The coalition has been the only topic of conversation on Westminster's streets for the last two days, or so it's seemed to me on walks between Victoria and Fleet Street. The novelty of the new setup attracts curiosity, unsurprisingly, but I also detect an unusual level of goodwill. It is as though a higher percentage of people than usual feel that they own a piece of this new government. And they can, because about two thirds of those who voted supported a faction that is now part of the government. Another factor behind the general air of optimism could be ...
Politics is dominating our lives, TV screens and newspapers, but political life goes on at the grass roots. Last night at a surprisingly good humoured (maybe the new co-operation at national level is brushing off!) Council meeting I raised the issue of problems with the new bags for collecting green waste. The new bags will save money, re-use rather than recycle, and take time to get used to,...
This morning's Ben Jackson breakfast show can now be found on the station's website. My interview starts at around 24:15, though you may also be interested in the package about the election to which I was responding. This was put together by Eleanor Garnier and begins at 19:30. And, yes, she is the daughter of Edward Garnier, Conservative MP for Harborough. I started rather slowly in the interview, but remembered my media training I stood up after the first couple of questions and sounded a lot more confident.
See this picture from LibCon (ooh, how ironic). It's nicely balanced. One from Eton, one from St Paul's, one from Radley, one from Cheltenham Ladies, one from Wellington, one from Brentwood, some oiks from Grammar school, and three Comprehensive pupils slipped in. Oh, and two from Westminster, so they're slightly overrepresented. But it looks like ...
Because Melanie Phillips of the Daily Mail is spluttering with indignation and railing against it on BBC1's Question Time. That is endorsement enough for me.
This is the first time I've been about to write a "reflective" about the historic and unbelievable events of the last week. I've been busy in Glasgow and (through a quirk of fate involving some random vandalism which caused a "snipped wire" on the line) I have washed up tonight at a fine hotel in excellent Warrington, Cheshire. A bit of a surprise that, but I couldn't face continued uncertainty on the train. So it's Guinness and laptop on the bar at the moment. Taking the election results first, I think I have already made a few comments on those. ...
Thu 13th
22:57
LibLink: Ashdown - The coalition between David Cameron and Nick Clegg will be difficult, but it is t...
Over in the Daily Telegraph Paddy Ashdown writes: For many of us in the Liberal Democrats, this is a rather unexpected moment. And a somewhat nerve-racking one, too. For decades, our party worked towards a realignment of the Left; an alliance with Labour that would reshape politics and bring in a new and more modern form of government. Now we find ourselves in coalition not with the centre-Left, but with the centre-Right. What happened? And can it work?... A deal with the Labour Party would have been easier, more comfortable and far more consistent with our strategy of realignment - ...
Steve Webb has just become Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions. Congratulations, Steve! An excellent appointment - there aren't many people who know more about pensions than Steve does. Full list of ministers from the Guardian here
Thu 13th
22:51Pink News comment: David Cameron and Nick Clegg's shotgun civil partnership is best option for gay c...
The piece says: The electoral system, with its inherent unfairness for a party with widespread but not concentrated support like the Lib Dems was always going to end up with the Liberal Democrats in bed with either Labour or the Conservatives in a hung parliament. The Liberal Democrats made the right choice in partner no matter how uncomfortable it feels to have a work and pensions secretary (Iain Duncan Smith) who disagreed with equal parental rights for lesbian couples, a Conservative party chairman who once claimed the abolition of section 28 meant children were being "propositioned" for gay relationships (Sayeeda ...
Following my blog yesterday referring to Nick Clegg and David Cameron as the Eric and Ernie of the political world, The Sun newspaper has picked up on this idea.
First Bus are looking to cut the number 6 service which is a circular route which covers Camden, Larkhall and Fairfield Park. Passengers are currently able to bus it from Larkhall up along Camden every 20 minutes. This service is being reduced to every 30 minutes and split into 2 services. This would now mean that someone wanting to go to the post office in Larkhall who lives in Camden would need to take one bus into town, change and take another bus back out to Larkhall. Furthermore the service is proposed to run every 30 minutes which would mean ...
I was pleased to see that the coalition has managed to agree on a package totally getting rid of Labours nasty 13 year assault on our freedoms The parties agree to implement a full programme of measures to reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties under the Labour Government and roll back state intrusion. A freedom bill to repeal ID cards, and stop the horrible excesses of power under Labour. Hopefully no longer will a peaceful protester be arrested for reading out a list of our war dead. Our agreement says that we will implement: A Freedom or Great Repeal ...
This morning I received a letter from the Labour candidate, John Adams, not from Edinburgh but re-directed from my former home in Dartford, Kent. Now, given we have just come through a general election this is hardly surprising I hear you shout. True, however, at the end of this month I have lived in Edinburgh for two years and not only have I been on the electoral register here in Edinburgh North & Leith since June 2008, I was also removed from the Dartford electoral register since June 2008. So, how have I therefore been selected to receive just one ...
Well that's been quite a week. If at the start of the election I'd been told that Nick Clegg would have been Deputy PM and we'd be putting in place a whole raft of Liberal Democrat policies in the sort of genuine coalition which we'd always said would be best for Britain, I'd have been ecstatic. I am very pleased about the policies and about our new role, but reality means that we're all so numb after an exhausting election with its own ups and downs that it hasn't sunk in yet, I just feel a bit like I've been ...
Following the announcement of the cabinet appointments yesterday, the following Liberal Democrats have been appointed to second-rank ministerial positions: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State - Jeremy Browne MP Ministry of Justice Minister of State - The Rt Hon Lord McNally Ministry of Defence Minister of State (Minister for the Armed Forces - Nick Harvey MP Department for Work and Pensions Minister of State - Steve Webb MP Department of Health Minister of State - Paul Burstow MP Department for Eduction Minister of State - Sarah Teather MP You've all done very well!
When I was young I had a good friend with whom I would argue endlessly about politics. We were known at school for this and it became a bit of a spectator sport. At the time I lived in a Tory household with the Daily Hate delivered every day and Margaret Thatcher bestriding the stage so I was not surprisingly a Tory. My friend was Labour and we would go at it like cage fighters day in, day out, to our great enjoyment and the general amusement of our friends. I grew up and moved into the light, becoming a ...
From a news release by the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group: The London Assembly has today elected Dee Doocey AM as its new Chair for 2010/11. Jennette Arnold AM has been re-elected as Deputy Chair. At their Annual Meeting Assembly Members also re-established a number of committees to examine the Mayor of London's policies and investigate issues of importance to London. Chair of the London Assembly Dee Doocey AM said: "I am honoured that my colleagues have chosen me to lead the Assembly for the year ahead. I will do my utmost to justify their confidence in handing me this ...
Earlier today, I expressed: "I am staying in the LibDems to hopefully see that I am wrong, and that this coalition does work. Ideologically I am a lot closer to the Libdems than the other parties. But if I continue to suffer from these attacks I will not stay a Libdem for long. Nor will ...
Looking at the fine detail of the coalition agreement one thing that did strike me was the omission of any agreement to increase tuition fees. Indeed what there was is a rather woolly statement. Higher education We await Lord Browne's final report into higher education funding, and will judge its proposals against the need to: increase social mobility; take into account the impact on student debt; ensure a properly funded university sector; improve the quality of teaching; advance scholarship; and, attract a higher proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.If the response of the Government to Lord Browne's report is one ...
From a news release by the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group: The London Assembly has today elected Dee Doocey AM as its new Chair for 2010/11. Jennette Arnold AM has been re-elected as Deputy Chair. At their Annual Meeting Assembly Members also re-established a number of committees to examine the Mayor of London's policies and investigate issues of importance to London. Chair of the London Assembly Dee Doocey AM said: "I am honoured that my colleagues have chosen me to lead the Assembly for the year ahead. I will do my utmost to justify their confidence in handing me this ...
Right, normal service is resumed this week for #bbcqt with it starting at the regular time of 10:35pm on BBC1 and the Live Chat starts on this blog from 10:30pm as normal. Thanks again to Matt Raven for standing in for me for the live chats in the weeks running up to the election but I am back for tonight's one. The panel includes Conservative peer Lord Heseltine, Labour peer Lord Falconer, Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips and Mehdi Hasan of the New Statesman. We are now in what feels like a political parallel universe ...
Here is a very quick analysis of the voting record for Theresa May (as recorded in Hansard). (clue: her votes are in RED - minority means NO, or in other words, against the bill) NOT impressive is it? Even more, if you start looking at where she has voted against the Tory whip, it is even more ...
The BBC website has a piece where five bloggers consider their role in the campaign, relationship with their parties and what the future holds for them. Those five are Harry Cole (Tory Bear), Will Straw (Left Foot Forward), Ellis Gellard (Stilettoed Socialist) Mark Pack (Liberal Democrat Voice and his own blog), Jim Jepps (The Daily (Maybe))and me. Interestingly, the Liberal Democrats - Mark and I - seem the least convinced that blogs had a great effect on the contest. Mark says: "The internet on this election has been like the mobile phone, it became absolutely essential and people used it ...
COUNTY COUNCIL - 30 March 2010 Minute 76, Oral Questions Question to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Access, Councillor M McGuire, from Councillor Shepherd. Councillor Shepherd asked the Cabinet Member for Highways and Access, Councillor M McGuire, whether the Council could respond to highways problems reported by the public via the national website FixMyStreet. Responding, the Cabinet Member for Highways and Access noted that the Council operated its own webpages enabling the public to report highways problems. He agreed to send a written response relating to FixMyStreet. Response from the Cabinet Member for Highways and Access, Councillor M McGuire ...
It's early days but it looks like Danny Alexander and co have negotiated very decent coalition deal. Both parties need to make it work. Frankly we have put so much emphasis over the years on pluralist politics and coalition working making this work is vital if we are to persuade Britain to change the voting system. I would have thought the Nats would approve of that! Up and down the country political parties of almost all (BNP excluded) persuasions often form such arrangements. A classic example is Perth where there has over the years been every variety of coalition. In ...
Follow this link to a detailed report on the deal between the Liberal Democrats & the Conservative party. I am excited about the number of radical policies, mostly eminating from us, that will be enacted over the next 5 years. Fixed Term Parliaments Voting reform Axing the recent national insurance rise Raising the tax threshold to £10,000. Scrapping the ID card scheme High Speed Rail I am sure many more nuggets will be uncovered over time. I will keep you informed of all the good work we do in government.
A few Labour bloggers and twitterers are crowing about Lib Dems ripping up their membership cards and joining the Labour Party. I don't buy it, frankly. I'm sure there are a few, just as there are a few every time we update our policy in contentious areas. But not many. To be a Lib Dem who doesn't agree with the new politics is to fundamentally have misunderstood what being a Lib Dem means. Central to our manifesto in every year of our existence has been our commitment for fair votes (proportional representation). If you believe in PR, then by definition, ...
The Public voted for change on May 6th and it certainly has it now. Many people have been unhappy with the Liberal -Conservative coalition. Some even the concept of working with the conservative party as found it an emetic experience. I found the concept strange at first but after wrestling with it I have come to a fair conclusion. This means for the first time in decades that Liberal Democrats hold power with some high profile cabinet seats. This is a chance that the party had to take. I for one congratulate Nick Clegg and the negotiation team in getting ...
I don't think there can have been a longer political week than the one we have just been through. In my last blog entry before the election, I highlighted how senior Labour politicians were encouraging their supporters to vote Lib Dem to keep the Tories out. To some extend this must have happened here in Sutton. Tom Brake was re-elected with a fantastic 5000+ majority and Paul Burstow sent Tory A-lister, Phillipa Stroud packing. And the Lib Dems were returned to run the Council with a massive majority, sweeping the Tories aside to win 43 out of the 54 seats. ...
I am intrigued with how Cameron is going to address in intrinsic homophobia which exists within the Tory party, now he is in coalition with the LibDems who are the most welcoming party to LGBT people. Chris Grayling and Philippa Stroud come to mind, as well as IDS's ties to Stroud (which in itself is ...
Had a quick trip to Rome. Highlights included the ruins of the imperial forum, lots of ice cream and a very enjoyable afternoon catching up with a university friend who's now a deacon. Low point was the flight out being cancelled and almost not going at all, but that ended happily. May write more about it and bung photos on Flickr, but in the mean time, here's a video. You may need to turn the volume up...
I am seeking 'Guest Bloggers' to contribute into my blog on relevant topics. Interested? Ideally, you will be an existing LibDem blogger, however if you are not and you have an interest in LibDem politics and would like to contribute, please get in contact.
So, today, we had a few problems. We ran out of petrol on the way from school to Tesco's (not the best start), but while in Tesco, I made a cardinal error. Perhaps not as daft as going up against a Sicilian when death is on the line, but nearly. Y'see, I need to buy some more toys for the school playground, so I thought I'd get some prices. So me, [IMG: [personal profile] ] miss_s_b and [IMG: [personal profile] ] amazing_holly, having finished our shop, took a quick detour into the toy aisle. Their rangeof die-cast toys is both ...
I am pleased to say that here in Sutton we defied the national picture of disappointing election results for Liberal Democrats and re elected both our MPs and returned the council with an increased Lib Dem majority. Tom Brake significantly increased his majority in Carshalton & Wallington, and whilst Paul Burstow's was reduced, he still ...
I just know my former academic Overlords would love that title. One of the most interesting things in the coalition agreement is the points where it is very specifically noted that the two parties plan on agreeing to disagree. Chris Huhne brought up one of these issues today, and if he hadn't already, this post ...
In the run up to the election, Gordon Brown kept banging on about how important it was to change the voting system to the Alternative Vote. In Labour's manifesto was a commitment to hold a referendum in 2011 to change to that system and listening to the rhetoric you have to assume that they were planning to campaign for a "yes" vote had they been in power. We already know that the Conservatives (or at least most of them) will likely campaign for a "no" vote (although they are bound by the terms of the coalition agreement to pass the ...
Over the last few days I've consistently heard one particular argument from alot of people regarding Nick Clegg supporting David Cameron. It comes in two forms, depending on the deliverer. Either you get 'We told you so, Vote Clegg get Cameron' from Labour supporters or 'I did not vote for Clegg to end up with Cameron' if it's a disillusioned Liberal Democrat voter. I can perfectly understand the reasons behind the argument, but in my view the focus is wrong. It isn't about the people, it's about the party. For an overwhelming majority of people, Nick Clegg was not on ...
Good to hear via Mark Pack on Twitter and Facebook that since last Thursday several hundred people a day are joining the Liberal Democrats online and that yesterday almost as many people joined as the day after the first debate. This has to be encouraging news - people are responding well to the way in which Nick and our MPs have conducted themselves in a very stressful week since the election. I also understand that the party has been calling members just to check how they feel about the coalition deal and even in Scotland the response has been very ...
After the election I waited to see what would happen before posting anything about the negotiations between the Lib Dems and other parties. I didn't want to add my two pence worth at the time because I didn't think it would be helpful, but now that it's sorted out I'll say what I think. My first thought is that we Lib Dems are not owned by ANY other party. I do not agree that we should have automatically gravitated towards Labour any more than towards Conservative. I am a Liberal Democrat because that is what is closest to my own ...
I can quite happily discuss political differences, but when my stance on the coalition between the LibDems and the Tories results in people, some I know, personally attacking me - I feel that I have a right to respond more openly. Most of you who have raised your opposition to my views with respect. I ...
Thu 13th
16:41
No surprise as first post-election Labour campaign turns out to be based on a lie (or stupidity)
Labour (or someone who looks really, really like them) have quickly whipped up a campaign website at http://www.noto55.com/ in opposition to the coalition government's move to remove the power to dissolve parliament from the Prime Minister and change it to require a vote of 55% of parliament. Initially, the site claimed that the 55% rule ...
John Pugh has expressed his concerns about the coalition to the Liverpool Daily Post. MERSEYSIDE MP John Pugh became the first Liberal Democrat to throw doubt on the new coalition government - warning he was "very concerned" about being tied to savage Tory cuts. The left-leaning Southport MP urged his colleagues to pursue "a distinctive path" to ensure the poor did not suffer when spending cuts are speeded up, as promised by Chancellor George Osborne yesterday. Dr Pugh also declined, twice, to say whether he voted in favour of coalition at the crunch meeting of Lib Dem MPs late on ...
I think people need to look a little more objectively and put an end to the partisan "we hate the Tories" or "we hate Labour" that I am hearing all the time. It makes us look ridiculous and is the main reason that the average person has come to distrust and ultimately hate the political system we currently have. What we have seen over the last few days is actually a huge leap forwards, when two parties which are so fundamentally opposed can come together and find common ground to try to do the best for the country in what ...
A good post by my friend and fellow Liberal Democrat Gareth Kane, who is a Green business expert. Does blue + yellow=green business? In it he references the positive news for green business support. Respected environmentalist George Monbiot is surprised with the greenness of the coalition agenda: "So it's better than I had expected. The agreement's environmental policies are more Lib Dem than Conservative, and more progressive than most of the other proposals in the document." Like me he thinks there "is too much coal in the coalition" but I suppose Blaydons own King Coal (the Labour MP!) may approve ...
It was probably a little bit naughty of Tavish Scott to use today's FMQs at Holyrood to highlight a key part of the Coalition Agreement secured by the Liberal Democrats - the ending of detention of children at Dungavel and other immigration detention centres around the country. A bit naughty, but entirely understandable, and a good way to highlight things that Labour failed to do in 13 years. I am so pleased that we argued and won a concession on this point. I said all the way through that I found the idea of talking to the Tories painful, but ...
This really is a stunning video. I had not seen it before. Hat tip to Scunnert Nation.
Simon Hughes has an upbeat piece in the Independent today. On the left of the party, is Simon worried at a coalition with the Conservatives? Not a bit of it. Whatever the difficulties of leading Britain out of the recession, reducing the deficit, growing our economy and reversing our headstrong irresponsibility as stewards of our planet, our philosophy, traditions, principles and values remain rock solid. Political parties do not exist to debate or advise; they exist to implement, to deliver and to change. Thirteen years of Labour and 65 years of red/blue politics has left Britain with too few liberties, ...
In the last 36 hours I have had some rather interesting emails, Facebook messages or DMs on Twitter. I think for the sake of my own sanity I'm going to go public. To the Labour activists who offered me a link to their sign up page or a membership form. No thanks. You have proven to be WAY too authoritarian over the last 13 years. I don't like it, it's not part of the politics that I stand for. As for the recent reaction of my Labour MP to a constituent who took a different point of view from him ...
What a really obvious question. But the odds pre-election were firmly in favour of a hung parliament, Conservatives largest party, Lib Dems holding the balance. So this outcome was never unlikely. Yet I, for one, cannot recall anyone predicting a full coalition between the Liberal Demcrats and the Conservatives. The looks on the faces round ...
Having sat on Cheshire County Council whilst it was a 'hung authority' and seen it deliver exceedingly well for its residents I have had a ring side seat at negociations involving Andrew Stunnel. I can't always claim to have agreed with him but I formed the opinion that he was honest, straight forward and effective. I was therefore interested in his reflections on the negociations with Labour. Politics Home reports his take on those events: I formed an opinion that some of they may have been serious but they seemed not to even acknowledge the fact they'd lost 91 seats. ...
With the Cabinet now having had it's first meeting and the Coalition Agreement being published, I suppose I can finally make a decision on exactly how positive I can be about this new Liberal-Conservative Government (as our new Prime Minister Cameron likes to call it!). Well... on the Cabinet positions? I'm not exactly thrilled but then again the majority of the Cabinet positions were going to be Tories anyway and I was never going to be happy about that. Heard this morning that Philippa Stroud might be working as special advisor to Iain Duncan Smith. Quelle surprise. However this is ...
Over the last two days a lot of people, primarily Labourite leaning people have been raving about how the Lib Dems have betrayed the country and perhaps more importantly, betrayed the left of British Politics. I would instead charge that ... Continue reading →
Along with other civil libertarians I've dedicated my time to fighting off Labour's encroachments on our freedoms and liberty. This struggle has found me working with traditional Labour members, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives; everyone from anti-corporate Libertarian Socialist to Euro-sceptic UKIP activists. People of all tribal loyalties and ideological outlooks have come together in non-partisan campaigns like NO2ID, and events like the convention on modern liberty. Not because they have sought to make their ideological explanation of why our liberties have been encroached the dominant one, but because they realised achieving a shared goal required finding the common ground ...
In the 80′s we seemed to be flirting with the States Under New Labour we fell in love with Sweden Now that we don't want that – are we going to have a long-term love affair with Germany
This Sunday, I will be travelling to Birmingham to attend the special conference of Liberal Democrat members called by Nick Clegg to approve the formation of a coalition government with the Conservative party. I plan to vote in favour of this new alliance and having been chosen by my branch party to represent them to this conference, I feel compelled to explain why. I should begin by clearly stating that ideally in a hung parliament scenario, I would always prefer my party to retain its independence and work with a minority government on a case by case basis in return ...
Here's the verdict of Henry Potter on the Liberal Democrat agreement with the Conservatives: "The parties agree to implement a full programme of measures to reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties under the Labour government and roll back state intrusion." This sentence, published in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition agreement, is one that civil libertarians have been waiting a long time for, and to hear David Cameron and Nick Clegg talk about their government handing back privacy and curbing the powers of the state was certainly a moment worth savouring... Although the Conservative manifesto touched on freedom, there can be ...
I've been quite amazed by how gripped Anna has been by all the political goings on over the last few days. She came back from Choir the other night just after David Cameron went into Downing Street and was really fascinated. Her comment was "Tories are evil, but I think we should give David Cameron a chance." In previous days she'd constructed a hung Parliament out of her Littlest Pet Shop toys. She had various party groupings, none of which we see in the current House of Commons (the Winnie the Pooh Party and the Evil Bird Party (who got ...
Labour activists are up in arms – apparently the Lib Dems and Conservatives are going to change the law so the government can only be brought down if 55% of MPs vote against it. They've got a point – if anyone really was proposing that, it would be an outrage. But they aren't. The proposal is quite different. To quote from the coalition agreement: legislation will be brought forward to make provision for fixed term parliaments of five years. This legislation will also provide for dissolution if 55% or more of the House votes in favour. Let's quickly look at ...
[IMG: maksim.jpg] This is Maksim Popov, an Uzbek psychologist sentenced to seven years in Karimov's notorious jails for running an AIDS charity which distributed needles, condoms and UN supplied literature. There is an excellent article about Maksim in Guardian CIF. As usual with web articles on Uzbekistan, many of the comments are from Karimov trolls. The swift spread of AIDS in Uzbekistan is fuelled by the flood of heroin from the Dostum held areas of Afghanistan, in the trafficking of which Dostum and Karimov are personally involved. This is what UK citizen Richard Conroy of the UN was investigating ...
One mostly over-looked part of the coalition agreement is what it says on pensions: We will restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011 with a "triple guarantee" that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats. That, by the way, is a better deal for pensioners than offered by Labour who were talking about waiting an extra year before restoring the link and did not have an equivalent of the "triple guarantee" in their general election manifesto.
From the FT's leader Cameron changes the landscape "On policy, understandably, there has been some give and take. This is on balance positive. The good bits of both parties' programmes have largely survived the process intact, while some more suspect ones have been jettisoned. The coalition's programme is strong on restoring civil liberties for instance. ...
On the 11th May Nick Clegg made the following announcement: "We are now going to form a new government. More importantly than anything else, we are going to form a new kind of government; I hope this is the start of a new kind of politics I have always believed in. Diverse, plural, where politicians with different points of view find a way to work together to provide the good government for the sake of the whole country deserves. That was what we were asked to do by the people of Britain in the General Election last Thursday and that ...
We've agreed to disagree with the Conservatives on nuclear energy, apparently. They'll be a free vote on any new nuclear reactors. But, Chris Huhne is energy and climate change cabinet minister. Oh dear. Tricky, isn't it? So, is it Chris Huhne's duty to adopt a split personality into person A (coalition man) and person B (Liberal Democrat). Huhne A proposes a nuclear reactor to parliament. Huhne B uses his free vote against. Let's say that the vote is passed and therefore the government/parliament has decided formally to set up a new nuclear reactor. So Huhne A, as minister, signs the ...
Just for a change today I thought I would leave the new Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition Government to one side and talk about Plaid Cymru. This morning's Western Mail reports that remarkably little interest is being shown in the election for Plaid Cymru's top two officials. It seems that nominations close at the end of the month for the posts of leader and president and yet most of the possible contenders in the party were not aware of this fact. Who knew that the Western Mail's Martin Shipton kept a diary of such events? Perhaps he would like to remind me ...
Party President Ros Scott has emailed members with more news about this Sunday's Liberal Democrat Special Conference. Registration has now been extended to all members; however only voting reps are eligible to vote on the motion. Conference is closed to journalists and media. Registration for the Liberal Democrats' special conference is now open to all party members. Every party member has the right to attend conference and participate in the debate (though of course only voting conference reps will have the right to vote on the motion). You can register now via the special conference website. The website also contains ...
I'm not going to go into huge depth about the coalition deal here. Everybody's doing it. Suffice to say that I think on the whole the Lib Dems have come out of this election in a better position to deliver our key policies than even I dreamed of, and I'm a hopeless optimist. I got ...
The FT reports on the ECB's seeming conversion to QE: Backlash stirs in Frankfurt. "Germans are clear about the job of a central banker: to fight inflation, and nothing else ... The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung described the turnaround - announced at 3:15am on Monday after a late-night meeting of European finance ministers - as ...
Something that has been a bit overlooked in all the excitement over the new coalition government is just what an incredible achievement it is for Ken Clarke to be resuming a cabinet position after 13 years in opposition. Clarke was a government whip under Heath from 1972 - 1974 and then became a junior minister when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979. From 1985 he then took on a succession of cabinet posts under both Thatcher and Major culminating in Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 - 1997. There can't be many politicians whose government careers span 38 years. ...
Is it possible to vicariously enjoy someone else's experience of sitting in a government limo? I've seen lost of tweets saying that Liberal Democrats generally have done the coalition just to get bums on limo seats. So, I now know that Clegg is driven round in a limo. Can I smell that leather? Can I feel the smooth ride? Can I see the reassuring back of the neck of Bert, the loyal, long-serving driver? I am trying hard. ........No, can't feel it yet.
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] Epic post warning! So like every one else post election day, I was quite unsure what the future would hold for us Nationally. The obvious answer would be for the Conservatives to take minority gov't as (despite our best efforts) they had the largest number of seats in Parliament and the largest % vote. When I heard about Labour-Lib Dem negotiations I have to say, my first thought was "don't prop up a failed administration"! But then that seemed to fail... Next the Tory-Lib Dem negotiations, for which I felt quite uneasy about. Especially when it became more ...
Not the election - that's old news - but their collective marbles. The mindset seems to be that our members will desert us in droves for the real saviour now that we've shown our true colours in coalescing with the Tories, and the coalition will collapse and Labour will be back in their rightful place. I've got news for you guys. The public is pig sick of tribal politics. The only accusation of selling out I had from a customer at the pub yesterday was from a green; loads and loads of others were very positive about it. They approve ...
The arrival of Nick Clegg in his ministerial car in Downing St yesterday morning was a scene I never thought I would see happen. But there it was: Nick sweeping into Downing St as Deputy Prime Minister as part of a coalition government. Though I have spent the past three years, since Brown became PM, predicting that no one would win the general election with a majority, and that Brown would
Nobody likes paying tax. But most of us accept the necessity of paying collectively for public services, and the moral obligation on those of us with good incomes to subsidise these services for those without. Most of us would also accept that, in times of serious budget deficit, any adjustments to the tax system should be made in favour of those who are, firstly, of the most limited means, and, secondly, alive. It's easy to make inheritance tax sound unfair. Just describe it as "double taxation"; a second tax on income which has already been taxed. But the other way ...
Is this the first morning in four or five weeks that anybody, now involved in the government of this country, has woken up after an even vaguely decent nights sleep? I can't help thinking that I'd rather everybody got a bit more sleep around these occasions. I'm not the only one: only this March, in the Justice Select Committee oral evidence sessions even Lord Butler of Brockwell (and as he used to be Cabinet Secretary, he knows a thing or two about this) said: "I think the arrangements in Britain for the formation of a new government after an election ...
Robert Fisk's impeccable Arab sources strongly suspect, with good evidence, that Britain colluded in the murder in Dubai of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. I have been working my own British sources since seeing Fisk's article in February. This morning I can say that information has reached me that confirms that Fisk is right and these were not forged British passports, but real British passports given to Mossad by MI6. But my source cautions that you cannot conclude from that, that they were given for the purposes of this particular operation, or of assassination in general. The provision or exchange of blank ...
Update 2 13th May: I have now calmed down on this and withdraw my outrage. The clause is perfectly acceptable, it seems to me. Thanks @Matgb See analysis by the UCL's constitutional unit here. MatGB says: To confirm, if Cameron loses a confidence motion at 50%, he goes. There's then a chance for someone else to form Govt, or a vote dissolve. Apparently, the same threshold for the Scottish parliament is 66%. Update 13th May: There are some fascinating comments below – thanks to all commenters. I have amended the words "no confidence" above to read "dissolution". The agreement 55% ...
The policy agreement for the new Government is full of Liberal Democrat policies. It is a real chance to put into action the ideas that we have campaigned for. A Fair Start for Children· Introduce a Pupil Premium to give all children a fair start.Fairer taxes and Economic ReformA substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011 with a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objectiveReform of the banking system, ensuring a flow of lending to businesses and a Banking Levy. An independent commission ...
From a party news release: Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesperson, has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group. She takes over from Mike Tuffrey, who has led the group since 2006. Commenting on future plans for the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group Caroline Pidgeon said: "The concerns of Londoners are the concerns of Liberal Democrats at City Hall. "We recognise the vital importance of tackling crime and the fear of crime that affects every area in London. We will continue to be at the forefront of the campaign to protect police numbers ...
Great news reading the coalition agreements on banking reform: The parties agree that reform to the banking system is essential to avoid a repeat of Labour's financial crisis, to promote a competitive economy, to sustain the recovery and to protect and sustain jobs. We agree that a banking levy will be introduced...We agree to bring forward detailed proposals for robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses in the financial services sector; in developing these proposals, we will ensure they are effective in reducing risk. We agree to bring forward detailed proposals to foster diversity, promote mutuals and create a more competitive ...
Woken by screaming All the dark recesses Refocus to the bright click Of the bedside lamp What's that? Outside screaming The house stirs As I run to the kitchen And all the dark recesses Shrink with the long glow Of energy saving light bulbs Silence now In the cast light, staring Then the ancient lope of animal Grey ghost against the fence All colour drained All senses still reeling As the fox steals away More lupine now than ever imagined Fey creature in the fractured night Fox in the garden, 1.30 am
The party's efforts to have a more diverse Parliamentary Party have long suffered from the historic legacy of an all white and all male House of Commons Parliamentary Party. Whilst the gender balance amongst newly won constituencies has vastly improved, the overall balance of the party was kept heavily male by the party's failure to ever select a woman to succeed a retiring man in a held Parliamentary seat. For the 2010 general election the party had finally cracked the problem – with half the retiring male MPs succeeded by female candidates. But in a cruel twist, all of these ...
As the dust settles on the election, although the negotiations are still taking place on who runs the Government (and indeed Wolverhampton!), I thought I would take the opportunity to give my three best results of the night and my three disappointments.
From what I can tell by following Labour activists on Twitter and in the blogs it would appear that quite a few of them seem to think that they will be back in power in a few short years' time. The argument goes that the new Lib Dem/Conservative coalition cannot last. It will likely fall apart at some point in the next few years. The argument also seems to be that the Lib Dems will be tainted by office and also squeezed with Labour able to claim that a vote for us is effectively a vote for the Tories. Finally, ...
Breakfast interview on BBC radio this morning for me. Douglas Hurd before me sounding quite cock-a-hoot about the whole thing. I was more guarded: these are both exciting and disconcerting times — it's always a strange experience when you have to work with people who are your natural opponents. But, as I said, this isn't ...
I was interviewed on BBC Radio Leicester this morning about the new coalition government. I shall post a link to it later if I can find it on the station's website. Billed as the first Lib Dem blogger to call for us to accept David Cameron's offer, I said that I thought I was being very controversial when I wrote that post, but in fact most of the subsequent comment supported my views. Asked if the coalition agreement represented a watering down of Liberal Democrat policy, I said I was pleased to see so much of our policy in that ...
Things look promising. I've studied the coalition document and have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of Liberal Democrat policies that are in there. There has been a good attempt to capture areas of common ground - which is presumably why the negotiations took so long. David Cameron has surprised us all. He could easily have refused to talk to anyone, bulldozed ahead with a minority government, and waited for a favourable moment to call another election. Instead he has shown great flexibility and compromise and putting national interests ahead of his party to secure a government for the country, ...
In an attempt to improve our bid for the 2018 world cup the FA have roped in another famous British person! I just hope this goes down well with the French representatives.
Following my raising concerns about the state of fencing at the rail line on Riverside Drive in the area south of the Botanic Garden, and the extent of graffiti in the area, I have had the following feedback from Network Rail : "I write with reference to your enquiry, regarding fencing situated at Riverside Drive, Dundee, and I can confirm that our Maintenance Department have carried out the necessary repairs to ensure that the fence is now safe and fit for purpose. With regards to your request that the graffiti situated near to the location mentioned above is removed. I ...
As reported in yesterday's Courier, earlier this week I spoke with the City Council's Chief Executive to express my concern about possible delays to the start of the Harris Academy refurbishment, caused by Scottish Government insistence that procurement goes through the, as yet not fully established, East Central Territory "Hub." I was given an assurance that a report will come to the Education Committee before the council recess at the end of June to give an update on the proposed project, its timescales and feedback on the revised feasibility study currently underway. It is vitally important that the project proceeds ...
Thursday's election gave no party a clear mandate to govern. This is awkward, the UK's public finances are in a terrible state. No one in the election has been honest on the extent of these problems. The LibDems were the most honest, Labour the least. People have become used to profligate government spending and easy credit. Even at the height of the bubble Labour were still spending more than they were rising. The party is now over. Things are going to be tough in the UK over the life of the next parliament. There will be pain. The UK needs ...
The coalition agreements between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - read it here. The document linked to above sets out the agreements reached between the joint Conservatives and Liberal Democrats government on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between the two parties in order for them to work together as a strong and stable government. It will be followed in due course by a final Coalition Agreement, covering the full range of policy and including foreign, defence and domestic policy issues not covered in the document.
[IMG: closeup view of velcro] Good morning, and welcome to your super soaraway Daily View on this, the first full day of Liberal government in the UK. Today in 1958, Velcro was trademarked before going on to applications in haberdashery and space travel. Birthday boys today include Arthur Sullivan, Armistead Maupin and Stevie Wonder. 2 Big Stories There's no doubting from the papers that today is all about the new inhabitants of Downing Street. From a Lib Dem perspective, there's wor Vince, about to wage war on the banks. Or is he? Does the update to the Guardian's article, filed ...
As the coalition deal and new faces of government emerge, we can see where the concessions were made by both sides. Admittedly, the conservatives are in a stronger position so there are bound to be many areas of awkwardness. While the areas of agreement emerge such as a commitment to a wholly or partially elected upper house, or the aim to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 we are not sure of the detail of these proposals and it is in the detail that lies compromise. I am not particularly happy with the 'opt-out' and 'pursue other avenues' over ...
Thu 13th
03:32
Achieving coalition with the Tories is a triumph for the so-called Orange Book tendency...
Recommended .... Telegraph article written by Mark Littlewood... (yes you know..once of this parish, now DG of the IEA) In his article (which I wish I had penned btw) he basically argues that the formation of a Conservative-Liberal coalition government finally blows apart the idea that the Liberals are natural bedfellows of the Labour Party or some fictious centre-left "progressive alliance". Mark also identifies - as did we - the importance of David Laws in the formation of this coalition.... "From the Liberal Democrat perspective, achieving coalition with the Tories is a triumph for the party's so-called Orange Book tendency ...
Okay, so having enthused about the possible benefits of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition arrangement, I want to raise something of a concern. Something that I hope might be raised on Sunday at the special conference, whether I can make it or not, which I hope to do. Party internal democracy. The Lib Dems are, rightly I think, well known for their internal party democracy; particularly in the area of policy making. Where other major parties appear to drive policy with grand... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
One of the side effects of the coalition deal and events around it is to cast a brief spotlight on the strange structure and practices of the Liberal Democrat Federal Party. The Federal Party, specifically the Federal Executive, recently came to public attention as a cog in the triple lock procedure put in place originally in order to stop Paddy Ashdown running off with Tony Blair without asking his mum and her knitting circle for permission. In the event of the first and only proper use of the triple lock the FE graciously decided that Nick Clegg and chums could ...
Okay - having recovered from singing the Mozart Requiem this evening (one of the most intense choral pieces ever written, I think), some thoughts on the Coalition Agreement and what I should do when I'm called upon to vote to endorse it on Sunday. As I said in my previous post, I joined the Lib Dems for a negative reason and a positive one. The negative reason was to get New Labour out of power, because I was increasingly appalled at its authoritarian direction and disregard for fundamental freedoms. The positive reason was to do what I could to make ...
I was pleased to see in the coalition agreement the following section: The parties agree that funding for the NHS should increase in real terms in each year of the Parliament Although the Lib Dems argued that nowhere should be off limits, I think this is a good guarantee which will reassure people worried by Labour lies that the new coalition will slash and burn in the NHS. It means NHS staff can plan for the future and that NHS settlements will go up above inflation even during the hard times the government is facing. This is a good thing, ...
There has been a great deal of comments ranging from boasting to in some cases perhaps pointing fingers a bit too close to home, from many Labour party members about the coalition between the Lib Dem's and Conservatives. After the coalition was announced many people signed up to the Labour party, so many the Labour ... Read more
Steve has written a detailed piece on his blog on the logic that led to the Con - Lib Dem coalition government, and what could have happened if other alternatives had been tried. Read Steve's blog post in full here: A real rollercoaster
The good thing about the first-past-the-post system is that it leads to strong government and it keeps out the views of minorities. That may be the views of some but the number that believes this must have decreased a lot in the last week. We have a FPTP system that has led to a coalition in a balanced parliament. Another view is that the bad thing about coalitions is that they allow extreme views to prevail. In this case we find the Tories abandoning their tax breaks for the super rich and the Liberal Democrats putting to one side policies ...
My appearance on BBC Essex this morning: http://is.gd/c6sPB Go to 2h04m BBC iPlayer - Breakfast on BBC Essex: Coalition government latest on Ray Clark Breakfast Show - 12/0 is.gd Listen to Breakfast on BBC Essex: Coalition government latest on Ray Clark Breakfast Show - 12/05/2010
