and 70's were getting to 2 European Cup finals and the Semis on 3 other occasions between ...
Sorry for lack of actual content – proper posts tomorrow. For now, some links. First of all, I don't plan to discuss Brown's 'gaffe' today, where he was polite to a bigot to her face and then grumbled about her behind her back, without realising his mic was still on. It's the kind of thing ...
Mark Pack offers seven thoughts on the story of the day: "6. The real story of the caught comments shouldn't be the use of 'bigot' but rather the intolerance Brown seems to have for meeting people who don't agree with him - even if, as in this case, they end up supporters of his. That fits in with many other accounts of his behaviour and matters because disliking people who don't agree with you is far more dangerous - thanks to the group think mentality it encourages - than someone using too blunt language." While Joe's Extra Bold Blog discusses ...
The fascinating thing about Gordon Brown's encounter today with Gillian Duffy is that it shows how out of touch he seems to be both with real electors (i.e. ones who haven't been vetted extensively by his entourage) and also the way in which many ordinary working class people express their views. Mrs. Duffy asked a range of questions which encapsulates what every candidate and campaigner who has been on doorsteps up and down the land have encountered. To whit, the economy (yes, even the relatively uneducated amongst us understand that there's a huge deficit which will have to be repaid ...
Liberal Democrat Leader of Camden Council, Keith Moffitt has written to Lord Adonis to protest at the lack of effective consultation on the High Speed Two project. The text of his letter is below. Click here to access an internal Council Briefing on HS2 Dear Andrew, As you know, I believe that the High Speed ...
Does anyone have a nice big Liberal Democrat poster - Bird of Liberty, "Winning Here," that sort of thing, but not a candidate's name - which they could post to us? Physically, I'm not a lot of help right now, but we do have a large window, facing directly onto the Thames, which can be seen from the footpath and from all the boats that pass by. Up to about four feet across would be fine... If it's that big, you could even see the day-glo orange diamond from the opposite bank. If you have a spare, please e-mail me ...
I was struggling to think of a title for today's post, then started flicking through the channels and discovered that the 60s Batman film was on FilmFour. It was very hard not to see Gordon Brown as the unluck sap running along a pier holding a giant comedy bomb while the presence of various babies ...
From BBC News: A Labour general election candidate was arrested after crashing her car into a roundabout, says her agent. Kathryn Smith, standing in Gravesham, is understood to have been breathalysed at the scene. Her agent said she had asked to provide a blood sample. She was taken to hospital after the incident at University Way, Dartford, on Monday but was not seriously hurt. Kent police said a 49-year-old woman had been arrested and bailed to 10 July, pending further inquiries. She is understood to have been cut from the car by firefighters after crashing into a roundabout at about ...
I've been doing a stint of knocking up postal votes and very rewarding it has been. The conventional wisdom is that people who bother to register to get PVs are going to vote. It is true the turn out is much higher than non PVs but as more and more folk register the turn out will slip. Anyway there is always someone who rings up after the polls have closed to say that they have forgotten to send their vote back. I have found a great deal of enthusiasm for voting with people freely telling me that they have supported ...
Sure, Gordon Brown mucked up big time. Like Neil Kinnock's tumble on the sands at Brighton, his remarks as he left after a conversation with Rochdale voter Gillian Duffy may well go down as the defining moment of his leadership. It may even go down as the moment this election irrevocably turned. Before you criticise too much, though, can you hand on heart say that there has never been a moment in your life when you have said something you really shouldn't to let off steam privately? I'll bet you there's not a politician on this earth who hasn't said ...
Of all the cock ups in this election one of the most amazing is why did Gordon Brown bother to go to Rochdale anyway. It is on a par with Cameron saying; 'yes, Nick Clegg must be in the televised debates.' Do the Labour Party seriously think they are going to prize Rochdale out of Paul Rowan's possession? Paul is, as it were, hewn from the same millstone grit that forms the Pennine Hills that surround the town. He has been an excellent MP and one who was destined to increase his majority before Brown abused the residents. It does ...
If you support one group to the detriment of another then you run the risk of being called a bigot. I don't think Gillian Duffy from Rochdale is a bigot but she was simply asking a question about admitting workers from abroad. Gordon had a fair stab at answering her quesion but the BBC political editor, Nick Robinson hit one nail on the head when he said that today's events in Rochdale were a disaster for the prime minister because it showed the gap between his public and private face. The damage is done and it isn't about his views ...
Last week The Voice ran a piece from Eleanor Black of the Don't Judge My Family Campaign opposing Conservative plans to introduce a tax break for marriage. The campaign has now released a new film:
I have been speculating that we may be seeing something like a grassroots revolt against our established political order. This 'tea party' or 'peppermint tea party' (so as not to confuse it with the American one) might also be part of Britain's Whig tradition. I don't know who the people are who posted the two videos below but both use classical liberal language. On May 6 we will have a clearer idea of what exactly is happening and whether the Liberal Democrats benefit from this emerging liberal movement. A thank you goes to Liberal Vision for the link to the ...
An opinion poll conducted for and reported in this morning's Metro made good reading for the Liberal Democrats: The Lib Dems are on 33 per cent, the Tories are on 21 per cent and Labour lag behind on 18 per cent. Only ten per cent of readers intend to vote for a minority party while 17 per cent remain undecided. When undecided voters are removed the Lib Dems are on 40 per cent, Conservatives are on 26 per cent and Labour are on 22 per cent.Of course, we always like opinion polls that show our party in the lead, but ...
A message from Ofcom brought this news today: Ofcom today announced it has not upheld complaints received from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 at 8.30pm on Thursday 15 April 2010. The political parties complained that the programme was not impartial and was also misleading. The complaints were adjudicated by the Ofcom Election Committee which may consider complaints during an election period where it is considered that a substantive issue is raised and where the complaint, if upheld, might require redress before polling day. The Committee considered all the submissions ...
Not everybody who is concerned about immigration is a bigot. This may seem an easy point to grasp, but to help I offer this illustration [IMG: Gordon Brown listening back to the "bigoted woman" recording.... on Twitpic]
From BBC News: An election candidate hoping to win the Gedling seat in Nottinghamshire has been spoken to by police about his behaviour to shopkeepers in Mapperley. Conservative candidate Bruce Laughton was allegedly confrontational with traders who exhibited posters opposing car parking charges. Mr Laughton said he apologised if he had upset anyone but was "just campaigning on their behalf". Police said they spoke to Mr Laughton but he had not committed any offence. This incident received considerable publicity on the East Midlands regional television news yesterday evening.
[IMG: brownfacepalm] Picture: BBC I'm afraid this may well turn out to be the defining image of this election campaign. It is too early to tell what the effect of Gordon Brown's gaffe earlier today might be, but it must surely be the one thing the other major parties were dreaming about. And it is certainly what the media were hoping for - just as they were being forced to discuss policy, too... What Brown said wasn't exactly terrible. I think it was a little harsh to describe Gillian Duffy as 'bigoted', but the sad truth is that many people ...
This is what Vince said earlier today: This building commemorates Britain at the peak of its economic power and glory. We are still an important country with much to be proud of. But that power and the glory have faded. And we are currently in a serious economic mess. The current economic model is broken. It relied on consumer spending, financed by heavy borrowing and low savings; investment in property rather than production; rapidly expanding public spending based on temporary windfalls from oil, then financial speculation; and growth over-dependent on the fickle fortunes of the banking industry. Any party which ...
Institute for Fiscal Studies has condemned all 3 main parties for their failure to tell voters the truth about spending plans (details here). I think their right. Problem for political parties is that if a party actually came out and did what the public want and told them that they are going to make massive cuts at some point and raise taxes then that party would loose the election hands down. Its one of those hard facts of politics that people really don't like this kind of negative news even thought they understand that this need to happen. What a ...
I recently meet Robin Smith who is one of the Independent Candidates for Wokingham. He applied to stand in the Conservative Bracknell open primary. I asked him some questions and here are his answers. 1. You are a Conservative councillor. Are you now an independant councillor? I am. You can find my rationale here http://tinyurl.com/robinsmithelection 2. Are you standing against John Redwood specifically or are you standing for other reasons? Both reasons. Mr Redwood is calling for more of the same that has got the world to where it is today. But then again so are all 3 parties. THAT ...
Over the past few days I have been asked to talk to Carers, Farmers, Businesses, Schools and Bikers. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a candidate and something I have built up a talent for in my own job; talking to people and understanding their own particular issues. A theme running through listening various groups is how the previous government has been fixated with measurements, control and bureaucracy often with unintended consequences. It seems to me that if government cut back on much of this control and let people get on with Nursing, Teaching, Caring or ...
Collectively we're obsessed with American political culture, which is why pretty much everything gets the "-gate" suffix in homage to Watergate. Now if only Gordon Brown had slammed a gate shut on someone... It's a very fine line between 'rolling news' and 'rolling obsession'. I first noticed this during the first Gulf War when Radio 4 pioneered a rolling radio news service which at one point got obsessed with a pretty minor incident involving some dinghies. Why? Because it was rolling news. Which means you've got go keep on saying things. Even if there's not that much to say. I ...
Wed 28th
17:21
Just back from a canvassing session with Bob Russell, once and future MP for Colchester. Thanks Bob....
Just back from a canvassing session with Bob Russell, once and future MP for Colchester. Thanks Bob. He stopped to do an interview with Anglia TV as we went round.
By now, Gordon Brown's critical comments about a Manchester voter and Labour supporter have been spread far and wide across the internet - read, written about, recorded, edited, tweeted, re-tweeted and all the rest. So I suppose in some ways I am just adding to the excessive amounts of coverage and commentary. I do feel ...
Amongst all our the furore over what Twitter has termed 'Bigotgate'* one thing has stood out particularly for me. Whilst the media has been swarmed outisde the home of Gillian Duffy's house in Rochdale, reporting everything anyone says related to Gordon Brown there has been absolute silence from CCHQ and Cowley Street. And that's exactly the right approach. One of the biggest complaints from people is that politicians will jump onto neutral issues and incidents like this and try and make them party political. It's seen as opportunistic and insulting, as people will make up their own minds about incidents ...
@pintofsimilar asked earlier how a Single Transferable Vote system produces a result that is closer to the will of the electorate than our current First Past The Post system. I said I'd explain and then totally forgot. I just remembered. From here on in, the two options are STV and FPTP and if I refer to PR, that's Proportional Representation. I must say at the outset that I'm not a political scientist, I don't imagine to give the definitive answer as to why this is fairer than FPTP and there are a multitude of variations on both STV and PR, ...
We'll have to wait and see how the TV news covers it at tonight and the continued fallout from Bigotgate but as I blogged earlier, here are what will likely go down in history as the worst 5 minutes of Brown's 2010 election attempt: First the encounter with Gillian Duffy: And then straight afterwards his reaction:
Saw this on Liberal Vision. Powerful Stuff. We can make a difference.
I had to do a double take driving up the Mansfield Road the other day – the City Council has dug up huge swathes of Woodthorpe Park leaving massive tracts of ploughed ground all around the football pitches on the bit nearest the road. What on earth are they doing, I wondered? Then I remembered discussions with City Council Parks staff about plans for King George V Park in my own ward, and I'm pretty sure I know what they are doing. They're planting wildflower meadows. This is not a new thing – they did it to my primary school ...
Prior to #bigotgate, I had hoped that the world would tune in, agog, to my take on the IFS's take on the fiscal situation. Fat chance now. (I think the best observation comes from my favourite tweeter.) Anyway, back to business. You will have read commentary such as this from the Guardian which tends to ...
As it appears that there is quite a lot of interest, I thought that it would be helpful to explain how you can become a Liberal Democrat MP. Feel free to pass this on... Join the Party. It doesn't cost much, and we do insist that you are a member before you can do anything else. Wait for a year, as we like to know that you are sincere before we allow you to be a candidate. In the meantime, get involved in campaigns in your area. Deliver leaflets, knock on doors, get an idea of what Liberal Democrats are ...
The primary school places shortage is starting to hit. From the News Shopper: by Kelly Smale A COUNCIL is doubling the amount of reception children at a school despite it not having room for them. Brindishe Community School, in Wantage Road, Lee, is being forced to take on 60 reception children in September rather than ...
Ah, Gordon Brown and Vince Cable: a mismatch made in heaven. If you're a Liberal Democrat.
'Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.' - Jane Howard, Families In my introduction to these blog entries, I wrote that they would be about why I'm a Liberal Democrat, and specifically not try to say why anyone else should be. That's true of the policy discussions that I've written about so far, but it's even more true about my subject for today, which is fellow Liberal Democrats I admire. Most of them will be people you don't know, and even ...
This morning Planners approved the first Council Houses in a generation to be built in Edinburgh. The proposal for 99 flats and houses is phase one of the development. These houses include Colony style homes similar to other parts of the City like Shandon and Stockbridge. As the Councillor who has championed building our first council housing for more than 20 years, with some opposition I have to say, I am delighted to see this latest hurdle overcome. I can't wait to see these built but here is an artists impression to be getting on with! These houses will make ...
Could these signs mean something??? Actually the most significant thing about this picture is that by no means all of the fields round here are voting Conservative. That may reflect the mood of only a few people, but in terms of the change in thinking necessary for it to happen, it's seismic.
[IMG: Polls] Polls Most polls have correction factors applied to the raw data. These correction factors are derived from previous elections actual results and the polled data. Feed back factors are calculated that, if applied, would have seen the polls accurately reflect the real outcome. Pollsters then retrospectively create rational to justify the feed back factors created. The bottom line is no-one knows for sure why the raw data varies from how people actually vote. This work fine if the situation has not greatly changed since the last election. This is clearly not the case in the present election. Hence ...
...but has the "old media" cottoned on yet ??? Earlier today I linked to a great video that was primarily about people rebelling against the old notion of doing what they are told in an election; casting off the idea that politicians "know best"; rejecting the idea that things can never change. It was a neat, beautifully produced video that summed up how many people feel. Within a matter of minutes I came across another video - with a similar theme. And then was emailed about another video that also said, pretty much, the same thing. Then another and then ...
As the Liberal Democrats rise in the polls everybody and their dog is out to misrepresent and attack us. So here is a response to some of the things that we have been accused of: The Liberal Democrats WILL NOT SCRAP CHILD BENEFIT. This accusation is not true. The Liberal Democrats WILL NOT SCRAP TAX CREDITS. We are focussing benefit on the families who really need it by changing the arrangements for relatively higher earners. Combined with our tax changes, no one currently on tax credits will be worse off - indeed at the very least they will be £155 ...
On Thursday 29th April from 8.30pm, BBC One will host the final live Prime Ministerial Debate of the General Election from the Midlands. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in the run up to the General Election next Thursday.
On Thursday 29th April from 8.30pm, BBC One will host the final live Prime Ministerial Debate of the General Election from the Midlands. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in the run up to the General Election next Thursday.
On Thursday 29th April from 8.30pm, BBC One will host the final live Prime Ministerial Debate of the General Election from the Midlands. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in the run up to the General Election next Thursday.
On Thursday 29th April from 8.30pm, BBC One will host the final live Prime Ministerial Debate of the General Election from the Midlands. Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will again be going head to head in the run up to the General Election next Thursday.
I suspect it is a seminal moment. I know when something has hit a nerve of the national psyche when I receive three calls from non-political friends in two minutes, gleefully telling me of the newsflash. I was just getting into the shower at the gym when I took one of them...I know – too much information. Talking of the gym, all this week I have watched there endless Sky and BBC News 24 live coverage of Brown going round supermarkets and streets. The coverage has been all the same. Gordie smiling beatifically, Sarah right by his side, lovely friendly ...
That's the headline on a comment piece run by Pink News: As he launched Labour's international LGBT manifesto last Wednesday, foreign secretary David Miliband made one howler, echoed by another in the manifesto's text. He said: "Under Labour the UK will continue to be a beacon of hope for LGBT people." This delusion sounded a lot like Home Office minister Phil Woolas' article last year, when he wrote that he was proud of the attendees of the London Pride march who'd found sanctuary in the UK - never mind that his office would have refused them and fought tooth-and-nail to ...
We simply LOVE this Youtube video. It's simple, effective and oh my goodness does it make the point....... Love it. Love it. Love it.
Gordon Brown described a female member of the electorate as a "bigot" today. He made the comments as he was driving away in his car from a meet and greet in Rochdale. Unfortunately for him The most surprising thing about the encounter as far as I can tell is the change in tone from 10 seconds earlier when he was very smiley and jolly. You actually see him happily saying goodbye in the clip linked to above, and then as soon as he thinks he is out of mic range his demeanour completely changes. The encounter itself seemed pretty good ...
Tesco are saying the following:TESCO GIVEN GREEN LIGHT FOR YARDLEY SWAN CENTRETesco is preparing to restart activity at Yardley after being given the green light from the Secretary of State on a CPO inquiry that has held up the scheme.Following the decision Tesco is now in a position to complete the necessary land assembly of the site and to prepare for construction work on the scheme, which
Pink News reports that LDV's Liberal Voice of the Year Peter Tatchell has urged Green supporters to vote tactically for the Lib Dems where Nick Clegg's party is best placed to unseat Labour or Tories: Former Green Party candidate and gay rights activist Peter Tatchell has called for Green supporters to vote for the Liberal Democrats in certain seats. ... He told PinkNews.co.uk today that he was not a Lib Dem supporter but the party promises to change the "corrupt" voting system. Mr Tatchell, who emphasised he was speaking in a personal capacity, said: "On May 6th, Labour could come ...
Further to my blog update yesterday that Andrew Clayworth was set to represent Labour at tonights hustings in Ashfield, it's now being reported by the Nottingham Post that Labour won't be sending anyone to defend their record in government. I can't believe that the Labour Party are officially standing by Gloria's refusal to attend the hustings. It demonstrates a massive underestimation of the attitudes of the people in Ashfield. I've been out on the streets there in the past few weeks talking to voters, and there is a sense of anger that the Labour Party has treated them so badly ...
At the end of last week, Labour Party strategists said that they wanted Gordon Brown to get out and meet more ordinary people. To be honest, most of us wondered why he had been so sheltered – after all when most of us are fighting elections,we tr to meet as many of the voters as possible. ...
It's the moment we've all been waiting for in this election campaign, and to be honest I'm a tad surprised it has taken us this long to get to it! This morning, after speaking to a woman at length Gordon got into his car and preceded to call her 'bigotted.' The problem was that his microphone was still live, and the entire thing was caught on tape. Below is the video, courtesy of Channel 4 News: Gordon has swiftly apologised, but the damage has already been done. And with Labour third in most polls,this is exactly what they didn't need ...
Things are a bit hectic at the moment. There has been a fair amount of stress at work, given that Nicki and Claire have handed their notice in and not been replaced yet. The election campaign is... well, those of you who are old hands at this can probably say better than me, but the feeling I get is that it's even madder than usual, what with the red wing of the Labservatives claiming that if you don't vote for them you'll all get cancer, and the Blue wing claiming that a hung parliament would lead inevitably to a Nazi ...
If you like mucking around with seat possibilities, the spreadsheet is here, with an extra Bell and Whistle. The idea behind it is that clearly a uniform swing doesn't work now but two uniform swings (Labour – Con, Labour-Libdem) also fail to capture the possibility of some tactical voting So in my machine, you can ...
Just before I took to the platform for this evening's hustings I was told that it was to be broadcast live to the internet. I just had time to tweet the url before taking my seat. I was going to blog up the hustings but I was wondering when I might have the time. You may want to take a look here while I find the time to get around to a blog entry. Apparently it will be available all week. But well done to St. Andrew's for getting their hustings out there beyond the confines of the building. By ...
Friends of Roundhill had a successful Community Litter Pick on the Roundhill last Sunday afternoon and collected several bags of litter.Picture shows some of the volunteers who turned up to help For more information check out the website FriendsofRoundhill
A YouGov poll earlier this week asked people which, if any, of the parties had contacted them in the previous week (numbers in brackets from similar survey in mid-April): Conservatives: 39% (31%) Labour: 34% (25%) Lib Dem: 29% (19%) (Overall contact rates are also up on February, though the Brunel survey then wasn't conducted in quite the same way.) Amongst those contacted by each party, leafleting dominates with email is ahead of the phone: Conservatives: 93% leafleted, 13% door stepped, 10% emailed, 3% phoned Labour: 94% leafleted, 12% door stepped, 5% emailed, 5% phoned Lib Dem: 94% leafleted, 13% door ...
We have asked Somer Housining to look at the way the new kerb has been installed in the parking bays at Wedmore Close. One elderly resident has already tripped over this. We hope that the kerb will be reset so that it is not a trip hazzard.
I'm off later today to an event supporting the National Blood Service in Liverpool. The Blood Service, which has its office in Speke but which also has donation centres at different locations, does really important work. I am a blood donor myself but there is a constant need to recruit new people and to maintain blood stocks. Today's event is partly about persuading businesses to give their staff the chance to take a bit of time off to give blood.
Freedom Central has the details.
In the US, we call this "Kabuki". Vote for the meaningless amendment or bill that you know won't pass in order to build a record so that you can claim that you voted against the war, for single payer health care, against FISA, whatever, and then go south when the vote that really matters comes ...
[IMG: uk-budget-deficit] The newspapers are full of the report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies which reveals the failures of the three main parties to set out comprehensive and detailed plans for cutting the deficit. The report suggests that to achieve the target of halving the deficit within the new Parliament, Labour and the Lib Dems will have to impose the harshest cuts on the British economy since the 1970s, while the Conservatives' cuts would be the worst since the second world war. Frankly I find it difficult to get particularly excited about the report. The idea that political parties ...
A poll carried out exclusively for Lib Dem Voice shows that opposition from the Daily Mail, The Sun and Daily Telegraph to the Liberal Democrats actually makes people more likely to vote for the party. Asked the impact on their voting intention of those papers opposing Nick Clegg becoming Prime Minister, 15% said it made them more likely to vote Liberal Democrat and only 4% said it made them less likely, making for a net +11% saying they are more likely to vote Liberal Democrat. Of the rest, 19% would vote Liberal Democrat regardless, 35% would not vote Liberal Democrat ...
Obviously - with Nick Clegg's helpful contribution in the Leader Debates - the campaign trail has been very exciting with lots of people coming up and talking politics, smiling waving and saying they are going to vote Liberal Democrat. Through my inbox too come a whole host of kind messages of goodwill and support - so here's a couple of examples of how kind and wonderful people can be. From a local parent (I've blanked the name for privacy for the son) 'My son, XXXXXX, is 14. You came to Fortismere school and talked to all the kids about the ...
I have just had to delete a very recent stream of abuse about a third party from the comments on one of the older posts. Annoyingly this means, to be on the safe side re defamation etc, I am going to have to put moderation back on. Sorry if this means there is a delay in posting things but I am just not prepared to put up with that sort of misuse of the blog.
Gordon Brown has been following David Cameron's example of how to deal with his party's inability to engage the public in his campaign - when in doubt, scare people. Yesterday it was tax credits. He painted the Lib Dems as nasty people who would take money away from poor children, an assertion that has zero credibility given that Vince Cable's tax plans do more to help people on the lowest incomes than anything Labour has ever done. Our plan for fair taxes will take 4 million of the lowest earners out of paying tax altogether and will give £700 a ...
When I filled in my nomination form details for Garston and Halewood I noticed that the forms had changed. Instead of just writing on your address, you were given the option of ticking a box to keep your address secret. If you did that your address wouldn't appear on the ballot paper. Instead there would be a vague statement about living in a particular constituency. Apparently this is the first time since the Ballot Act of 1872 that some candidates have decided to keep their addresses secret this way. I'm told that the arguments in favour of allowing this included ...
You would expect Jack Straw as "Justice Minister" to support the rule of law. But not only has he personally just flagrantly breached the criminal law on treating in elections, he has supported the astonishing idea that troops serving in Afghanistan should be exempt from law while off duty in the UK. A soldier from his Blackburn constituency was caught doing 143mph - yes, 143 mph - on the motorway. The judge let hom off because he was a soldier shortly to return to Afghanistan. Minister of Justice Jack Straw commented: "It seems to me that the judge has shown ...
Journalist Nick Assinder has written a piece on the election campaign in Luton South for ePolitix. Like much of the coverage the seat has had he concentrates on independent candidate Esther Rantzen almost to the exclusion of everything else. However, he realistically concludes that she is unlikely to win the seat. Indeed his conclusion could be read as hinting at a Liberal Democrat win. The key passage is; "Now, though, talk to voters going about their shopping in the Mall and market and, while the fury at Moran's antics is obvious, the way that will be expressed in the ballot ...
According to this morning's FT, the Conservatives are so anxious not to have to work with the Liberal Democrats that they are eying a post-election deal with the SNP, Plaid Cymru and even the DUP. Worried that Cameron will fail to gain an overall majority, Tory strategists are drawing up contingency plans with almost anything on offer to avoid having to face up to electoral reform. Both the Scottish and Welsh Nationalists have made it clear that their price for working with any of the three main parties at Westminster would be a relative increase in the funding allocated to ...
The commentariat and blogosphere are serving up a surprising number of contorted, post-election ways in which Labour might well hang on. Which just goes to reinforce the message I had in my CiF piece: an indecent, unhealthy interest in power no matter for what purpose, and no matter what people want. Neither liberal, nor democratic. ...
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has passed its judgement on the manifestos of the three main parties. They clearly show that the Liberal Democrats have gone further than any party in identifying the savings that will be needed to tackle the structural deficit. The Conservatives on the other hand have pledged to make the biggest cuts to spending since the Second World War without coming clean about where the axe will fall. The IFS also shows both Labour and the Conservatives are hiding behind vague efficiency savings to avoid coming clean about their proposals. The Liberal Democrats welcome the IFS's ...
I wrote the following piece for the May edition of Total Politics: The efforts made by Returning Officers and local council to encourage people to vote in the weeks running up to polling day are remarkably crude when viewed from a marketing or political campaigning point of view. Send one, usually A5 sized black and white, text-heavy leaflet to everyone a few weeks before polling day, stick a few posters up in libraries and that is pretty much it. There are some good reasons for this. Shortage of funds in one. Another is that raising turnout is rarely a politically ...
For us politics junkies, The Thick Of It is essential watching and one of the treats of this election campaign has been Jesse Armstrong's Malcolm Tucker columns for the Guardian (warning: contains language liable to offend the offendable). And while it's amusing to imagine just how the real-life Malcolms are dealing with the election, it's a ...
Today, the FT reports that David Cameron is considering a coalition deal with the smaller parties in order to avoid a pact with the Liberal Democrats. In July 2009 I asked if the small parties would benefit from the voters uncertainty. At this point we don't know if they will. What we have seen is the emerging themes identified last year come to the fore during the campaign. The Tories may still form a government with a slim majority but right now nothing is certain. Observations from July 2009 The emerging themes appear to be:Voters are fed up with LabourVoters ...
[IMG: The land at the corner of Mount Pleasant Villas and The Grove] I've been contacted by residents of Mount Pleasant Villas and The Grove, who are complaining about cars parking on a green spot that used to be planted with flowers. The residents think the culprits are the builders at the nearby gated development, and I've asked the Council's enforcement officers to intervene and stop the builders abusing this space. Last night I visited the site and spoke to the residents. They tell me that they used to try to plant and maintain this area, but rubbish dumping and ...
A few weeks ago I had a small argument with a friend. The subject: spending cuts. In the end, it turned out we were rather violently agreeing. Our expectations of government are too high relative to the amount we are all prepared to contribute. So yesterday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies thought they would come ...
Caught a good story in the FT yesterday about a surge in support for the Lib Dems from the business community - particularly amongst business with 500-2500 staff.
I had an email last week letting me know that this blog had entered the Wikio 'Top Blog rankings'. It is at number 901.
The Liberal Democrats have chosen today to highlight the fact that students will be saddled with debts as high as £44,000 in the next five years under Labour and Conservative plans to raise tuition fees after the election. According to recent reports, it is predicted fees could rise to £7,000 under Labour or the Conservatives. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to scrapping tuition fees and opposing any attempt to raise them. They have said that they will phase out tuition fees over six years, starting by immediately scrapping final year fees for students doing their first degree. Liberal Democrat ...
Can we not just cut presenters down when they insist on talking about PR and `who whe'd go to bed with`. We need to use every opportunity including those ones to discuss our four priorities. Fair taxes, fair start for kids and green jobs – btw did I tell you about our plans for taxes, ...
At a ceremony at the Thomson Reuters headquarters in Canary Wharf last night David Rennie of the Economist was awarded the UACES-Thomson Reuters Reporting Prize for his Charlemagne column in the magazine. There was a particularly strong short-list this year, including BBC News' Europe correspondent, Jonny Dymond, and my old BBC World Service colleague Oana ...
Following my raising residents' complaints about potholes in Seafield Road with the City Council, I have now had the following response : "An order to fill approximately fifteen potholes in Seafield Road was raised on the 9th of April with a timescale of 28 days. The area inspector will check whether this work has been carried out when he is next in the area."
In 2008 the Conservative Party suspended one of their candidates, Philip Lardner for praising Rhodesian leader Ian Smith. Now he's been suspended by the Conservatives again, this time for homophobic comments, although given where we are in the electoral timetable his name will remain on the ballot in North Ayrshire and Arran and there will be no alternative Conservative candidate put up. To be suspended once might be a misfortune...
Today's Independent reports that the Conservative Party's efforts to reach out to gay voters has suffered a fresh set-back after a Conservative election candidate described homosexuality as "not normal". The party immediately denounced Philip Lardner's comments as "deeply offensive and unacceptable", suspended him from the party and disowned his candidacy. However, as the report points out this is the third embarrassing row over the party's attitude towards homosexuality to hit the Conservative campaign and there are now signs that Tory support is sliding within the gay community: A survey for pinknews.co.uk suggested that support for the Conservatives among the LGBT ...
The Book & Paper Conservation Studio at the University of Dundee is an essential regional centre, providing a range of conservation services for paper-based and related materials (documents, art on paper and books). It has worked for museums, libraries, archives, higher education institutes, trusts, churches and countless members of the public both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Robert Burns' family bible, drawings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the 600 year old Bull of Foundation from St Andrews University are amongst the items it has preserved for future generations. Closer to home, its clients include the McManus Galleries ...
With the polls as they have been for the last couple of weeks one thing I have been wondering is what the effect would be if something historic happened and the Lib Dems did not come third in the vote share. In some polls last week the Lib Dems were actually first. In more recent polls they seem to have settled into second place on average. I think if the Lib Dems really were to come first but to get less seats than either Labour or the Conservatives (which is perfectly possible under First Past the Post) then this would ...
Duncan, the Scottish blogosphere's highly talented Doctorvee, asked if it was worth voting, given that he lives in the PM's seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath where his vote according to the Voter Power has the power of 0.09 votes. Now, I have to say that this Voter Power website is talking rubbish in this election where you have Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Tories within not much more than the margin of error in most opinion polls. EVERY SINGLE VOTE IN EVERY SINGLE SEAT IS GOING TO COUNT. Every vote for a Liberal Democrat candidate, even if it doesn't elect ...
On 7 June Andover Credit Union opens in the Askalot shop on King Arthurs Way and the Bridge centre in Bridge Street. Credit Unions provide affordable loans and savings for all, choice for the ethically minded investor and help those having difficulty in accessing mainstream banking. A credit union is a not-for-profit organisation. It has no external shareholders to keep happy and no funds are gambled on the financial markets. Any profits made are used to secure improve services, and are ultimately given back to members through a competitive dividend payable on savings accounts. People who join a credit union ...
Worrying the Sheep has the perfect way to enjoy tomorrow evening's third televised debate: If Nick Clegg looks frustrated and petulant, take a drink. ...if he makes a sensible suggestion which is roundly sneered at, take a drink. ...if he suddenly lapses into a heavy Dutch accent and starts mumbling random Russian words ("isvestya, vodka, pravda, sputnik") take half the bottle.
Here's two rather different perspectives of our esteemed Fourth Estate in action. One shows a journalist who's done his homework, and gets increasingly fed up with the refusal of a politician to deal in honest facts. The other shows a journalist who's failed to do his homework, and gets increasingly frustrated with the persistence of a politician in exposing his laziness. See if you can work out which is which ... Adam Boulton takes on Lord Mandelson on spending cuts (Also available on YouTube here). Jeremy Paxman nailed by Plaid Cymru economist (Also available on YouTube here).
THE MEETING ON WEDNESDAY AT 18:00 has been CANCELLED: Wednesday 28th April @ 18.00 - Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton (opposite McDonalds, nearest tube: Brixton) Lambeth Community Police Consultative Group CANCELLED THIS MEETING IS STILL GOING AHEAD: Wednesday 28th April @ 20.00 - Methodist Hall, Half Moon Lane, Herne Hill SE24 (near junction with Beckwith road. Bus 37. Nearest station: North Dulwich)Dulwich Area Churches Meeting
Our election campaign is about making Britain a fairer place - and there are just 10 days left to do it. Our momentum is growing and the media are interested in what a strong group of Liberal Democrats in Parliament will mean for British politics. But if we are to turn this momentum into votes it is vital that we keep campaigning on the things that affect people's lives. That's why we've spent today talking about the NHS. To me the NHS is a source of pride because it's built on the basic British principle of fairness. But it's easy ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] Some food for thought:
Tomorrow night's leaders'' debate will focus on the economy, and will presumably concentrate on the allegedly "huge" public deficit, the cuts in public services allegedly necessary to to put it right, and how soon these cuts should be implemented. For an analysis which shows that the public finances are by no means in the parlous state that all the parties and most of the commentators seem to think, please see my post "The Economic 'Crisis' " of 8th April. It is also worth mentioning that the present is not a bad time to have a larger than normal public debt, ...
Wed 28th
01:21David Cameron thinks my best friends (who have brought up a brilliant son) are less worthy than me. ...
David Cameron thinks my best friends (who have brought up a brilliant son) are less worthy than me. Don't Judge My Family: www.is.gd/bKBHu
For a party that is supposedly into individual liberty, the Tories seem preternaturally obsessed with peoples' personal lives, especially their sex lives. News that the Tory candidate for Ayrshire North and Arran has got into trouble (again) for saying that he did not "accept that their [gays] behaviour is 'normal'". Not bad for a teacher! This is not the first time this bloke has guffed, a couple of years ago he sang the praises of racist former Rhodesian PM Ian Smith, saying Smith "typified a British hero". He has also said that Enoch Powell's far-right warnings about immigration had "come ...
Nick Clegg and the battle bus paid a flying visit to the constituency today to speak at the Royal College of Nursing conference at the BIC. Lisa Northover, our candidate for Bournemouth East, and myself managed to steal him from the media scrum for a few minutes and grabbed a photo and a chat. He was looking amazingly relaxed and confident for the third week of the campaign. Next stop Birmingham and the third leaders debate tomorrow evening. [IMG: Alasdair with Nick Clegg and Lisa Northover in Bournemouth West]
I have written previously about the corruption that was rife in our electoral system and even now one vote is very often not worth a vote. Why should we bother when most constituencies have MPs for life depending on which party is popular in that area? No UK parliamentary election has ever been won by one vote - or so I thought. But just now I did some digging, and found (at tvtropes.org) a story that in 1816 an election really was decided by one vote. It was in one of the "Rotten Boroughs", Gatting, that had three electors: first, ...
