CONSERVATIVES: 34% (+1%) LIB DEMS: 29% (N/C) LABOUR: 27% (N/C) Changes based upon last time (yesterday). Sample consists of all polls with mid-point fieldwork dates within the last 10 days, including today (n=29). Includes all British Polling Council registered pollsters. The results above are the median figure for each party. All very stable, but we're ...
To everybody's surprise, YouGov for Murdoch have produced a post debate poll showing a far greater lead for Cameron than any other poll. So YouGov have made the most vicious political attack of the night. I have just sent this email. To: stephan.shakespeare@yougov.com Dear Sleazy Stephan, Could you kindly confirm whether you again opened voting in your post debate poll as soon as Cameron finished his summing up, or did you wait until everyone had finished summing up this time? Craig
'The very corner-stone of an education intended to form great minds, must be the recognition of the principle, that the object is to call forth the greatest possible quantity of intellectual power, and to inspire the intensest love of truth:' - John Stuart Mill, Civilisation As I've made clear in other posts, I grew up a Liberal supporter. I'm a Liberal Democrat member now, too, and I've always voted for them, but it's only a few years ago that I rejoined the party. What caused me to leave? I fell out with the Liberal Democrats - or Social and Liberal ...
My mornings have started with leafleting sessions at 6.15am twice more this week, to get our local election address out in my ward. But last thing at night my reading material has been our manifesto for the general election. I bought a paper copy to read in bed, and reading through it has reminded me ...
You have five days left to listen to this Radio 4 programme on Charles Hawtrey: In their first ever interviews Charles Hawtrey's inner-circle share with us compelling anecdotes and memories of the Carry On star, presenting a unique insight into one of Britain's most memorable comedy actors. Charles Hawtrey is one the most recognisable characters from the Carry On film series, but it is his hidden talents and tragic decline that this programme reveals.
The last of the PM Debates has just finished. Nick Robinson at the BBC as called it a scoreless draw. The instant polls are all over the place. Which kind of suggests it was a draw. The viewer figures will be just as important as the instant polls. No point in coming out on top if no body watched it. Ultimately the only poll that counts is next week. That being said... politics like rugby is a territorial game. It is easier to score a try from 5 yards out than 50! Postal votes are dropping through letter boxes at ...
First of all, here are the polls. I've only included the properly weighted ones sourced from UK Polling Report YouGov: Cameron 41%, Clegg 32%, Brown 25% ComRes: Cameron 35%, Clegg 33%, Brown 31% Populus: Cameron 38%, Clegg 38%, Brown 25% ICM: Cameron 35% Brown 29%, Clegg 27% Angus Reid:Cameron 36%, Clegg 30%, Brown 23% Average: Cameron 37%, Clegg 32%, Brown 26.6% Overall I think the average is just about right. I'm an honest blogger and will tell try and tell it like I see it, not just in the debates but in general. As I did last week, here are ...
John Barnett, Liberal Democrat candidate for Dundee West, today took part in two hustings meetings - one, tonight, at St Peter's Free Church and the other, this afternoon, at Dundee High School. The audience at Dundee High School voted after the debate and John was the run-away winner with 52% of the poll. John said tonight, "The latest opinion polls in Scotland show the Liberal Democrats second to Labour with the SNP third and Tories last. If you want real change in Dundee West, vote Liberal Democrat next Thursday." John is pictured (right) at St Peter's Free Church before tonight's ...
David Cameron tonight referred to people "paying down" their mortgages. I'm used to this phrase because I live in Canada. In North America to pay down your mortgage is to pay it off. Gordon Brown, on the other hand, used his favourite Americanism, that he has been using for a few weeks now -- "middle class" as a replacement for the tired phrase "hard working families" which itself started as a euphemism for "working class". In Canada the nearest equivalent to the Labour Party is the NDP, but it is very "old Labour", whose politicians like to be filmed with ...
The news is in, and it's not good. I thought Nick Clegg had a very strong first third of the debate. He got stuck in, he stood ahead of the other two, and didn't get bogged down in the partisan bickering. He addressed the questioner. He looked at the camera too. A perfect balance. Then ...
"The precepts of any one religion... cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other. If they did, those out in the cold would be less than citizens and our constitution would be on the way to a theocracy, which is of necessity autocratic. The law of a theocracy is dictated without option to the people, not made by their judges and governments. The individual conscience is free to accept such dictated law, but the state, if its people are to be free, has the burdensome duty of thinking ...
The manefestos of all three big political parties include policy proposals which will affect our digital rights. By Digital rights I'm talking about the human-rights, laws and prohibitions which affect the way we use the Internet and the ways that government, companies and others can use data about us. So what do the big three parties have to say about digital rights? I read through all manefestos to bring you this summary. Let's start with labour, traditionally the party which championed the rights of the common man. They propose to invest in a super-fast broadband network with the capability of ...
All Nick had to do was solidify the gains already made - and he did just that, and more. This time next week could be electric.
I have been on a blogging break for a couple of months - partly as I had my wedding in March and largely as the election campaign has been keeping me busy! But some good news that has spurred me back into blogging. Today the proposed closure of Whittington Hospital's Accident and Emergency department has been scrapped - good news indeed. I've previously blogged about the lunacy of closing Whittington's A&E and Lynne Featherstone's campaign to stop the closure, so am naturally delighted that it's off the cards for now. We'll have to remain vigilant, as once these sort of ...
OK, not that I am biased or anything, but Nick Clegg clearly won. However, to avoid sounding like a sad fan boy, I should say that he didn't finish as strongly as I had hoped he would. It was a very good performance from Clegg and there were some very strong moments. There was a period of 20 minutes or so in the middle where he was clearly the boss. The bit in particular that had me cheering and punching the air was when he worked in the point about the banks and the Cadburys takeover. But there were no ...
Thu 29th
22:29
The Third Debate - Cameron probably edges it ahead of another strong Clegg performance
Well despite Mandelson's spinning, it is clear that Gordon Brown failed to break out of the rut he is in and lost the third debate. I felt Cameron had his best performance so far and probably edged ahead of Clegg this time, but I was pleased with Nick Clegg's performance overall and across the three debates, Clegg was the main winner, Cameron did himself no harm, and Brown did himself no good. What will this do to the polls ? I expect it to confirm a further drop in Labour support, especially with ITV running a poll this evening showing ...
Music post shortly. For now, here are some links Alex Wilcock reviews the CD version of Genesis Of The Daleks given away with today's Torygraph. David Mathewman on talking about immigration. The more this campaign goes on, the more I want to grab *EVERYONE IN THIS FUCKING COUNTRY* with the exception of a few people ...
Another score draw for me. Nothing that has happened in the latter two debates has done much to change the picture established in the first. Nick is in the big league and at the top of if for much of the time. The most interesting thing I read on Twitter during the debate was that when Cameron repeatedly attacked Nick Clegg over immigration both their ratings went down. And the Liberal Democrats don't have to convince everybody, just the more liberal 40 per cent of voters. I think Nick put his case well enough to do that. Now we wait ...
After the debate, I was tickled to see my hit counter had gone bananas today. What on earth happened? – I wondered. It turned out that dear old Le Monde had linked to my Bigotgate post. Bless them: Incident démocratique - Grâce au "Bigotgate" on va enfin pouvoir discuter (Liberal Burblings) Le blog Liberal Burblings se moque de la campagne telle qu'elle a été dépeinte jusqu'à l'incident du "Bigotgate". Il décrit les directs interminables où l'on voit Gordon Brown demander aux gens ce qu'ils achètent au supermarché. Réponse ? "De la nourriture." Edifiant. "Rien de démocratique dans tout ça", écrit ...
Following the final leaders' debate, the #bbcqt Live Chat starts on this blog at 10:40pm (show starts at 10:45pm on BBC1). The same as the last two weeks, the show is being broadcast live this week so that the panel and audience can watch the leader debates (this week on BBC1) and then respond to how they have gone on the programme. This week I am again unavailable during the programme but Lib Dem blogger Matt Raven (known on Twitter as @El_Cuervo) is again standing in. The panel includes the Schools Secretary Ed Balls, the Liberal Democrats' treasury spokesman Vince ...
Join me on Twitter.
This little new site about David Cameron from the Lib Dem Voice team gives a clue.
Welcome to Lib Dem Voice's coverage of the third televised debate between the three main party leaders, an event perhaps even more keenly anticpated than last week's inaugural debate - though the viewing figures will almost certainly be fewer. As last week, we're co-hosting live-chat, below, simultaneously with the Mark Reckons blog. Leader Election Debate Live Chat – 3
The issue of improvements to Andover's bsues has once again surfaced. Some unjustified and incorrect comments have been logged by Labour's parliamentary candidate about Barbara Carpenter's Sunday bus campaign on both the Labour website and that of Andover Sound. I have logged a response on Andover Sound's talking point page and for completeness also include it here. "Barbara is quite right. It has been her campaign not Lib Dem one and Sarah is wrong to accuse her of trying to portray it as one. In fact Barbara only recently joined the Lib Dems and I was happy to welcome her ...
The Liberal Democrats have today set out their policies for older people. The policies include: Restoring the earnings link immediately No-one to pay tax on the first £10,000 of their income Scrapping the default retirement age Fair energy prices A review of social care Keeping Post Offices open Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: ...
Earlier today Kerry McCarthy - Labour MP for Bristol East, lawyer and allegedly her party's expert on social media - tweeted her sampling of the postal votes she had seen opened. Courtesy of another Lib Dem blogger, I have a screenshot of her tweet,which began "First PVs opened in east Bristol, our sample:" and ended "#gameON!" But I am not posting it here, because I would be committing a criminal offence. Always anxious to help, even when the person is in another party, I tweeted McCarthy a link to a post made on Ministry of Truth when Jonathan Isaby and ...
I've been running a little series of posts over on Liberal Democrat Voice about poll questions that newspapers have paid for but not reported (see here, here and here). A degree of that is inevitable - after all, it's fair enough to ask a range of questions to see which give a newsworthy answer as opposed to stating the obvious and then only report those (as long as the full data is available). However, what frequently happens is that answers which don't get reported both look newsworthy and run counter to the paper's editorial line. There's an obvious inference to ...
And why not, as Bazza Norman used to say when "Film yy" was actually about cinema as opposed to Jonathan Ross's ego. Will it be the economy as billed; or will it descend into a race to the bottom about who is the "toughest" on immigration? At home this time, unlike last week, so we have both a reliable broadband connection AND beer in the fridge, so come join me with your thoughts on The Three Stooges' Birmingham date with Dumbledore as it unfolds. Incidentally, what's the story about self-styled Twitter Czar Kerry McCarthy tweeting the returns from the postal ...
Thanks to the debates I have been allowed to stay up late on Thursday nights. I am never allowed to stay up that late during term time. I settle down with popcorn and this isn't even an outing to the cinema. The Times today states that children everywhere are being allowed to stay up to watch the debates. I have been given validation so I am going to push the boat out and ask for chocolate too. On a serious note - I worry that Nick Clegg is going to be asked about the Child Trust Fund. I don't have ...
I am looking forward to the final debate between the three leaders tonight on BBC1. Follow me on twitter @chrisLibDemNW1 where I will be commenting throughout the night on the performance of all three.
We saw how Adam Boulton tried to bend his role as an impartial chair last week. I'm worrying by the prospect of a debate with David Dimbleby in the "impartial" role. Dimbleby is one of the worst offenders. Every week on Question Times (when they deign to let us on), he repeatedly allows smears on the LibDems from other panelists to go unanswered. He just doesn't let us back in to respond (and this happens a lot more frequently then with the establishment parties). Having been spoilt be the leader' debates in which, by and large, a direct smear can ...
You see, this is why more people should be reading my blog. As I noted on Tuesday, when I'd been at the opening of the postal votes here: even if I had seen how people had voted, I'd be committing an offence by telling you how they did So, if Kerry McCarthy had read my blog the ...
Tonight Gauge Opinion Ltd. is conducting the UK's national opinion poll by text message. Immediately after the TV debate we will send out a text message to a random sample of 5000 UK mobile phone numbers, asking them how they will vote in the general election. Minutes later we expect to publish the raw results. Over the next few days our tame statistician will put a towel over her head and crunch the data a little more, making sure that the sample we have reflects the demographic makeup of the UK and weighting the results where necessary. We need 1000 ...
I did a very short piece for The Bay Radio, an excellent community station based out of West Howe and serving Poole and West Bournemouth (in fact they pretty much mirror the constituency). You can download the mp3 here (its only 1'30 long).
So much of the attack on the Lib Dems is based on the idea that we are a "sell out" to Europe. That we won't stand up for Britain - though it often really means England. This attack has - to us at least - the slight feel of the American survivalist right criticising the US Democrats for selling out to a UN-based "world government". In other words: it's nonsense. But that is an argument to be settled by details. We should also make a positive case. Of course we could have said patriot but let's go the whole way: ...
The final debate day... As usual on debate day, relatively quiet. Probably the best thing for the TV guys who had a big night last night. I've seen some of the photos from the karaoke bar - and they ain't pretty. The event of the day was a trip to South Birmingham College where Nick answered questions from students. This was possibly the most combative questioning Nick has received all election - especially from 26 year old student Maya Black who questioned him about Lib Dem plans for training and paid internships for young people who cannot find work. I ...
Thu 29th
18:17
Extremists to the left of me, fundies to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with Evan
It has been a very hectic campaign here in Oxford West & Abingdon for weeks. We were already getting a tremendous response from local voters even before the first TV debate, and it has got even busier since. I can't remember an election like it since 1997 when we got Evan in for the first time, and with the ease of email we are now being flooded with even more offers of help, poster requests, Garden Poster sites etc. Two days ago we completely ran out of boards, and we had quite a big stock to start with! During the ...
I will be live blogging the leaders debate here. 6:21:41 PM: It is good that the pressure is on Brown tonight, rather than Clegg, as per last week. #leadersdebate 7:43:53 PM: Liveblogging the #leadersdebate http://bit.ly/9r3pEa 7:56:04 PM: Expecting Cameron to make great play of immigration #leadersdebate 8:56:04 PM: Expecting Cameron to make great play of immigration #leadersdebate 9:04:44 PM: Once again, in the interests of research (of course [IMG: ;-)] ), I will be listening to part of the debate on the radio. #leadersdebate 9:19:05 PM: Brown has an odd knack of doing better in times of crisis. Its on ...
I have been kindly asked to inform people (so you kind people who read my blog) of two things: Firstly, below is a preview of a video campaign for The Independent coinciding with their re-launch, focusing on the newspaper's commitment to exposing the truth behind the news and political discourse: Secondly, Unruly Media and The ...
Just over two weeks ago, I sat in the LBC 97.3 studios in Leicester Square being told by the very jolly Tory Bear that the Lib Dems were irrelevant! Well, not so irrelevant now, are they Mr Bear?!! That was at the height of Tory complacency about the election, the night before the first debate after which it became clear to everyone that Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems if given a fair hearing are a force to be reckoned with. There is so much excitement about the new politics. There is, at the moment a feeling that everything could ...
Oh boy, computer problems again. Nice to see a pic of mine getting a big spread in the Guardian but less pleased that they 'forgot' to credit it. A very busy day for Nick started with interviews at the Work Foundation - our press conference venue - followed by a short trip to Bush House for an interview with BBC Radio London's Vanessa Feltz. Then back to the Work Foundation for more interviews - including one with the Evening Standard's panel of voters - and to record an short film for an Operation Black Vote rally in the evening which, ...
I've just heard of a brilliant new scam by the BNP to give public money to their own members. Apparently they want to give people £50,000 to leave "overcrowded" Britain and return to the land of their ancestors. Given that their candidate here in ...
Here it is then. The final leaders' debate is tonight at 8:30pm on BBC1. This time the focus is the economy and as for the last two weeks we are running a Live Chat on here which will also be running simultaneously on Lib Dem Voice. Apologies again but this week I am going to be on a Radio 5 Live panel on Tony Livesey's show directly after the debate and hence will be in Birmingham and not be able to moderate it. However I do hope to be able to dip in and out of the chat WiFi permitting! ...
In an ecclesiastical triple whammy, all three awards go to the Revd Richard Haggis from Oxford for this letter in today's Guardian:Heartbreaking though it is to contemplate the offence caused to the papacy by a silly joke, perhaps a thought could be spared for those of us who are deeply offended by the papacy's reactionary attitude to contraception, women, gay people, and covering up child abuse. Some of us are Christians, too.
The Liberal Democrats have plans to introduce a bus scrappage scheme similar to that for cars, which ended a few months ago. Bus operators will be able to access a fund to help them trade in older, more polluting buses for newer, low emissions ones that are quieter, cleaner and better for passengers and the ...
It is interesting that some vested interests are getting very nervous that events have got out of control. What ever the headlines in the Murdoch press after polling day I doubt they will read 'It's the *** that won it'. I've no doubt that the Murdoch empire will not approve of the closing tax loop holes for the very wealthy or a government engaging constructively with Europe. I see that Craig Murray is also having his own tussle.
Right, some links from today to amuse/enlighten/annoy/entertain. First up, Lisa from up the road's been doing some digging on some extremist Christian lobbying groups, How to spot a fundamentalist Christian Lobby Group in your news. A guide. As a general rule, if there's a story in the press about oppressed Christians, these guys are likely to a) be involved and b) distorting or leaving out key facts. Always good to bear that in mind, I especially liked her finishing point: THis is not about religious belief. This is concerted political lobbying, from groups interested in making it appear that christianity ...
Just 7 days to go until polling day. A whole week before we can all slump in a chair and relax - or more accurately until all of us except one can relax. One of us will be the Parlamentary representative for the largest constituency in England and will have a huge responsibility. They will be pitchforked into Westminster and will spend a week or so finding the right doors to open, both literally and figuratively. It will be easy to become absorbed into the glamour of the Westminster machine and to forget the people who sent them there. This ...
It is a beta version (and forever will be). The idea here is that you can enter you own Labour to Conservative and Labour to LibDem swings by region, which means 11 * 2 different numbers. When you find one that is interesting, you can save it as a scenario. Then you can look at ...
Twitter has come alive in the last two hours with tweets and retweets of Labour's new media Tsarina Kerry McCarthy, who appears to have attended a postal vote opening session in her constituency of Bristol East – and then tweeted her tally totals. Just to be clear, this is illegal. You should not do it. If you are attending postal vote processing sessions or are an agent yourself, please make sure your entire team knows that anything you learn at that session cannot be shared. Mark Pack has the full listing of the section of the law that applies in ...
Never was a truer word spoken, even if it was spoken by David Cameron Though rather than identifying herself as a stupid person, Kerry McCarthy has landed herself in some serious hot water with the electoral commission. Twitter has already caused a few stirs in the political world during this election, but this is a step further than a few offensive comments about party leaders. Earlier today she posted a tweet concerning the opening of postal votes in the constituency of Bristol East. She's deleted the tweet now, but it was captured by Guido Fawkes almost immediately, and reposted by ...
Went to speak at the rally outside the Whittington Hospital. Hurrah! It's saved - for now. But we must remain vigilant. Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for health came down too to speak. There never was a case for closure. No proper analysis. No community facilities available to take the 35,000 people who could be treated outside of an A&E. No room at the Royal Free for the 45,000 who would still need A&E. No rigorous analysis of cost benefits. No rigorous analysis of travel. It was the worst presented case for change - ever! And it ...
"Labour and Tories will leave students with £44,000 debts" - Nick Clegg 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, the Liberal Democrats have predicted. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to scrapping tuition fees and opposing any attempt to raise them. We will phase out tuition fees over six years, starting by immediately scrapping final year fees for students doing their first degree. Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "Labour and the Conservatives have been trying to keep tuition fees ...
I spent part of Tuesday launching a housing development outside the former Craigmillar Primary School. The development is being built by Castlerock Edinvar Housing Association. Castle Rocks CEO Alister Steele had in the past really opened my eyes to the possibilities of energy efficiency. I was fortunate enough to see with my own eyes exactly what he was getting at. The idea is to eliminate drafts as far as possible and to carefully control the flow of air. This involves a heavy duty polythene layer described as sort of boil in the bag! The technology is so effective that ...
On the off chance anyone needs the wording... 66A Prohibition on publication of exit polls (1) No person shall, in the case of an election to which this section applies, publish before the poll is closed- (a) any statement relating to the way in which voters have voted at the election where that statement is (or might reasonably be taken to be) based on information given by voters after they have voted, or (b) any forecast as to the result of the election which is (or might reasonably be taken to be) based on information so given. (2) This section ...
Yesterday, a certain leader of the Labour Party went walkabout 'meeting the people of Britain' as part of his election campaign. So far, so good, if you like that sort of thing. He then chatted with a 'woman on the street' about a number of policy topics she politely raised. One of these brief enquiries was about the number of people arriving on these shores from other part of the European Union, others were about the state of the UK's finances and other 'hot button' issues. Gordon Brown — who clearly sets his own timetable for such events — made ...
Naughty naughty Kerry McCarthy, the Labour candidate in Bristol East - who earlier today tweeted figures from the opening of the postal votes in her Bristol East seat. This is very clearly a breach of electoral law. Now, to be fair to Kerry McCarthy, she has now deleted the figures but it does show despite councils and the electoral commission providing very clear advice on this that people do still make mistakes. I remember my first count and many subsequent ones where I was made to sign a secrecy document. Perhaps that needs to be reiterated to candidates and counting ...
The latest round of election donations published by the Electoral Commission have seen a much more accurate set of media reports than previous figures. As I'd previously pointed out the figures published by the Electoral Commission are far from comprehensive as they exclude small donations and also all donations, of any size, given directly to candidates. However the media reports have previously treated the figures for declarable donations given to parties as if they were actual donation totals. This time round though, helped by the Commission making its news release (even) clearer, the media has mostly got it right. Who ...
Thu 29th
15:19
Bristol East are opening postal votes in the name of sampling and results are reported
Kerry McMcarthy recent MP and current Labour PPC for Bristol East just tweeted this; @Kerry4MP First PVs opened in east Bristol, our sample: UKIP **; TUSC** ; BNP ** Lib Dem **; Tory **; Labour **. #gameON! PV meaning postal votes. Surely this is not right? I have hidden the actual number because it is illegal to report a sample of postal votes as it is in effect an exit poll and this could influence voting on the day. The tweet itself has now been deleted. I tweeted back @Kerry4MP really then sampling should not be allowed esp if its ...
Until yesterday this was the statement Gordon Brown would least like to be reminded of. Gordon Brown No Return In FireFox: Left click the link and select "Save Link As..." Upload the mp3 file to your mobile phone to use it as a ring tone. Annoy all Labour supporters in hearing distance whenever your phone rings. Pass it on. The ring tone can also be downloaded for free direct to your phone from Phonzoo. You will have to register with the site first. Thanks to The Online Activist for the heads up on political ring tones. The protest songs of ...
I too am a repentant sinner. I have encountered voters over the years who have annoyed me. I would wish to apologise to them. I remember fighting my first General Election in 1979 in Warrington. I had a series of early morning phone calls from anti abortionists asking what it was like to be a baby killer. Fortunately I was not wired for sound when I put the phone down. I have been angrily accosted in the street by people who disagreed with Paddy's policy of honouring our obligations to Hong Kong residents after the hand over to China. On ...
Welcome back David Marquand. The letter in today's Guardian has rightly been the cause of much comment. This may be a key moment when progressives/the left or what ever you want to call them decide that the Liberal democrats are the best vehicle for reform. As they say: The MPs that assemble in Westminster next month could usher in one of the great reforming parliaments in British history, one to rank in the history books alongside 1831-32, 1865-67 or 1911-1914. The next parliament could see cherished progressive liberal aspirations realised: a proportional electoral system; wider and better-defended civil liberties; a ...
In an interview with the New Statesman, prior to "bigot" gate, Neil Kinnock has said it "doesn't look like" his party can win the general election. That is quite a bold statement for the former Labour leader to make, and heaps yet more pressure on Gordon Brown ahead of this evenings final Prime Ministerial debate. Today's daily YouGov tracker poll for The Sun - shows the Conservatives up one point on 34%, the Liberal Democrats up three on 31%, and Labour down two on 27%. Neil Kinnock was the Leader of the Labour Party when they lost the 1992 general ...
Which candidates in North East Cambridgeshire are backing real change and a healthy democracy? Power2010 has been seeking the views of myself and other candidates about how to mend our broken politics. You can find out the answers here.
to the Financial Times is here. The Constitution Society, with CentreForum, staged five great events on this subject (the first is here). Their letter reminds us that much of what is wrong with government in this country is little to do with moats and duckhouses. Their recommendations seem excellent: * New legislation should be introduced ...
A bit later than I thought, here's the second part of this. Before I start, some people were interested in exactly what happens in a balanced parliament situation – here's a report from the Hansard Society (pdf) that sets it all out. I'm going to try here to set out what all the major parties ...
Here's my interview with Rosie Baker from Manchester student radio station, Fuse FM. I spoke to Rosie at the University of Manchester Student Union hustings on Monday. I was joined by candidates from the Conservative party, UKIP, the Green party, and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition for a debate with students.
I have been invited to be on Tony Livesey's Radio 5 Live show following the final pre-election leaders' debate tonight. I think the start time is a bit dependent on what time the football finishes but it should be from not long after the debate ends until 1:00am. Will Straw and Iain Dale will also be on the show. It will hopefully be a good one! Tune in if you can.
Spotted in Sussex: [IMG: Conservative poster - Sussex]
The Mersey Forest people are promoting some local guided woodland walks in May. It's part of Walk in the Woods month. Theres a website here where you can find details. Some of the walks are very local - there's one along the Speke Garston coastal reserve for example and another in Woolton Woods. Obviously I'll be doing my own walking which mainly involves gates, paths and letterboxes, but some of these sound great. Do have a look.
I'm in the process of moving all my contacts from BlackBerry to Android. I've been moving contacts from phone to phone for close to 10 years – but I've never found a problem like this. Getting my contacts from BlackBerry to Google was simple. I exported a VCF of all my contacts from Outlook and imported them to Google. Simplicity. Everything worked. Syncing back to Android was easy – input Google account and password and hey-presto. But that's where it all broke down. The address seems to be stored correctly. Right? Wrong! When we go in to edit, rather than ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: torystrike.jpg] So the local CONservatives are saying they would bring back weekly bin collections. On the face of it this sounds like a good idea, but in the middle of a period where all Councils are having to make cuts - how can they afford this? I also hope they have done a better job of costing this than they did their zero % Council tax rise (which they were working up on budget making night!). Which front-line services would have to be cut from a future Tory budget to pay for this? The amount of household ...
Amongst the smears and hysteria in today's Daily Telegraph, if you can bear to pick up a copy, there's a voucher for a Doctor Who CD. Just cut out and present it at WH Smith and they'll hand one over; if you don't already have Genesis of the Daleks on DVD, go for it. Like the Daily Torygraph's election coverage, the CD edit is highly selective, doesn't give you the full picture, and is full of fascists. Unlike their 'news', it's still rather brilliant - one of the best and most fiercely political of all Doctor Who stories, intriguingly abridged. ...
There's this: All the main parties have promised to cut the government's deficit after the election. Which party do you think is being the most honest about what spending cuts they would make to deliver this? Liberal Democrats 29% Conservatives 26% Labour 21% ... and then there's this: Gordon Brown was challenged on Wednesday morning by Gillian Duffy, a 65-year-old voter in Rochdale. Mrs Duffy complained about taxation for pensioners, immigration from eastern Europe and students' tuition fees. At the end of the televised encounter, Mr Brown told her 'it was very nice to meet you'. But when he got ...
Don't walk through the arches under the Birmingham University tower! That's the tall brick structure shown on all the scene-setting shots of the University Campus, today's Leaders Debate venue. The student superstition is that anyone who walks under the tower is about to fail their exams. Imagine the gleeful postings on diverse blogs if one or other of the party leaders could be tempted to take a guided tour of campus... and just happened to pass under the tower... And of course the press wouldn't go to town on such a triviality when serious matters are being discussed... not.
News reaches me that the Charity Commission, the body that regulates standards in the voluntary sector, is considering a complaint made against independent candidate for Luton South Esther Rantzen. Apparently Esther has a personal assistant who is part funded by the children's charity NSPCC. The complaint concerns the possibility that if the PA has worked on Esther's election campaign, rules regarding the involvement of charities in political campaigning may have been broken. More on this: 'NSPCC probed over Rantzen PA' 'Commission considers complaint about Esther Rantzen's PA'
Getting too busy to blog now, its more and more manic, with absolutely no let up in the support for and interest in the Liberal Democrats, which I predict will surge higher after tonight's final leaders' debate. I am spending all my time answering constituents and journalists, delivering and canvassing. The hustings was my first ...
I was mightily disturbed to receive an email from Google apparently telling me I had purchased a Nexus One phone. Had I been hacked? Had my credit-card details been used to buy a phone? Were Google sending me one for free? Hello! Your new Nexus One phone has many cool and useful features. Learn more by clicking on the links to watch brief YouTube videos directly on your phone: Take pictures with your 5mpx camera and view them in your 3D Media Gallery. Learn more Get transcribed voicemails and cheap international calling with Google Voice. Learn more Sync your contacts, ...
A poll released today made me chuckle. The research amongst voters matches political leaders to their consumer brand equivalents. Gordon Brown was voted most like a Volvo - the brand we all love to ridicule - unless you own one of course! Our own Nick Clegg was voted most like the Co-op – a smaller ...
A big thank you to our hosts at the University of Manchester on Monday, who set the scene for an excellent debate between several Parliamentary candidates for Manchester and the many students who came along to quiz us. Joining me on the panel were Conservative Chris Green and UKIP candidate Robert Gutfreund-Walmsley – both candidates ...
The series of Sittingbourne and Sheppey debates came to an end this week. Firstly, on Monday, Gordon, Angela and I went to the Isle of Sheppey Academy to meet 16-18 year olds where we were questioned about local issues and politics in general. Then in the afternoon Gordon and I met again at Highsted school in Sittingbourne for a discussion about school transport. Contrary to my last entry, Labour did indeed send a representative in the form of the legendary Roger Truelove, a well-known and very experienced local councillor, and we were joined by a representative from Kent County Council ...
Well, if our own deficit is the Elephant in the Room, what is a nearby E300bn economy heading to bankruptcy? Will future post-election commentators wonder what on earth the Guardian was doing running so many different columns on bigotgate while the next economic crisis burst upon our shores? (to be fair to the Guardian, they ...
Thu 29th
11:23
The world can be different but we do not have to rely on central government to change it
When you do an interview with a journalist during an election campaign which includes issues such as differences within the party on ideology or how many seats the party might win, there's always a risk that a poorly chosen phrase can get turned into a damaging quote. Having often enough muttered "Why on earth did they say that?" when I've seen this happen to others, I always have a quick burst of concern when such a piece quoting me comes out - but thankfully today's Guardian quote passes muster. Indeed, judging from a few pieces of feedback I seem to ...
The secrecy surrounding Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has concerned me and many of my constituents as it has many MEPs. As a member of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, I met the European Commission in early March to discuss the unacceptable level of secrecy in which these negotiations are shrouded, and demanded that we in the European Parliament, as the only directly elected representatives of the public at European level, be given immediate access to the final draft of the consolidated negotiating text. You can view my question here. Following severe criticism from myself and a number of ...
Elections are about people as much as they are about policies. It's truer now than it's ever been, but let's not kid ourselves: personalities matter, and they always have done. In 1964, the aloof, patrician Alec Douglas-Home was bested by "man of the people" Harold Wilson, despite Harold Wilson actually being nothing of the sort. ...
In any other election, the eye-catching campaign for a 'Robin Hood Tax' would have caught the public imagination. But there has been so much drama, so many surprises and — since yesterday — such serious gaffes that this has been pushed down the agenda. And that's a pity. OK, so the Robin Hood Tax is ...
I just thought I would draw your attention to an excellent write-up of this event which happened last night in London. Originally the three party leaders were due to speak but in the end they all dropped out, so were replaced by their respective deputy leaders, Harriet Harman, George Osborne and Dr Vince Cable. Unusually I found this write-up in the comments on the Guardian's live-blog. I don't know whether it's cross-posted from the writer's blog, but in the interests of copyright I won't quote the whole thing here. What I will say is that it is balanced, impartial and ...
A quick note to say that the next general meeting of the Friends of Garston Park is on the 21st May at 6 30 at Long Lane Church. Do come along if you want to find out more, want to get involved, or have something to say. If you can't come along but want to know more, please drop me an e mail at paula@garstonld.org.uk and I'll make sure you get onto our mailing list. Friends of Garston Park is a group working to support and improve our park. We are for residents, park users, local businesses - anyone really ...
In the aftermath of Gordon Brown's extraordinary error of judgement (no link necessary), a few commentators have leapt to the Prime Minister's defence. 'It proves he's only human,' they say. "Whom among us can profess never to have made a regrettable mistake in a fleeting moment of frustration?' Clutching at straws, I'm afraid, if you're a Labour Party supporter. This will hurt you, and it'll hurt big. Vote Brown: his 'roots' have instilled him with a deep empathy for the plight of common people. That was the message. Now it's in tatters. True, voters aren't so naïve as to believe ...
When you are a Parliamentary Candidate you get huge volumes of stuff - post, texts and e mails (mainly e mails now). Some of this is from residents, wanting your views on various things. Some is from organisations, wanting your views or wanting to persuade you of a particular point of view. And some is from Party Headquarters - briefings on how to answer various questionnaires and questions. I know, from having been a party HQ volunteer during a General Election, that loads of work is put into providing these briefings. But I have a confession to make. When it ...
The latest Business podcast featured Professor David Harvey, in the company of Julian Glover, Aditya Chakraborrty and Larry Elliott of the Guardian. Quick observations: is there a quicker, more insightful or more thoughtful commentator than Julian Glover anywhere? I'm not sure there is. Listen to this podcast just for his interventions about financial reform, ...
Is it racist - or bigoted - to want to talk about immigration? That's not an easy question to answer. Almost any discussion about immigration frames the debate in terms of 'us' and 'them', and once you've done that, bigotry or racism in some form almost inevitably follows. And yet, few people regard the subject of immigration itself as taboo, or are in favour of removing all restrictions (for the record, and with some reservations, I'm in favour of totally free migration, but I recognise that's not the general view). What is undeniable is that many people raise the subject ...
Nick Perry, who has spearheaded the campaign against hospital parking charges locally said at the demo on Wednesday: "We have wanted to show the Trust Board that this is still an issue that people care about, and that needs resolving to the satisfaction of the public. "We have asked David Williams (Director Corporate Affairs) for ...
We had the pleasure of former LibDem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick's presence in Islington on Wednesday afternoon. He came to help Bridget Fox and her team spread the LibDem message in Islington South and Finsbury. As usual, I had the honour and pleasure of being "official" photographer for the afternoon. Click the pic below to ...
Having spent so long courting George Monbiot and basking in the warm sunlight of his approval, Plaid Cymru must have been pretty pig-sick yesterday morning to read this letter in the Guardian to which he attached his name. Mr Monbiot joined with a host of other progressives including Richard Reeves, John Kampfner, Professor Noreena Hertz, Susie Orbach, Henry Porter, Francis Wheen, Jeanette Winterson, Richard Dawkins, Philippe Sands, Anthony Barnett, and David Marquand to assert that the energy for the future of progressive politics is to be found with the Liberal Democrats. It is a contemporary political fact that the stronger ...
Here is what appeared on the garden wall of the Bristol North West Liberal Democrats office a few nights ago.
So reports PoliticsHome: A majority of the public believe that the current voting system is unfair, and that it is now time to start thinking seriously about alternatives, according to new PoliticsHome research. 57% of voters said that the current system of voting in the current system is either 'very unfair' or 'generally unfair', compared to 39% who think it is fair... In a further indication that voters are dissatisfied with the current electoral system, voters believe that it is more important for an electoral system to reflect the proportion of votes cast nationwide than to produce a clear winner. ...
There have been many gaffs on live microphone in the past and today's papers list some of them, though I am not sure that George Bush's 'Yo, Blair' ranks up there with his successors claim that a concerned Labour voter was a 'bigoted woman'. We are all human of course and we have all at some time said something in private that leaked out leading to an apology, but Gordon Brown's gaff has more far-reaching consequences. Firstly, it seems to reinforce the image that he has been trying to shed of somebody who behaves differently behind closed doors to his ...
We all know in the Liberal Democrats that posters matter in election campaigns, because they show people that our party has plenty of support. So, whether it's a window poster, last Sunday's Daily View via Lib Dem Voice was a poster special with one you can print off and put in your window, garden poster or just a virtual poster, they all count. Knowing that a party has lots of support in turn encourages other people to vote for that party. Today it's the turn of the virtual poster. Take this graphic below - also at http://bit.ly/ldvirtual - and use ...
The letters page in today's Guardian includes this: This is an extraordinary political moment. An election seemingly destined to produce a narrow Conservative victory has been seized by the voters and turned into a democratic contest - a contest not just between parties, but over the shape of our democracy itself. The MPs that assemble in Westminster next month could usher in one of the great reforming parliaments in British history, one to rank in the history books alongside 1831-32, 1865-67 or 1911-1914. The next parliament could see cherished progressive liberal aspirations realised: a proportional electoral system; wider and better-defended ...
[IMG: pademoneyes] It was bad luck for Gordon Brown that an open-microphone gave the public an opportunity to hear what he actually thought of a voter. He isn't the first politician to make this error, and he won't be last, although the most famous example is fictional Tory Peter Mannion from In the Thick It who says: "Peter Mannion: This is the trouble with the public, they're fucking horrible! Emma Messinger: Peter, you can't say the public are fucking horrible. Peter Mannion: Yes I can, I've met them." In one sense this story is a 48 hour wonder. In another ...
Maybe you've been inspired by Nick Clegg's excellent, common sense performance during the election campaign. Maybe you were impressed by Vince Cable's wise and credible proposals for the economy. Maybe you have been helped by a local Liberal Democrat Councillor like Daisy Benson or Allan Knox and were impressed by the work they did. Maybe you're just sick to death of the Labservatives - the red lot inferring you should be lucky to have them and if you don't vote for them the nasty blue lot will come and eat your firstborn, the blue lot forecasting an apocalyptic economic future ...
As this will be the first time many people have cast their vote, I thought it might be useful to explain what actually happens when you go and vote. If you are on the list of the people who can vote (the 'electoral register') then you should by now have had a postcard (a 'polling card') with your name and address on it and telling you either that you have registered to vote by post (in which case you should already have been sent a ballot paper) or telling you where to go and vote. If you are voting in ...
Yesterday is not a day that Gordon Brown will want to relive. He misheard a Labour supporting widow talking about immigrants: she said "flocking", not the well-known expletive. He ranted a little about it in his limousine, and sine his microphone was still live, it was picked up. He then went to make a probably rather insincere apology- which since Mrs Duffy will not now vote Labour was clearly not really accepted. This frankly trivial incident has nevertheless led to the biggest media furore of the entire election campaign, and people are talking now about a Labour meltdown. Meanwhile, something ...
Don't vote Lib Dem here, you'll let the Tories in.You can't vote Labour here, they've got no chance, you'll let the Lib Dems in.Tories can't win here.Vote Conservative to keep Labour out.SNP are the only ones in this seat who can keep the Tories out.A vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for Labour.You do realise don't you that if you vote Lib Dem you could let Labour in here?Vote tactically for us to keep them out.Only Lib Dems can keep Labour out.Only the Conservatives can keep Labour out.Only the SNP can keep Labour out.Etc.Etc.Etc. Are you sick of it ...
This quote from Winston Churchill, stolen from my fellow Lib Dem Jock Coats' blog and to be specific this recent post, sums up the difference between socialism and liberalism - and in doing so clarifies the single biggest reason I am a political liberal. Socialism seeks to pull down wealth; Liberalism seeks to raise up poverty. Socialism would destroy private interests; Liberalism would preserve private interests in the only way in which they can be safely and justly preserved, namely, by reconciling them with public right. Socialism would kill enterprise; Liberalism would rescue enterprise from the trammels of privilege and ...
Feeling bereft because this evening's TV debate will be the last one? Help is at hand in the shape of a range of political finger puppets from Rubbish Magazine. Our picture, naturally, shows Nick Clegg, but other puppets are available. If you do stage your own debate with these puppets, the following phrases may come in useful: "I agree with Nick." "Last week I met a black burglar, who told me that economic migrants got a free car from the NHS." "That was a disaster. Should never have put me with that woman - whose idea was that? ... She ...
My plan to pass a daily comment on the election finally gave in to exhaustion + manflu + the time taken up by actual campaigning. Although saying that I cant say that there has been anything of note that I have seen this week that has motivated me enough to run for my keyboard. I think that i am starting to suffer from speculation overload which does not seem to affect many other political bloggers One of the things I love about campaigning (and my job in general) are public question and answer sessions. For me, this is politics at ...
I find myself roused from my self-imposed election blogging slumber (enforced by the coincidence of dissertations and exams, including one on polling day!) to make a fairly simple point; the trouble with the media isn't that it's asking too many hypothetical questions about hung parliaments, it's that it isn't asking nearly enough... Okay, so the obvious one (to Lib Dems at any rate) about the Labservatives going into coalition is probably answered, but why isn't Dave asked if he would form a coalition with The David Miller Band if he was an option instead of Scunner Broon? It's no less ...
It was the Ham & High, Hornsey & Wood Green hustings last night. Streets must have been empty of Labour activists - as they were all in the hall! I recognised most of them. Planted questions and prepared answers - very Gordon Brown. Labour activists in the hall didn't seem that interested in the Whittington A&E, nor fair funding for our schools or fairness in the tax system - they appeared interested in one thing - whether LibDems would prop up a Cameron Government. Nick Clegg has made it quite clear that our four key pledges on fair taxes, fair ...
I find it irritating that both the media and parties persist in using the negative term "hung" rather than the positive term "balanced" to describe a parliament in which no party has an over-all majority. The term "hung" in this context is borrowed from the USA where it is used to describe a jury unable to come to a conclusion. There is every reason to suppose that a parliament which more accurately reflects the balance of opinion in the country will come to better decisions than one which is able to impose the view of a minority on a reluctant ...
Just seen the footage of Gordon Brown being completely two faced by being nice to a Labour voter to her face and then calling her a bigot when she couldn't hear. Or so he thought! The man is a disgrace and not fit to be a prime minister. He should recover his dignity and resign now. Labour must be desperate to have a leader so bereft of personality and humanity.
The hustings meeting for the 3 main party candidates in Blaydon was held tonight in Birtley's St Joseph Parish Centre. Neil Bradbury was there for the Lib Dems, Dave Anderson for Labour and Glenn Hall for the Conservatives.And here are a few photos. When I sorted through them, some looked like the three were entering a singing competition!The three candidates on stage waiting for the music to
Find it here Originally found this on the excellent People's Republic of Mortimer
Two out of three debates down, and one to go, and there's no sign at the moment of the Lib Dems' new found popularity waning in the polls. But this Thursday's debate is on the economy, and it is likely to be the most heated of the lot, given the situation the country faces. If Nick wants to project the Lib Dems as the party of real change, he could do no better than to start talking about what I've been calling "Rigorous Liberalism". It needn't involve any change... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for ...
One of the questions that is really popular if you are a Liberal Democrat is who will you work with in a balanced parliament. Well constitutionally the question should go to the Labour or Tory parties before it goes to the Liberal Democrats. I would be quite happy to work with anyone who has sensible policies. Wouldn't that be novel - politicians deciding how to vote on the strength of the argument rather than party political lines. It is the other parties that can actually be seen to vacillate on this issue. "I agree with Nick" was the catchphrase of ...
