Simon Ashall has a problem with me. He thinks I have smeared him and libeled him. He thinks I had a bad night at the election count the other night. You're very very wrong Mr Ashall. Nothing I have written in my previous post was in any way libellous or defamatory. I can reference and ...
It has been an extraordinary day with the detailed talks between the LibDem and Tory negotiating teams, another one-to-one meeting between Nick Clegg and David Cameron, and a meeting between Nick and Gordon Brown. Most commentators are saying that a 'rainbow coalition' with Labour, LibDems and the minority parties, is arithmetically and politically a non-starter, so the options are narrowing. The LibDem peers are meeting tomorrow at 11.00 and presumably we will get some idea of what's been going on behind the scenes.
I'm listening to Radio 4's The Westminster Hour at the moment and, unsurprisingly, the discussion is about the recent General Election and where do things go from here. One of those discussions is about PR (Proportional Representation) and the perceived need for the relationship between the citizen and the MP in the form of the Constituency relationship. Some MPs and commentators suggest it is sacrosanct and must never be broken, which some forms of PR (such as AV+ and list) partially or completely do. But I'm wondering whether that relationship is all it is suggested it is. At this election ...
Throughout the day emails have been coming in from members and supporters saying that PR is the most important thing to achieve in this hung parliament. The economy will get sorted one way or another but PR will only happen if Lib Dems force the issue. Thousands of people across the country are protesting - surely their voices can't all be ignored?If you want to join in try this.
Just a note to apologise for my lack of bloggery. The election has kept me more than busy, and the ongoing debates between Lib Dems and other parties is something of a touchy subject.However, on top of that, I'm doing something rather shocking and conventional, getting married. On Saturday 15th May 2010. I do intend to blog on the length and brevity of the election, liberally littered with
Emerging from an interesting contest with the Tory Party's "pinup" (?) Nadine Dorries I am only just getting my thoughts together on what happened. In Mid Beds even Nadine was worried we would halve her majority (I heard this from two independent sources) and we really thought it was possible. I was even invited to meetings with ex Tory activists who were so disgusted with her they wanted to help me. Everyone was impressed with Nick's performance, everyone seemed up for something different, the polls, even at the last minute seemed to be in our favour. I fully expected to ...
So, here we are, the first UK general election in 36 years to produce a hung parliament and, in its turn, cross-party talks about a new government. People in countries with PR voting systems seem quite bemused about how the Brits have reacted to this situation. My home country, New Zealand, has used MMP at each general election since 1996. As a result, there have been various types of governing arrangement. Following the 1996 election, the National Party (centre-right), formed a coalition government with New Zealand First (conservative-nationalist), which was often supported by ACT (market liberal). Following the 1999 election, ...
1 ... 2 ... 3 Erm... That's it.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 168th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (2nd – 8th May, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Cameron offers ... er, ...
The first well-known Liberal Democrat, Shirley Williams, has finally come out against a formal coalition with the Tories. However, Shirley's criticism, in terms of substance, is not that pleasing when we consider that she would prefer the LibDems to prop up a minority Tory government with a 'confidence and supply' arrangement. This would be the ...
One of the options on the table during the current negotiations between the Conservatives and Lib Dems is the idea of a "Confidence and Supply" agreement. This would fall short of a full coalition and hence would not give cabinet and government positions to any Lib Dems.The idea is that the Lib Dems would allow a budget to pass and also agree not to bring down the government in the case of a vote of no confidence. In return the LDs would have some measure of influence but would only support bills on a case by case basis and would ...
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, which really laid the groundwork for what is now the European Union, by initiating the concept of shared sovereignty. Hence 9 May being celebrated as Europe Day (though it is sometimes referred to by Eurocrats in Brussels in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner as St Schuman's Day). ...
The problems with electoral administration ranged far wider than those which caught the headlines. Perhaps the weirdest came in one polling station in Burnley where the caretaker was getting everyone turning up to vote to sign in and out of the building "for health and safety" reasons. More seriously, there were queues of people left wanting to vote when the polls closed at 10pm last Thursday in Birmingham, Chester, Hackney, Islington, Leeds, Lewisham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Weybridge. (If you were a voter caught up in these problems, the Electoral Commission wants to hear from you as part of ...
Judging from the invective-specialists in the press and the comments of a number of the more strident people I come across, it would appear that I'm one of the few non-Labour people who doesn't feel a little bit of sick rise when Gordon Brown's name is mentioned.
Sun 9th
21:10
Whilst the world fusses about coalitions, something much more important is happening - a Liberal You...
I have to admit to having neglected my duties as Liberal Youth's Returning Officer of late. And, given that the election of Alan Belmore to the position of Chair created a vacancy of the position of Vice Chair Finance, there is a co-option to be organised. There have been three applicants; Adam Parsons, Paul Walmsley and Tom Wood I will be organising that co-option over the coming days, before turning my attention to the annual elections for Liberal Youth. It'll take my mind off of the other negotiations going on around me...
LibDemVoice asked this question back when they ran a "tactical voting" website which asked you to vote Labour in over 50% of the seats in the country, including ones in which we were a good second place behind the Conservatives. Today they have come out with the great idea of performing a DoS on the Cowley Street phone lines by insisting that everyone should have the right to know exactly how the negotiations for a balanced parliament are going. That's right, they want to cripple the reception of Liberal Democrats headquarters. Do they really want to know if PR is ...
As has already been noted by one chap on this blog, there is some anger amongst some Lib Dem supporters & voters about the fact that we're even talking to the Tories. Frankly, all I can say to that is "get real". Welcome to the era of consensus politics. Nonetheless, I'm going to take a ...
Sad to hear as I type, via Radio 4's Last Words programme, of the death of Antony Grey at the age of 82, better known to many in the blogosphere under the name "Anticant", a lifelong campaigner against bigotry and intolerance and a key figure in the struggle for gay rights in the 1950s and 60s. A clear voice of wisdom and rationality forever silenced; RIP Antony and thank you for sharing your valued insights.
As previously reported on the Birkdale Blog our colleague Haydn Preece achieved a swing of 24% in the election on Thursday defeating Mark Bigley who was the Tory Parliamentary candidate in 2005. Birkdale Councillor Simon Shaw was agent for both Haydn and me. We had a remarkable success Hayden with the biggest swing and Birkdale with the biggest vote in the town I've now been asked several times if any one had a more impressive swing than Haydn.Initially I thought that our friends in the Alliance Party with their amazing victory in Belfast East might qualify. Naomi Long defeated the ...
Following that Dutch article I linked to yesterday, I've been looking into how coalitions get formed in other countries and found some interesting information about the aftermath of the German elections of 2005. The election took place on September 18 and returned an inconclusive result, with the CDU and SPD almost equal on seats and neither ...
Election day came and went. Brislington East was a pandora's box when opened. In the end with a lib dem swing of 14% the tories were bumped out and labour slid in by the skin of their teeth. Our new cllr woolacott is a fishponds resident who is a post office union man. I'm not sure what is worse him or Barbara. At least Barbara put out some detailed literature with local messages in them. Anyway, what seems to be the upshot is that Brislington liked out message, the swing says it all. Will live in changing times and it ...
When the exit polls came out on Thursday night it looked like it was all over for the Liberals and the predictions of Nick Clegg being the Kingmaker hadn't made a Nostradamus of the media. My local candidates and the volunteers were around at my house for an election night party. As soon as the exit poll was announced the mood fell. I was shocked by the result and felt worried about our candidates' propspects. As it turned out we were slaughtered. However, Nick Clegg has turned out to be the kingmaker. Anyone who guessed that was exactly right. He ...
A quick post-election playlist for you... Common People by Pulp is from Different Class, the best political album of the 90s. This is the live version from Glastonbury in 1995 – a gig I was lucky enough to be at, and still remember with awe fifteen years later. Hard Times Of Old England Retold by ...
Now the dust has settled, just a quick note to say that I'm no longer a councillor following my decision to stand down from Lewisham Council at the elections on 6th May, 2010. The new Liberal Democrat councillors for Lee Green Ward are Cllr Pauline Beck and Cllr Sven Griesenbeck. At time of writing, Pauline's council contact details were still being finalised, but Sven can be contacted on cllr_sven.griesenbeck {at} lewisham.gov(.)uk or 8297 4826. Many thanks to everyone I've worked with over my four years on Lewisham Council. It's been an interesting experience – frustrating at times, but often extremely ...
Whatever twist or turn of fate visits the Liberal Democrats, you can rely on Peter Black AM to be a rock-solid haven of good sense. Today he gives an excellent summary of the potential "deal" situation (my bolding): Much as I want to see electoral reform these talks are about bigger issues. On their outcome lies the future of this country. It is incumbent on Liberal Democrats to put the national interest first and to deliver stable government. If we cannot do that then our case for electoral reform will go out of the window. Gordon Brown is dangling a ...
It is the only show in town: a Lib Dem/Con Coalition. A Lib Dem/Labour Coalition just doesn't fulfill the mathematics. Yes, they can get to 315 seats and with the SDLP and the Alliance Party, they can get to 320. And with the Speaker and the non-attendance of the Sinn Fein MPs thrown into the equation, along with the Green MP being taken into the Coalition, a Lib Dem/Labour Coalition could just
I've been struggling to understand the reasons for the eventual result of the election in Luton South and still haven't arrived at a clear conclusion. I said yesterday that the voters had the good sense to see through the celebrity candidature of Esther Rantzen. Yet were they displaying good sense in rejecting a change to the Conservative or Liberal Democrat candidates and instead electing Labour candidate Gavin Shuker? I am of course desperately disappointed. The amount of work and commitment given by the small team of Luton Liberal Democrats to this election was extraordinary, as was the level of support ...
In January, I wrote three posts about a new dividing line in British politics. I suggested that instead of thinking about Left and Right, we should see political divisions based on those who favour the State and those who do not. Here are the links to each post: The dividing line in British politics, part 1 The dividing line in British politics, part 2 The dividing line in British politics, part 3 The blogger who writes Dizzy Thinks, has said that he thinks a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition would see liberalism reclaimed. If he is right, we are not quite see ...
Dear Nick, As a Founder Member of the Liberal Democrats who was a member of one of the predecessor parties from 1982 onwards it seems to me that the historic time that we have all been waiting for since that date has arrived. In your Personal Guarantee you said you would use the votes you would be given in order to deliver among other things, Fair Votes. I was therefore honoured to be able to come back to the UK mainland to help in a very small way this election. I know Fair Votes are in your blood, like nearly ...
Following the recent opening of Tesco Express at the east end of Hawkhill, numerous residents have expressed concern about parking right outside the store on the busy by-pass. The police have also been in touch with me about the concerns. The suggestion from the police is an extension to the barriers across the store entrance - a sensible suggestion in my view. I have raised the matter with the City Council's Head of Transportation who has replied as follows : "I can advise you that in relation to the problems you highlighted in the vicinity of the new Tesco Express, ...
One innovative feature of the General Election campaign in Dundee was the sale of doughnuts in party colours - sold for charity by Clark's Bakery of Annfield Road. The yellow ones were very tasty - can't comment on the rest!
Thursday 6th May marked the end of my first ever campaign for public office. On Saturday, a survey arrived in my post from the University of Plymouth, informing that I had been randomly selected to complete a questionnaire on my experience as a local council candidate. Here is an excerpt of my responses which hopefully will offer a concise insight into the last month of my life as a full time campaigner. 1) Were you elected or not at the 2010 election? Not elected 2) Overall, did you enjoy campaigning? Yes 3) Approximately how many hours a week did you ...
Sun 9th
17:22
A warning from Democratic party history: why Clegg must heed it or face political oblivion
Once upon a time, there was a party with the name "Democrats" in their title. They were the third largest party in essentially a two-party system, but they managed to hold the balance of power after a crucial election with almost 11% of the overall vote in 1996. Part of their platform during the subsequent ...
If Benedict Brogan's report on the offer to Tory MPs of a free vote in parliament on an Electoral Reform referendum is true then that is a neat piece of work done by the joint negotiation teams. Not only does the Lib Dem team have to ensure that the Liberal Democrats get what they want in return for a formal coalition with the Conservatives (I might have to stop calling them the Tories, I fear, as to me at least, it's a pejorative term) but they have to do as much as they can to help the Conservatives deliver a ...
Spent the afternoon in the garden - looks less like a jungle now!
A quick post, whilst I mull over the election results. I'm not really sure why everyone is so desperate to reach a conclusion so soon. If a coalition talk is going to lead to a stable government is going to have to take a good while sorting out the options, which normally requires a fairly comprehensive partnership agreement. My personal feeling is that coalition with either the Conservatives or Labour would be toxic for the Liberal Democrats. The healthiest option would probably be the so-called "confidence and supply" method. Minority governments are currently in power in Scotland and in Canada, ...
Elections are over — for now — and I have had chance to catch up on sleep, after the marathon of Thursday and Friday. You will no doubt know the result in Banbury: we came second, improving our vote and putting ourselves in a strong position for the coming years. This was also reflected in ...
It is imperative that any agreement with any political parties following the election includes electoral reform. On Thursday, the electorate of this country voted for a hung parliament, showing that there was no clear majority supporting one party. The voice of the electorate needs to be listened too and not ignored. The Liberal Democrats cannot offer a blank cheque to prop up a Conservative administration. The Conservatives have offered an inquiry into electoral reform. However, the inquiry was held on Thursday. The election showed the need for electoral reform. It is well known that under the current electoral system each ...
The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive are scheduled to meet again on Monday. If a firm proposal is coming out from the talks today, expect it to be put to them both tomorrow. The big question is what might be proposed...? Right across the party, both from senior to grassroots levels and from social through to economic liberals, there is very strong feeling that significant movements on electoral reform are a must for any arrangement. Given the country's current economic woes, there is widespread agreement that PR isn't the only issue at stake, but – for example ...
Only one of the three major parties emerged from this election with fewer votes than in 2005 and with a lower share of the vote: the Labour party. In 2005, Tony Blair polled 9,562,122 (35.3%). In 2010, Gordon Brown polled 8,604,358 (29.0%). By contrast the Lib Dems went up from 5,981,874 (22.1%) to 6,827,938 (23.0%), and the Tories up from 8,772,598 (32.3%) to 10,706,647 (36.1%). The figures do not lie: the Labour party lost this election. But (and I'm afraid it's a big but), they retained second place, some 6% and almost two million votes ahead of the Lib Dems. ...
I have just about caught up on sleep, so here is my roundup of the election results. Firstly, there is little hiding from the dissapointment that the Lib Dems will be returning to Parliament with fewer MPs despite gaining a higher share in the national vote. I would like to offer my condolences in particular to Susan Kramer and Dr Evan Harris, two fantastic hard-working MPs who came to talk to RU Lib Dems this year and unfortunately lost their seats. In Reading, the results were very posititve as gains were made in both the national and local elections. In ...
Sound the call for freedom boys, and sound it far and wide, March along to victory, for God is on our side, While the voice of nature thunders o'er the rising tide: "God gave the land to the people." The land, the land, 'Twas God who made the land, The land, the land, The ground ...
I can't speak for what happened nationally, but I think my experiences on election day might be useful in determining what happened. Fundamentally, I think the Clegg surge *did* happen, but was drowned out by the larger turnout, and a squeeze message. And it was a surge we wouldn't expect. Normally, a truism in politics ...
Now its not often that you will find me agreeing with something that Benedict Brogan says in the Telegraph, if you find me reading the Telegraph at all but his piece in yesterdays paper, brought to my attention by Parliamentary Spokesperson, Rosie Sharpley was spot on. Brogan is spot on in that the electoratet delivered ...
I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for the Stroud Green Lib Dem team of Lynne, Ed, Katherine and me. We've had a brilliant result both in Hornsey & Wood Green constituency and in Stroud Green ward. Lynne Featherstone has been re-elected as our MP with a much bigger majority, and a 4% swing from Labour to Lib Dems. I'm also delighted that Ed, Katherine and I were also elected in Stroud Green ward with increased majorities over Labour (the Greens remain in third place and the Tories in fourth). Full details of the ...
Task/Event Date Time Meet Creatures of the Night: Moths and Bats. Note: Booking is essential - see below Saturday 15th May 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm(An evening walk) Chorlton Water Park car park (end of Maitland Avenue) * Litter Pick (Note: There will be two sessions - morning and afternoon. Feel free to turn up for one or the other or both). Sunday 16th May 2010 Morning: 10:30 am - 12:30 pmAfternoon: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Chorlton Ees Car Park Search for Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of Hardy Farm with Ben Smart Sunday 23rd May 10:00 am Entrance to ...
Just a very quick note to ask local party officers to make sure they are planning some urgent communication with members. One of the tangible benefits of Cleggmania was a surge in membership and support across the country, so many local parties now have significantly more members than they did before the election. For many of these people, this will be the first members' newsletter they receive, so do please design your communication with this in mind. For those of you who are preparing a newsletter, Lib Dem Voice has a regular newsletter insert. The General Election special is a ...
Lib Dem party president Baroness Ros Scott today emailed members with the following message to keep everyone updated on the progress of talks: Dear Friend, On Saturday we had a very positive discussion. The Parliamentary Party, Shadow Cabinet and the Federal Executive have fully endorsed the position set out by Nick Clegg. We will continue to put the national interest first and play a constructive role in providing the stable and good government people deserve. We have heard what the Labour Party and Gordon Brown are saying but in line with the position Nick Clegg outlined yesterday we are continuing ...
I come from Folkestone, a place where the Liberal Democrats form the main opposition to the Tories. A deep, tribal hatred of the Tories is engrained into my very soul. On top of that, I'm gay. I fear for what a Tory Government will do to my personal liberty, based on their previous record. (my thoughts on that from the general election are here). Despite my similar reservations about Labour's record on a wide range of subjects, my own view would favour an alliance with them over one with the Tories. But that is not what the situation we have ...
From the Plenary session on Wednesday 5th May.
How did we Lib Dems do? Not as badly as some are portraying it, in fact. Our share of the vote went up nationally, even though sadly we lost some MPs. I particularly wish we had not lost Evan Harris. The big story for us is that we, as part of the Bradford District Lib Dems, have won a seat in parliament. Some of the Keighley Lib Dems have been over there to help and been part of the winning team! We know who we are - and well done to us! Many congratulations to David Ward for a thoroughly ...
In the leaders' debate, Clegg's performance was gold He was gentle and brave, he was gallant and bold In agreeing with Nick, both the others seemed bland With warmth and with valour he spoke to the land No Ashcroft had he, and no press on his side Just fair honest policies gave him his pride But then at election time, victory for dread - Labservative scare tactics pulled them ahead Keep your faith in Lib Dems for the change that we need Nick is still about fairness, and never for greed He'll fight to enact with the power of truth ...
In a strange way, I rather feel like this is the end of my first season on The West Wing; 2005 was my first General Election as an activist and this blog started (much as The West Wing itself) eighteen months later. I suppose I feel that way because I've very much watched this election from afar; indeed, I spent polling day in a property law exam! And as the alternative is revising for a public law exam with questions on reform of the electoral system and the powers of the Prime Minister, I figure I should add my twopenn'orth ...
I had been planning to post something like Glad by Traffic to celebrate our gains in the general election. Instead we went backwards, so here is the saddest song I know. Shannon was a hit in the USA in Britain in 1976 and was inspired by the death of a red setter belonging to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
Ainsdale Ward 2010 Haydn Preece (Lib Dem) 2936 (43.3%) Mark Bigley (Con) 2703 (39.8%) Labour Party 668 (9.8%) Others 476 (7.1%) Ainsdale Ward last time Brenda Porter (Conservative) 2,903 (67.8%)Pauline Collier (Liberal Democrats) 986 (23.0%)Frank Warner (Labour) 223 (5.2%)Bryan Leech (UKIP) 168 (3.9%) Our hunch is that the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Mrs Porter, secured less votes in the General election in Ainsdale than she did as a Councillor last time out. More details and background to follow The Declaration
After discussing the Liberal Democrats' "triple lock" arrangements, Archbishop Cranmer concludes: While David Cameron will doubtless consult with his MPs and Peers, he does not need their formal approval before he makes any decision. There is no part of the Conservative Party's functioning which requires any matter to be put to a ballot of all members, save the appointment of a new leader. And it was the instinct of the present Conservative leadership to deprive Party members even of that. In short, as a result of the Hague reforms of 2001 which gave Tories their first written constitution, the Conservative ...
To use Nick Clegg's phrase, I couldn't give a "flying bat's fart" about cabinet seats. Iain Dale is at his most Iain Dalish in speculating about LibDem bums on seats. He says that a LibDem might be Home Secretary. Ok, going down that daft speculatory route for a moment, that would be Cleggie then. My first thought about this is that the Home Secretary post is always a poisoned chalice. Sooner or later, Cleggie would have to deal with some sort of embarrassing cock-up which will send his ratings deep south. But then I have a second thought. Who was ...
I have no great insight on the talks going on in London at the moment other than what I am seeing on the media and the fairly bland e-mails I am receiving from the Liberal Democrat Party President, Ros Scott. These e-mails basically say 'don't panic, don't comment and don't jump to conclusions'. That is about right. There is also a huge amount of expectation and quite a few threats on social media sites of resignation and betrayal if electoral reform does not form part of any package. To those people I would say read the advice from Ros Scott. ...
Mid Scotland and Fife Labour MSP John Park tweeted something he later thought better of last night. John Park (@John_Park) 08/05/2010 21:52 the sooner you are in place the better it will be. Rob Gibson isn't a very nice person - so good! Lallands Peat Worrier noticed it too. Mr Park hastily deleted it, but who could he have been talking about? There is a Rob Gibson who's an SNP MSP. Whoever Rob Gibson is, John Park clearly doesn't like him. I wonder why...
Poor men wasting all their money on drink? Drunken teenagers – boys and girls – lying about in the streets? Drunk bridegrooms? Yes, Edwardian Britain had them all. Here's a contempory account of the problem: "Beer drinking is no less than a religion to the average East Ender." In these words, the Rev Richard Free of St Cuthberts, Millwall epitomises a terrible indictment of the condition of the East End of London. [At Christmas] the working man will go to public houses and lay his golden sovereigns on the counter, with instructions that he is to have drink as long ...
You know, listening to another Tory MP on the BBC dismissively calling us 'the Liberals', then demanding that Nick Clegg acts in the national interest rather than narrow party political interest (perish the thought that Dave and his limited ranks might be doing this themselves) and then making the ugly point that the 'Liberals' can't afford to fight another election, I'm not exactly confident that Nick, for all his abilities, can make a deal with these [word deleted while discussions continue] - at least not one which Lib Dems could ever support. The mask is slipping surprisingly quickly from the ...
So, three days after the General election, what happened? How can David Cameron keep a straight face when he says he has "won" the election, when 76% of people eligable to vote for him did not do so? What happens now, and where does that leave the case for electoral reform?
[IMG: alistorge osborling] We shall call it the 'regressive coalition'. Or even better: the Labservatives. If the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives do a deal which includes a proposed referendum on electoral reform and proportional representation, that referendum will require a vote in the House of Commons on a law to make it happen. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that vote being won by the reformers is slim. The Conservatives, for the most part, are implacably opposed to proportional representation for obvious reasons. (Their raisin of being is to maintain the status quo - it's in their name, for goodness' sake.) ...
Now the negotiations are underway, some focus has now fallen on the Lib Dem's "Triple Lock" mechanism for decision making. I was asked about this on LBC yesterday and did my best to explain how it works from what I know. My understanding is that there needs to be agreement from 75% of all MPs and also 75% of all members of the Federal Executive. If that cannot be reached then a special conference is convened and 2/3rds of voting reps (who vote) have to agree. Failing that it then goes to a postal ballot of all party members where ...
It has been an extraordinary few days since I last posted. On the political front it has been bitter sweet. We had disappointment at the polls; we failed to make the gains predicted by the Polls, commentators and, indeed, me. We had a net loss of seats including Dunfermline. In Scotland there was an extremely late swing to Labour. One of the effects of this was that no party at Westminster has an overall majority. As I write this entry the Lib Dems and Tories are deliberating whether or not they can do a deal of some sort. In my ...
My statement this morning on the election result [IMG: Change that works for you] Dear Friend,Last night was a disappointment for the Liberal Democrats. Even though more people voted for us than ever before, even though we had a higher proportion of the vote than ever before, it is of course a source of great regret to me that we have lost some really valued friends and colleagues and we have returned to Parliament with fewer MPs than before.It's clear that many people were excited by the prospect of doing something different. But when it came to the vote, they ...
Two issues to round up. How did the Monster's Poll do, and how did all the other pollsters do? For the answer to the second question, I defer to the human calculator that is Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. First thing to say is I'm delighted that MORI did well, as they've been something of a ...
As I sat and read the story of 16 year old Jack Frew being murdered, possibly for being gay I thought back to 1998 when the news of Matthew Shepard's murder broke. Matthew Shepard was robbed, pistol whipped, tortured, tied to a fence in a remote, rural area, and left to die. Still tied to the fence, Shepard was discovered 18 hours later by Aaron Kreifels, who initially mistook Shepard for a scarecrow. Although that awful murder was nearly twelve years ago and was in America it appears we have not grown up as a society anymore than the Americans. ...
After the horrors of Thursday night, which I wrote about here, Friday passed in a kind of blur. I'd had about 3 hours', or rather, I'd gone to bed and had a not very peaceful series of fitful dozes before admitting defeat and getting up again. I finally went to bed early on Friday evening and slept like a log, only regaining consciousness at 9.30 on Saturday morning. I dragged myself out of bed to watch Free Practice 3 for the Spanish Grand Prix, which was interrupted by a call from one of the few people on earth I'd interrupt ...
To file under why Labour recovered/Lib Dems lost ThoughCowardsFlinch – Sheer class, people cheering Gordon Brown. Solidarity The Times: Liberal policies, including 'amnesty'; failure of Lib Dem activists to congregate Rennard-style in lower hanging fruit; Cornish county council; Alex commenting here: "The difference in Lib Dem vote (high 20s down to 23%) was mostly due ...
The Conservatives don't want proportional representation not only because they are worried about having to work within a coalition. The other reason of course is that they fear the centre left ganging up on them in a rainborrow coalition. Labourites forget that the Liberal Democrats are not only socialist with a small 's' but we are also Liberals. This Labour government has been far from liberal. The Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats could fix the police state developments. If the Liberal Democrats always sided with Labour we may as well all join the Labour party. Fact is Labour don't have ...
Thursday's local elections saw Winchester Liberal Democrats gain 5 seats on the City Council, putting the party back in control after 4 years. Here in Oliver's Battery and Badger Farm Brian Collin did not seek re-election but his Lib Dem replacement, Lynda Banister, scored a stunning victory:BANISTER Lynda Liberal Democrat 1615Conservative 943Labour 126Turn out - 82.43% Liberal Democrat HoldI
On May 6th the voters on Lincolnshire cast their votes. Here is the combined results for the seven constituencies. Con 174,729 49.77% LD 70,827 20.17% Lab 68,043 19.38% UKIP 16,346 4.66% BNP 13,614 3.88% Linc Ind 5,311 1.51% Eng Dem 1,121 0.32% Green 724 0.21% Ind 393 0.11% Yet under FPTP the Conservatives managed to obtain all seven seats. One of the possible options for an STV election would be to have a Lincolnshire constituency with 6 MPs. Based on the numbers above both Labour and Liberal Democrats should have at least 1 MP each and the Tories 3, the ...
Any deal with the Conservatives will be worthless if it doesn't deliver electoral reform. I don't expect Cameron to offer it and, if he did, his party would never deliver it. Nor would a so-called confidence-and-supply deal be any good. It would reap for us the opprobrium of all those voters who supported us to stop the Tories but would gain nothing in return. To update Jeremy Thorpe, "
Many of the readers of this blog will have had more important things to do on Thursday morning than keep an eye out on Tom Harris' blog in case he posted anything funny. For many of you the lure of that hot date with the good morning leaflet would have been too compelling to miss. Those involved in their first campaign would have been discovering that knocking up isn't quite as much fun as it sounds. So, this is why I'm posting Tom's election day video here. It starts off like a boring old traditional talking head party political broadcast...... ...
Welcome shortly to the new Parliament, where not everything has changed: NADINE DORRIES, the Conservative MP, faces the first expenses complaint of the new parliament after a row about a £10,000 claim she paid to a friend's company. Her former Commons researcher, Peter Hand, is writing to John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, questioning whether the claim can be justified. The complaint will undermine hopes that the expenses controversy can be consigned to the last parliament. Dorries, who last week retained her mid-Bedfordshire seat, claimed the money for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, ...
I attended my first ever election count on Thursday night. We didn't get the result we had hoped for; but the entire campaign and the election night count was a great experience. Here's some pics. (Click on any the pic below or HERE for more).
Given that I probably need to go to London today I will aim to hold a consultation session for Yardley Lib Dem supporters later today.I will provide details of the location to anyone who emails me and/or puts a note through the office door by 1pm.
Residents have told us that the red lights at Noad's corner are being jumped, we have spoken to the local police.
The council has formally announced the information on the secondary schools review. In Odd Down this has two big issues, whether Culverhay goes co-ed and the sixth form for St Gregory's.We have long supported Culverhay going co-ed as the best option for the school.Else where it could mean St. Mark's and Oldfield Girls School closing and re-opening as one school.The dates for the public meetings,
I received - along with other party members - a rather stalinist email from someone called Baroness Scott, President of the Liberal Democrats. Somebody should explain to her the meaning of each of the words in the party title, because her email said this: We have all worked hard and for that I thank you - my travels around the country showed me just how much everyone has put in. We have achieved this not only due to that effort, but also by sticking to our fairness message. In order for us to maximise our chances of delivering our fairness ...
I've resisted writing this because I don't particularly have anything new to say, but this my personal view. It specifically does not represent Nottingham Liberal Democrats with whom I have not discussed this. The Liberal Democrats are a substantial party in our own right, and we are not simply numbers the other parties can call on if they fall short of the finishing post. We set out our priorities in detail months before the General Election. There are many things we think are important. The Lib Dems are not looking for personal glory, ministerial cars or cabinet positions – we ...
With my mood and feelings being a little flat today I had only been on Twitter via my Blackberry and had only heard about Sky News presenters Kay Burley interview with one of the Smith Square protestors. Many thanks to Cat Turner for recently putting up the link so I could sit and watch it. I am not flat any more, I am now very angry after watching this video of Sky News Kay Burley bullying one of the protestors. It was not an interview, it was not investigative journalism, it was an unprofessional presenter trying to be something she ...
With thanks to the #ToryLibDemPolicies hashtag on Twitter: Trident scrapped, but submarines used to 'send the buggers back' – DrRichJohnston Immigrants to be slung in between the blades of off shore wind turbines – anthonycoleman1 Join the Euro-but UK Euro notes to have the words "France is gay" written on them – Sarahita101 Legalise euthanasia for foxes – LucyMuckyKnees And so on
If you have 100 voters on a street and these voters reflected the votes in the general election then you would find that five people had changed their mind. They voted for Labour previously but this time they voted for the Tories. I was listening to local radio on Friday and I heard a Tory politician talk of the Labour government being thrown out of office. In effect a few people have changed their minds and the next time you hear politicians talking about the decisive nature of a victory then think about this street. Hardly anything has changed in ...
