A brief snippet appeared today with my byline in the Indy here: Stephen Tall, Co-editor of the 'LibDem Voice' blog "It is absolutely a red line for Liberal Democrat members. I don't think they are going to be bought by the same committee of enquiry that was offered by the Tories in 1974. We would not want to run the risk of giving up our independent voice in the Commons for that. Electoral reform is an absolute deal-breaker and the devil will be in the detail of what is offered. We need to see a significant concession. I think it ...
The Tories have made an offer to the Lib Dems of a referendum on the alternative vote (AV) system. I am not a supporter of AV. The fact that Labour and Tories can both support it, is a good indicator that it is not much of an improvement. Under AV you get to note a second choice on your ballot paper. The bottom candidate is eliminated and their second preferences re-allocated, until somebody gets over 50% of votes cast. This system does not address the problem of proportionality - that the percentage of seats in parliament should broadly reflect the ...
Over the past four days we have been working flat out to deliver an agreement that can provide stable government for Britain that can last. As you know we believed it was right that the Conservative Party, as the party with the most seats and votes, should have the first right to seek to form a government and we entered into discussions with them accordingly. Our talks with the Conservatives have made progress but so far we have been unable to agree a comprehensive partnership agreement for a full Parliament. I strongly believe we need a government that lasts so ...
Named after Joseph Chamberlain, who became Mayor of Birmingham in 1873, the Chamberlain awards were created to recognise Birmingham City Council workers who go the extra mile to provide quality services.The 'People's Choice for services to the community' category allows the general public to nominate their favorite council worker. If someone has exceeded your expectations, made something happen,
I've been media-whoring mysef around the BBC studios the past weekend, and too busy to round up what I've been saying. I just about managed to stay awake throughout Friday night's The World Tonight (not sure how, I hadn't slept in 40 hours) in order to contribute. You can listen again via iPlayer here. I started speaking about 20 mins in, covering the possibility of a coalition – pointing out how unenviable Nick Clegg's position is – moved onto the right-wing press's smears against Nick (the low-point of the campaign), and ended by proving utterly incapable of choosing what I ...
Okay, so it's all a bit conspiratorial, but I reckon both the Lib Dem and Conservative leaderships have played a bit of a blinder tonight both designed to steel waverers in their party to what still seems to me to be the only show in town that ensures a stable government - a Lib Dem-Conservative coalition. By opening up talks with Labour - and who will ever know whether or not the Tory negotiating team really knew about it or not; certainly there was a story on Sunday afternoon that... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website ...
Via email: Over the past four days we have been working flat out to deliver an agreement that can provide stable government for Britain that can last. As you know we believed it was right that the Conservative Party, as the party with the most seats and votes, should have the first right to seek to form a government and we entered into discussions with them accordingly. Our talks with the Conservatives have made progress but so far we have been unable to agree a comprehensive partnership agreement for a full Parliament. I strongly believe we need a government that ...
Despite there being many other issues discussed in negotiations with the Tories, and now Labour, the focus of reporting and discussion has been on electoral reform. Many things are being said about PR. That it'll destroy the constituency link. That ... Continue reading →
I don't mind politicians getting these two things wrong, but it gets rather grating when political correspondents make the same basic mistakes: 1. The party name From The Constitution of the Liberal Democrats (Federal Party): The name of the Party shall be the Liberal Democrats... If you want to talk about "the Liberals" or "the Liberal Party" by all means do so, but you are talking about a different party, one which has its website here. 2. The Constitution of the United Kingdom Such as it is, enscribed on various bits of goatskin over the ages: The Prime Minister is ...
Life is composed of reality configurations so constituted. To abandon her would be to say, I can't endure reality as such. I have to have uniquely special easier conditions. Philip K Dick, 'Now Wait For Last Year' It's been a rather eventful day, but I think the situation for the Liberal Democrats still hasn't changed. Clegg is ...
Events are moving quickly. Gordon Brown's resignation and the opening of formal talks with the Labour Party have reignited the possibility of a progressive alliance. The fact that talks with the Conservatives have failed to come up with agreement at this stage suggests that this possibility has run its course. The Social Liberal Forum Executive respect Nick Clegg's commitment to talk to the party with the greatest mandate first and have suspended our judgement on what such negotiations might result in. But the party has always been clear that this by no means was to offer them a blank cheque ...
The election demonstrated that the people have no desire to change the voting system This, or something similar, is something I've heard repeated several times today by Conservatives. Firstly, it is, of course, incorrect: over 50% of those who voted chose parties (Labour and the Lib Dems, among others) whose manifestos committed to holding referendums ...
It's been quite a day. The coalition negotiations are still ongoing. We now have concrete offers from both Labour and Tories on Electoral Reform. Gordon Brown has this evening announced he will stand down as Labour Leader which has led to the Tories up their offer to include a referendum on Alternative Vote. The Brown resignation changes the landscape. I posted a few weeks back on Coalition forming and indicated that the personal side is as important as the political. I am no fan of Gordon Brown but his treatment post election by the press has been appalling and unnecessary. ...
Clarification: The BBC as it stands state that: "Labour is understood to have offered the Lib Dems a bill to introduce the Alternative Vote system, followed by a referendum on full proportional representation." However, there appears to be confusion over Labour's proposals over electoral reform – so if more is heard I will update accordingly. ...
Liverpool has a great Schools Parliament which involves representatives from schools councils getting together at least three times a year to discuss things of importance to them. They have the power to pass motions which are then treated as council motions. And they have a budget which they can use on causes they support. It's a great way of young people getting involved in democracy. By definition though it excludes some school age children as those being educated at home cannot be a representative of a school. I think it should be possible for home educated children to get together ...
We can't ignore the fact, however much you and I may dislike it, that as the party with most votes and seats at Thursday's General Election the Conservatives have a right to try and form a Government.
For there to be a government which has a democratic deficit and yet would be the better government, or to have a government which has been democratically elected but is far worse for the people. Some within the party have been arguing that this is a great opportunity for a "progressive government" (which is obviously viewed as preferable) however ... Read more
The recent election must have been a major disappointment to the Liberal Democrats – but that doesn't matter because they have the 'whip-hand' in government formation. The party has 'walk-away value'. If they don't like a deal with the Conservatives they have other options (Labour & LibDems, with SDLP and Alliance brings you to 320). The Tories on the other hand don't really have other palatable options other than a minority administration, which Cameron has already indicated he doesn't prefer. This makes the Lib Dems (despite their size) much stronger than any other party. This is akin to the position ...
I'm running out of popcorn, wonder how good the final deal will be? Anyway, for those worried that the Lib Dems might "sell out" or whatever, a brief guide to internal party democracy: Liberal Conspiracy » Liberal Democrats: the clue is in the name Not sure why so many reformers seem to think that the membership would let Clegg take his pieces of silver, he sure as hell knows he couldn't get away with it. Note to any Tory inclined readers; your manifesto includes a desire to improve democracy, extend referenda on issues, etc. So what's wrong with the idea ...
Wow! With a heavy heart this morning, I was becoming increasingly convinced that the Lib Dem team was going to do some sort of deal with the Tories. Now it all seems to have changed and, literally, anything could happen. It's been funny how all the Labour people on Twitter who've been breathing fire on us for the last couple of days are now being very nice and the acid is now being snorted on us from the blue side. I was very impressed with the dignified way Gordon Brown stepped aside. It was inevitable but he did it well. ...
At 5.32pm I asked whether the Liberal announcements this afternoon were "Calamity or canny politics" . Well it would seem that the moves by the Liberals did indeed enhance Cameron's hand such that - regardless of all those Tory back bench MP's comments through this the day about preferring a minority Tory government to a Lib/Con agreement - the Conservative parliamentary party are, following their meeting, now backing an offer of a referendum on AV to the Liberals. And fixed term parliaments - though I thought that was already on the table - perhaps not! There are questions that remain ...
Just back from the City Council and committees tonight to a recording of this from Sky News at teatime ... And coming after the frankly disgraceful behaviour of Sky News presenter Kay Burley at the weekend ... one wonders if Rupert is slipping something into his presenters' tea?!!
I'm going to try and write a post to sum up my current coalition thinking, but with so much changing every few minutes, I'm going to wait till later. For your enjoyment until then, what I can only imagine as the combined sequel to In The Loop and Frost/Nixon:
Would I find Gordon there?
I am no more in favour of an alliance with New Labour than I am with the Conservatives - though if it delivered PR I would have to think hard. But why tie ourselves to authoritarian war criminals. The culpability of Miliband in particular in strenuous efforts to cover up UK complicity in torture, should make it impossible for any Liberal to stand against him. Poor Gary McKinnon provides an important test. The Tories and Lib Dems have said they would halt his extradition under Blair's vassal state one way extradition treaty with the USA. New Labour apparently remain ...
(Please note: the following opinion is that of one Welsh Liberal Democrat activist only and should not be taken as being that of the Welsh Liberal Democrats or any of it's MPs, AMs or anyone else!) The day after the election was going to be like Christmas day in the eyes of many Liberal Democrats. We'd spent the last few weeks eying up the bike shaped present under the Christmas tree and couldn't wait to open it. When we rushed downstairs on that morning to unwrap it, we found it was actually a £5 book token for a store that ...
I was only campaigning for the General Election during the last week, but staying up for nearly thirty hours on election day left me slightly groggy. Meanwhile after the utter exhaustion of months of campaigning- David Cameron apparently solidly for the last two days- our political leaders have been plunged into a process that requires acute political judgement. David Laws looks like he has lost about 15 kilos- I suspect that none of the figures now being forced to discuss the formation of the next government are in particularly great shape. Nevertheless the Liberal Democrats have a particular responsibility. Even ...
My wife suggests that we should return to the Divine Right of Kings. The Queen has more experience of politics than all the Party Leaders put together, commands worldwide respect, and could hardly make a bigger balls up [Sorry for your Labour leadership ambitions Ed] than our elected leaders over the last 30yrs. And think of the shed loads of money we would save without both Houses of Parliament to pay for.
Before the election Nick Clegg promised ad nuasium that he was not the king maker, it was the people and if a party had a clear mandate then they should govern. Seams pretty sensible we are a democracy after all and we do kind of like it (we've even dropped it into our name). Pretty ... Read more
Been quite a day where the Prime Minster resigns and it is not the top story. I think the Liberal Democrats are playing a classic negotiation techniques. They have not got want they want from the Conservative party so now they are playing them off against the Labour party. It's not an easy game any of the parties are playing as they all have something to lose, perhaps none more so than the Liberal Democrats themselves. I hope there can be some kind of a coalition because this would stop a small clique from running a party as they will ...
Is Dave, or more to the point the Conservative Party about to blow their chance of power for the second time in this election? In the hour it has taken me to get from work to home there is a faltering in the talks between the Tories and Lib Dems. Gordon Brown has wasted no time in removing himself as an obstacle in potential talks with Labour. The talks with Labour are starting tonight so is the clock ticking on a Cameron premiership? Is there going to be a rainbow over Westminster? But hang on just as I'm typing this ...
Gordon Brown's decision to step down as labour leader came more than 72 hours after it was officially confirmed that the Labour Party no longer held a majority in the House of Commons. Given the timing of his resignation, we can only presume that Brown had still retained some hope of remaining Prime Minister on a long term basis; that he spent the weekend desperately manoeuvring to find some workable solution. Today he accepted defeat. "But I have no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the path to economic growth is assured and the ...
I'm sorry. I have tried to avoid vulgarities on this blog over the years, but in this instance I am lost for any other description to sum up events. I have watched events this afternoon from the comfort of a Virgin Pendalino Quiet coach speeding to Bonny Scotland. Speed Bonny Virgin like a bird on the wing... (That's enough singing-Ed) On the one hand, according to Five Live, Tory MPs are "seething" as they meet David Cameron, because they feel they have been double-crossed by the LibDems – presumably against the background of their disappointment with Cameron's failure to win ...
While all eyes were on Westminster today watching the outcome of the talks between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives and then the resignation speech of Gordon Brown here in Scotland there were political announcements of our own. Councillor Bailie Matheson, of Anderston/City ward in Glasgow has been a Councillor since 1999. He was elected as the new leader of Glasgow City Council following the shock resignation of the former disgraced leader Steven Purcell back at the beginning of March who initially claimed he was standing down because of stress, then admitted it was cocaine use. Councillor Matheson was voted ...
Nick Clegg has just issued the following statement: Over the past four days we have been working flat out to deliver an agreement that can provide stable government that can last. "The talks with the Conservatives have been very constructive and I am grateful to David Cameron and his team for the effort they have put in. But so far we have been unable to agree a comprehensive partnership agreement for a full Parliament. "We need a government that lasts which is why we believe, in the light of the state of talks with the Conservative Party, the only responsible ...
There are fevered speculations in the media now that Brown has proffered his resignation. Are we heading for a coalition with Labour? Charlotte Gore is already throwing the vitriol, despite the fact that this doesn't really alter the fact that a coalition with Labour wouldn't outnumber the Tories, and we'd have to hold ourselves to ransom to the nats as well, AND that if you trust Labour to deliver on a promise you're bloody stupid, AND that they don't really have a credible leadership candidate to put up even if we DID coalesce with them... No, there are too many ...
British politics is still too tribal and totemic. You only have to look at the writings of Polly Toynbee prattling on about equality when never actually visiting the sort of places where such inequality exists. A lot of people voted Labour out of fear rather than an endorsement of their own record. The main problem ...
[IMG: campbell] One of the most ubiquitous faces on television over the past week has been Alastair Campbell, and during Labour's election campaign the hilariously sinister smirk of Mandelson was never far away. Could this afternoon's high political action be a reminder of the media-driven dirty politics that these two became famed for? At the time of writing, there's been little (or no) word from the Lib Dems all afternoon. Rather, there were initial rumours communicated to the BBC. Gordo then stormed out, with little notice, and declared that he was stepping down (at some or other point in the ...
There are plenty of places you can go if you want to read about how any deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats would 'kill the Lib Dem vote' (Phillipe Sands), cause it to be 'swallowed' by the Tories (in a more thoughtful piece by Anne Perkins) or could invite a mass-migration of Lib ...
Whatever final deal is negotiated, it won't contain everything Liberal Democrats will want. It will involve some major compromises – and so it should in a democracy, given that we didn't win a majority or the most seats. But from what we've seen today and over the weekend, Liberal Democrats should be proud of just how well our negotiating team is working on our behalf. They have a tough job – the issue that many members hold most dear (electoral reform) is also the one that it is hardest to win concessions on from from the Conservatives and is the ...
Gordon Brown has within the past hour announced he will be standing down as leader of the Labour party at their autumn conference – but hopes to remain as Prime Minister of a Lib-Lab coalition alliance until that time: If it becomes clear that the national interest, which is stable and principled government, can be best served by forming a coalition between the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats, then I believe I should discharge that duty to form that government which would in my view command a majority in the House of Commons in the Queen's speech and any ...
What a game the Lib Dems appear to be playing. My first thought was - its chaos and calamity. The decidedly "odd" David Laws press call, inside parliament rather than walking a few yards to address the hoards of cameras outside (and reported bizarrely on the BBC over a mobile phone), where, for all the world it looked like Lib/Con talks were progressing nicely with, what seemed to be, a few tweaks to sort. The anouncement that the meeting with the MPs went well - with "clarification" needed on just a few issues..... Ok we may read that as Liberals ...
With the dramatic announcement that Gordon Brown has called upon the Labour Party to initiate a leadership contest that he won't be taking part in, the political landscape has suddenly been turned upside down. As, Terry Pratchett wrote in 'The Fifth Elephant', "And suddenly the world was tap-dancing on quicksand. In that case, the prize went to the best dancer." Given how fast-moving the situation is now, the big question is, who is the best dancer? It was clear from an early stage that whilst many Liberal Democrats favoured a deal with Labour, the idea of leaving Gordon Brown in ...
Things are moving very fast now with the announcement that the Lib Dems are going to enter formal negotiations with Labour. Gordon Brown has also announced that he will step down once a stable government has been formed. There is a lot of spluttering reaction from Tories in particular but I think we should wait and see. Nick Clegg is right to explore all possibilities. That is the nature of negotiation. It appears that the sticking point of electoral reform has been the big problem with the Tory negotiations. The Conservatives have known all along the strength of feeling in ...
Mon 10th
17:22
Delighted that Gordon Brown is going. The enmity towards him I found on doorsteps meant it was inevi...
Delighted that Gordon Brown is going. The enmity towards him I found on doorsteps meant it was inevitable.
Discussions continue - pound crashes in reaction to Brown statement.
It now appears that Craig Roy has been arrested and charged with the murder of Jack Frew. STV are reporting it - Teenager in court over East Kilbride death as are the BBC - Youth charged with murder of East Kilbride schoolboy. Obviously we do not know any further details other than Craig Roy, 17, of East Kilbride, appeared at Hamilton Court and was charged with murder. He made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody. Any pupils of Duncanrig Secondary School who wish access to counselling should contact their guidance teachers by telephone to make arrangements. The ...
I wrote this for Big Finish's Doctor Who short story submissions contest, which unfortunately I didn't win. Thought I might as well post it here. I don't normally commit fanfic, of course, and this won't be a regular thing, but didn't want something I put a lot of work in to go completely to waste. ...
BREAKING NEWS: Gordon Brown has announced he will stand down as Labour leader by September this year. I'll post more on this as the details are fleshed out some more, but it looks like the situation I laid out in my previous post could come to pass.
The rumours this afternoon suggest that Lib Dem MPs are now swinging towards the idea of a full coalition with the Tories. If this is the case, I am absolutely appalled. I can understand the arguments for allowing the Tories to run a minority government. I can understand the arguments for allowing the Tories to have support on key issues like the Queen's speech, major issues in their manifesto, and areas where Lib Dems and Tories agree. However, I cannot see the need for a full coalition other than to tickle the bellys of certain Lib Dem MPs wishing for ...
I thought I'd round up some of the best of the blog posts I've seen on the issue of the moment, no, not who's going to be Dorothy, don't be silly. Andy describes his sheer gut hatred of the Tories and his fears if we should go into coalition with them. Daddy Alex says we have to get our four key priorities through. Unusually for a Scottish Lib Dem, Duncan isn't overly worried by the prospect of coalition with the Tories. Mr MacNumpty says this idea of a progressive alliance isn't really what it's cracked up to be. Alix thinks ...
If the national media really think a detailed programme for Government can be thrashed out in only a few hours of negotiations it says more about their lack of understanding than it does about the politicians' ability to negotiate.
While we are waiting to see how the hung parliament negotiations end up, I imagine that most Liberal Democrats are still feeling a little down about the result of the general election. However, there are one or two reasons why we should be a little more cheerful. One of these is the second places the party is now in across the country. Anthony Wells reports the following: "We know the Liberal Democrats didn't end up increasing the number of seats they hold, but they did substantially increase the number of second places they have, and have more winnable marginals. The ...
The British electorate has spoken! On Thursday, and (given the numbers of postal votes cast in the 2010 General Election) for many days before, the British electorate 'spoke'. But it didn't speak with one voice. For decades our electoral system has suppressed dissent and aided those who dismiss fundamental disagreements as ill-considered discontents. First past the post in UK parliamentary elections has been a variant on Henry Ford's famous maxim - you can have any colour, providing it's black. But the British electorate isn't made up of post box red or royal blue electors. It has been multi-coloured for a ...
I am delighted that the Mighty Hibernian have finished fourth in the SPL and qualify for the Uefa Cup next season. We beat Dundee United 2-0 this afternoon whilst rivals Motherwell drew with Rangers. Motherwell had earlier this week come from 4 goals behind to draw with Hibs in an amazing 6-6 draw pushing European qualification to the wire. Manager John Hughes had berated his strikers for losing a four goal lead but I am not sure that scoring only 6 goals was the nub of the problem! I can now watch Saturdays Scottish Cup final safe in the knowledge ...
I've tried to avoid posting too much on ongoing talks between the Tories and the Lib Dems, simply because nothing new has developed in the last 2 days so everyone has been saturated with stories from the media that basically amount to 'Well, they're still chatting.' But given that the conclusion of this stage appears to be imminent, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the present situation and where we might go from here. The first thing is that I don't think we'll see a Lib/Con coalition. Whilst other commentators seem sure that it'll come off, I'm not so ...
We met for nearly two hours this morning and there was a very good attendance - better than a normal Parliamentary day for which we get paid, and someone remarked - and almost everyone spoke briefly. There's another meeting at 17.00, when there may be further developments to report, though I doubt whether a final agreement will have been reached. The negotiating team will need to get the endorsement of the Commons and Lords separately for any deal, unlike the Tories for whom there are joint meetings of Lords and Commons.
Negotiating teams taking their proposals to their respective parties this afternoon.
According to Anthony Wells of UK Polling Report, the traditional polling companies overestimated the level of Liberal Democrat support in the last General election by between 2 and 5 percentage points So although most Lib Dems are now somewhat distracted by the negotiations around a hung parliament, there will be some who will want to ask what on earth happened to those heady days of Churchillian poll ratings. In my view there are three possibilities: 1. Lib Dem supporters changed their minds 2. Lib Dem supporters didn't vote 3. Lib Dem supporters couldn't vote It will be quite hard to ...
A few days back Huw Dawson wrote and article on the ideology of Plaid Cymru and Welsh Nationalism in a broader context, as formed by his interactions with Plaid Cymru on the ground, during the campaign. It's an interesting analysis ... Continue reading →
Voting reform – our parliament has been here before. As far back as 1900, politicians in Westminster met to vote on a bill that would give a fair voting system to a new nation. It ultimately led to the AV (alternative vote) system for the House of Representatives (equivalent of the Commons) and a full ...
Lib Dem Voice has been conducting a survey today of party members registered on our members' forum asking them for their views of the discussions that have been taking place between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Here's what you've told us ... 89% support Nick Clegg's decision to let the party with the most votes and most seats try and form a government; 90% support Nick Clegg's decision to enter into discussions with the Conservative party on that basis; 80% say that significant progress on electoral reform is a deal-breaker; 98% rate Nick Clegg's performance during the campaign as ...
Quick and brilliant guide from Alex Day. Coming up (let us hope): the Triple Lock, Confidence & Supply and the Offside Rule. Video also available on YouTube.
The delay on the blog site has been visible and palpable but now this election is over I'm going to be picking this back up... Ed
Ha. That'll have the tweeters wondering what on earth is going on over in LV land! No I have not gone mad. I am quoting what I have heard on phone-ins/read on various blogs over last 24 hours or so. IF I am to believe some posts, thousands, indeed "hundreds of thousands" are about to walk away from the Lib Dems because "they didn't vote Lib Dem to get a Tory government". I found it a bit annoying when I first heard it - but as this sentiment seems to be spreading - I am getting increasingly irritated by it. ...
I would like to thank every one for their kind messages and calls, I enjoyed the battle and I will survie to politically fight again :) and at least we still ontrol Kingston ! And my original ward Grove has a increased Majority. Lib Dems retain Kingston Council in dramatic election night By Martin George » Liberal Democrats today retained control of Kingston...
If you've been paying attention to the hung parliament issue on the television in the past few days you'll be aware that the debate continues to rage over the issue of electoral reform. The United Kingdom currently employs the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, but the Liberal Democrats are in favour of reform - preferably to the single transferable vote (STV) system. Throughout the past few days I've heard many right-wing commentators stating that proportional representation has been a disaster for New Zealand. With that in mind, I decided to find out for myself. Kate (@hangbitch) got in touch with her views, ...
Whatever the Liberal Democrats choose to do as a result of this hung parliament will carry with it considerable risk. But the least risky choice is to act in the national interest. I am getting a little bit tired of politicians and commentators, particularly those who are not supporters of the Liberal Democrats, telling me what I and my fellow party members should or should not do and pontificating on what we will or will not put up with. I grew up in 80's hating Thatcher with a passion. I remember the harshness of those years, the 'them and us' ...
Unlock Democracy is holding a peaceful rally in favour of fair votes at Centenary Square, Bradford from 1:00 pm till 3 on Thursday 20 May. You can sign up here: Fair Votes Rally If they won't listen to us via the ballot box we should tell them in person. I'll be there, and I happen to have a purple coat; that's handy! See you there!
Monday: It seems that a lot of people may have voted for Liberal Democrats to "keep the Conservatories Out!" and are now a bit miffed that we might let them in. Well, sorry, but we never promised to keep the Conservatories out - we only promised that you'd never have to vote tactically again if we could at all help it. It's our BROKEN, WINNER-TAKES-ALL system that makes us HATE and FEAR other Parties, and in many ways that's WORSE than all the other ways that it poisons our politics. Seriously, this is what the "New Politics" was ALWAYS going ...
I had dinner in Hampstead last night with Disgruntled Radical and am now writing this from the Lib Dem News office in Cowley Street. When I got to Westminster this morning I went first to the Pass Office to see about renewing my Commons press pass. It was not the best day to choose, because there were several eager new MPs there. There was general agreement amongst them that there is currently an unreal atmosphere at Westminster. And one new Tory said: "No one knows what's going on. No one knows anything." Then I walked across College Green where the ...
A Guardian story shows perfectly how badly the Labour Party is approaching the question of trying to persuade Liberal Democrats that a deal should be done with it: One of the most enthusiastic proponents of electoral reform in the Labour cabinet argued: "The Liberals have got to realise two things. First, the chances of winning a referendum with a Cameron-led government are minimal. Labour will sit on its hands, the media will be against, and so will the Tory party. "Secondly, the Lib Dems have to realise they cannot have anything more than the alternative vote - if they ask ...
Is reflecting on a very weird election... the Conservative failed to gain an overall majority over the most unpopular Labour party since Foot. The Liberal Democrats lost seats despite surfing on a wave of popularity and polling above Labour and just below the Conservatives weeks before the election. Labour after years of medico governance, recession, ...
Back in March I doubted how good Lord Ashcroft's target seat operation for the Conservatives might actually be, pointing out: Here's his own account of his record supporting target seats at the 2005 general election: The national swing from Labour to Conservatives was 3.2 per cent, yet the swing in the seats which we supported was 3.8 per cent. Dirty Politics, Dirty Times by Michael Ashcroft, p.296 You read that right: by his own admission, all his expertise and money achieved was a paltry o.6 per cent extra swing. Looks like my doubts were right because, as Anthony Wells points ...
"A hung parliament will cause a market crash!" "We need an overall majority or sterling will tank!" "Uncertainty will kill us all!" OK, I made that last one up but they are the sort of things senior Tory spokesmen were saying about a hung parliament before the election. And yet, lo and behold no party has an overall majority and we are still fine. Actually, better than fine the FTSE100 is up by nearly 5% this morning. I expect much of that rise can be attributed to the EU stability package but notwithstanding that, if no one party having overall ...
In the first of what I will have as short updates on days I'm not properly blogging, Mythbusters disintegrate a car by firing a meter square of metal into it at 650mph.
Understandably there is a lot of talk around the blogosphere about the ongoing negotiations between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. The reality is that this is an inevitable consequence of the election result. More people voted Conservative than voted Labour, and by a wide margin, and it is right that we talk to them first, particularly as they offered. There are many in the party who are uncomfortable with this. Well they'd better get used to it. If we do achieve our long term objective of electoral reform it will become the norm, and the strongest position to be ...
Now the election is behind us and they are deciding who's got the keys to number 10, it is time to update the feature video, which has been done. As a life long member of the Red Cross, this will now be the focus of the feature video, unless something of a political nature comes ...
The 2010 General Election was a failure for Britain's two openly xenophobic parties. UKIP stood in 556 constituencies and lost their deposit in 459 (83%). Their vote share varied between 0.65 and Nigel Farage's 17.3 in Buckingham where none of the three main parties contested the Speaker's seat. No other UKIP candidate hit double digits. The average vote share per UKIP candidate was 3.54. The BNP stood in 338 constituencies and lost their deposit in 267 (80%). Their vote share varied between 0.4 and Nick Griffin's 14.6 in Barking. Only two other BNP candidates hit double digits. Eight out UKIP's ...
First up, a massive caveat: I know no more than anyone else about what's going on in the Conservative/Lib Dem negotiations. I may be a candidate - or ex-candidate - but I have no more information than the 50 million other people who are following developments through the media. What I can say is that I've had a number of comments from people who voted for me who are very angry about the possibility that the Lib Dems will do a deal with the Conservatives. As I have an email address for the specific purpose of passing on comments to ...
So... I avoided following Damian Collins, newly elected MP for my soon to be home again constituency of Folkestone and Hythe, on Twitter during the campaign as I hoped my preferred option (the lovely Lynne Beaumont) would be elected ahead of him. Sadly this was not the case and thinking I might want to keep up to date with my MP's movements (and also having just gone on his website to send him a letter regarding electoral reform) I decided to follow his Twitter account. I was rather astonished to find I had been blocked. Now I racked my brains ...
I keep being told by Labour commentators and supporters that for the Lib Dems to do a deal with the Conservatives would be to walk away from the only chance of the electoral reform that the Lib Dems have always fought for. I keep being told that only Labour offers that chance. I'm certainly not ...
That was the strangest of elections. And it has delivered the strangest of results. Namely, that nobody particularly likes any of the parties. That support for Labour and Conservatives is split geographically. That the Lib Dems got nearly a quarter of the votes but only an eighth of the seats. And - disgracefully - some people were not able to cast their vote. In the General Election campaign I got more actual votes than I got in 2005, but my share of the vote went down. In the local election campaign I got more actual votes than I got in ...
I had been planning on writing my own guide to the different voting systems that could possibly be used, however luckily/unluckily the bbc have provided one themselves which is much better than any i could do. interestingly STV would have suited us best, FPTP worse and then AMS, straight PR and AV in between those ... Read more
One of the least known facts about the last parliament, and which deserved to be more widely publicised, was that the Lib Dems were either in first or second place in 250 constituencies across the UK – which made the media's tired and almost exclusive concentration on Labour and the Tories for most of the last five years all the more irritating. Well, for all the disappointment of last Thursday's election results, the party has by one measure at least made a big stride forward, as Anthony Wells' UK Polling Report makes clear: The notional 2005 figures had the Lib ...
It's very hard for us LIb Dems and those who are desperate, let's face it, for full scale political reform to feel that, as it has been our first chance to use our position as a pivot party in 34 years that it will be our last chance to use our position as a pivot party for the next 24 years. The instinct therefore is to refuse to go into a coalition unless we get a promise of a referendum; unless we finally get what we were supposed to have got 13 years ago, if only Labour hadn't reneged on ...
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 ...
From Matthew T's site, a chap who adds high quality comments to this one. I think research into this area could fuel a few phD theses, on the subject of whether the Conservatives face a secular fall in their safe vote. Reflect on the fact that they did better under Major, during a recession, after ...
Well, with so much confusion, why not add to it? As no single party won the election on Thursday Gordon Brown is still the Prime Minister. With the markets crashing, which I said would happen if the Tories do well but not enough for a majority, but no-one listens to me, what do I know, ...
I presume I am receiving what other party members receive: so far that consists of a message telling us to shut up. I have received nothing at all officially from the party seeking my view on a coalition with the Tories. The Lib Dems make much of being a democratic party. Anyway, I am spending my time getting to know our new mates.
Dear Friend, Over the weekend the Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive met. There will be further meetings of both these groups on Monday. Kirsty is currently attending Parliamentary Party meetings in addition to our MP's, and John Last and Alison Goldsworthy are attending the Federal Executive as the Welsh Party's representatives there. We hope all party member's will have received the statement below that was issued after Saturday's meetings by the Shadow Cabinet, Parliamentary Party and Federal Executive. ——————– On Saturday we had a very positive discussion. The Parliamentary Party, Shadow Cabinet and the Federal Executive have fully endorsed ...
One of the big risks involved in the talks that are currently taking place between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives is that a failure to come to an arrangement may lead to another general election. No party wants this, but it is Labour and the Lib Dems who would be in the worst positions ...
Something James Graham tweeted during election night intrigued me. It was along the lines of "I can't see a second election unravelling this". I was doing the paper review on 5 Live last night and one of the other guests was Professor Jon Tonge, head of politics at Liverpool University who suggested that another election in 6 months or a year could very well throw up another hung parliament. I agreed with this and suggested that even further, if Labour were starting to recover that we could even see a "doubly hung parliament" with the Lib Dems in a position ...
This morning's Western Mail reveals that the Labour-Plaid Cymru Welsh Government has refused to reveal how much public money is being used to restart flights between North and South Wales today. They say that the subsidy for new operator Manx2 is a commercial secret, even though the sum paid to the previous operator was made public. It seems that the subsidy paid will depend on how much of Manx2's costs are covered from ticket revenue. Thus if travellers are deterred from booking because of the possibility of volcanic ash disrupting aviation over the months ahead, taxpayers could effectively end up ...
At Anthony Smith's request, I am reluctantly writing a post about one of the most surprising losses suffered by the Liberal Democrats at the general election: namely, Dr Evan Harris's shock defeat in Oxford West and Abingdon. Dr Harris has been the subject of much vitriol from Christian journalists and organisations, largely directed at him for his alleged views on euthanasia and abortion. On Thursday evening and Friday morning, I read and heard several crowing outbursts from Christian friends, celebrating his removal from Parliament. Since then there has been an acrimonious spat on the internet between George Pitcher, the Daily ...
OK, I'm being mean as usual. Clegg is no calamity. At least, not yet. If the unthinkable happens, and there is a coalition, what will it all mean? In January, I wrote this post. Apart from a slight factual inaccuracy about the Lib Dems "triple lock" process it now looks eerily prophetic. Little did I ...
I propose a method of voting in the House of Commons which has the effect of proportional representation without any of the complexity. There are two possible sacred principles in British democracy: 1) A Member of Parliament has one vote; 2) A party's voting strength in the house should match its share of the countrywide vote. Each principle has its adherents. Principle (1) seems to be assumed by everyone but never mentioned. These principles are in fact contradictory, leading to much complexity, so I propose to abandon principle (1) above, leaving us with principle (2). The mechanism is simple: take ...
Having been through two sets of talks to form coalitions I can appreciate the way that the Liberal Democrats at a Westminster level have learnt from the experiences of both Wales and Scotland. The first rule of course is not to negotiate in public. If you do that then you will not achieve anything as vested interests take over. The second rule is to keep your options open so as to strengthen your negotiating hand. Alas that is one tactic that was not adopted by the Welsh Liberal Democrats back in 2007. It looks like Nick Clegg understands where we ...
The result was as follows: Rory Stewart 24,071 Peter Thornton 12,830 Barbara Cannon 5,834 John Stanyer (UKIPP) 1,259 Chris Davidson (BNP) 1,093 Congratulations to Rory Stewart at being elected as our new MP. Writing this on Monday morning (after a weekend off!) it's with mixed emotions. Our result was actually quite good in the national context. We increased our share of the vote against a campaign which had visits from both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the opposition. The Conservative campaign was extremely well funded and Rory Stewart had a great deal of press coverage but nevertheless we ...
I don't know about you but when I talk about constitutional reform and particularly electoral reform...I get excited! most of my friends, even the ones who did politics, don't really seam to share this excitement about the possibly changes of voting system, or making it so only English MP's could vote on English issues, House of Lords reform, Fix Term Parliaments, devolving more ... Read more
I watched the comings and goings of the negotiating teams yesterday - like everyone else. Not much given away in terms of what the real substance and/or sticking points of any arrangement with the Conservatives might be. Outside of the evident desire on all sides to make sure the markets don't take fright I spent the day wondering how we, Liberal Democrats, would resolve a dilemma which sees us pretty much between the devil and the deep blue sea. There is no question in my mind that Nick Clegg was right during the election to say that the party with ...
... the gilt is down one point today (to 116 on the June futures, still 4 points above its level in Feb) .... NOT because or solely because of hung parliament negotiations 'dragging on' but because there is a huge relief rally in equities, a return to risky assets, etc. The FTSE is up 2-3% ...
I have today launched my May 2010 update to West End Community Council. Click on the headline above to view. Subjects covered include : • Crossing at Blackness Library • New Tesco in Hawkhill • 69 bus service • Magdalen Green + Riverside Sports Pavilion = Riverside Community Sport and Leisure Centre? • Water Leakage concern - Seymour Street/Perth Road • Windsor Street • Christmas 2010! The Community Council meets tomorrow - Tuesday 11th May - at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm.
Mon 10th
08:07
Magdalen Green + Riverside Sports Pavilion = Riverside Community Sport and Leisure Centre?
You are invited to the following meeting to discuss a new project for the West End! It takes place this Thursday (13th May) at 7pm at Dundee West Church (Lower Hall - enter from Roseangle). The meeting is to discuss a community sport / leisure / history / project which would lead to the renovation and upgrading of Riverside Pavilion (the small sports pavilion owned by the council) and adjacent playing area, renovation of the bandstand on Magdalen Green and the repair of the foot bridge over the railway linking the 2 sites. These are the basic suggestions - but ...
If you had asked me to name things I never wanted to see my party doing, watching our MPs walk into coalition negotiations with the Conservatives would have been pretty high, if not top, of the list. I can't pretend to you that seeing that process under way, with THEM, is anything other than deeply painful. What is keeping me going is my faith in the leader and the participants of that process. I trust them to stand up for the principles of fairness across government that we have held close not just for the election but which are hardwired ...
As I resume post-election blogging I'd like to start by pointing out that even as a candidate in last Thursday's election I have no more access to the information of what is being discussed in London than any other party member. Therefore what I am about to type is based purely on the media reports of the last few days. The statements last night from Danny Alexander and William Hague both focused on how the talks were working through the economic questions. This is the key stage of supporting any Government forward from this point. It is possible that the ...
The new LDV members' survey is now live – and it focuses, unsurprisingly, on the post-election scenario for the Lib Dems. If you are a registered member of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum - and any paid-up party member is welcome to join - then you now have the opportunity to make your views known on what the party should do next. Questions we are asking your opinion on include: - whether you agree with Nick Clegg's decision to allow the Tories' first refusal to form a government; - whether you agree with Nick Clegg opening talks with the Tories ...
has 256 spam in my inbox. the binary in me likes this. # Was out walking 2.04 miles with #Endomondo See it here: http://bit.ly/b4DhAa # @vodafoneuk no signal at my house, ln5 8jp. Any known issues? HSPDA mast just around the corner. # @VodafoneUK both phones in the house have no signal, and my walk to the shops didn't pick anything up. in reply to VodafoneUK # YBF out delivering Hung Parliament scare leaflets. No imprints and not being pushed all the way through. # ... message seems to be WAAAAH Dave said it was our turn. Stamp feet. # ...
I'm making a playlist for Holly on Spotify. It includes songs that I know she likes and also the songs I think it would do her good to listen to (see if you can pick out which ones are which ;)), and so far it looks like this:What's Up - 4 Non Blondes Sun Arise - Alice Cooper Respect - Aretha Franklin If it Wasnae For Your Wellies - Billy Connolly Keep the Faith - Bon Jovi Independent Women Part 1 - Destiny's Child Lose Yourself (non-sweary edit) - Eminem Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves - Eurythmics & Aretha ...
20,687 VOTES 20,687 THANK YOU'S! It is the Monday after the Thursday that the Lib Dems in North Somerset upped their vote by a third, and this is to say to every one of you that voted for me and us, a huge THANK YOU! We did not win but we showed that winning is possible both in the local election next year and in the next general election, which could come in as little as six months. In terms of votes, we got for the Liberal Democrats the highest number of votes outside a winning constituency in the South ...
Thanks to Sea for her comment yesterday. We do need to consider those who are eligible to vote but don't. The turnout was only 65.1% but this was an improvement from 2005 when it was 61%. If we put positive spin onto these figures then it is great that 4% more decided to vote this time. The negative spin is that we still find 35% of the electorate not voting. More than one in three can't put a cross against a name. Do more than one in three voters feel they can't vote for anyone? I think so. The problems ...
