About a hundred Liberal Democrats from across South East London gathered at the St John's Church Hall in Downham (Lewisham) this evening, to hear and ask questions about the agreement the party has made to enter into government with the Conservatives. Originally, Simon Hughes was scheduled to speak, but he was reportedly asked onto the BBC's ...
So, now that the coalition is in place and the General Election in Wales is well and truly over, I figured I'd take a look at the results from the 7 Parties who contested more than 1/4 of the seats ... Continue reading →
The coalition wreckers from all sides of the political debate have seized upon the idea that there should be a greater that 50%+1 majority in the House of Commons to force a dissolution of a fixed term parliament and a subsequent General Election. Now, I would not like to claim some kind of intellectual superiority over the nay-sayers, but I think they have lost a screw somewhere. Let's look at some of the huffing, puffing Mr Heffer's attempt to claim it is the end of the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other ...
Following requests from residents, I recently asked for proper bay markings in the Pennycook Lane car park, to make better use of the car park. I received the following positive response from the City Council - see also the photo below - very prompt action : "I do agree with your suggestion and would confirm that work has already commenced marking the corners to improve bay designation. For cost reasons, we are not providing full length bay white lining since we believe marking the corners only suffices."
If you every doubted that LibDems would make a difference in government - straight away - see this from the 10:10 - the campaign to reduce our emissions - a campaign I strongly support : And as 10:10 say : "It's been an amazing few days: on Wednesday, we were thrilled when the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition announced a commitment to reduce the entire carbon footprint of central government by 10% in a year. The pledge confirmed that both parties' earlier manifesto pledges to do 10:10 had made it through the thorny negotiation process. Then, yesterday evening, just as ...
On Wednesday I had a few friends round to watch the football (living 5 minutes from Fulham's training ground I felt obliged!) but we soon started talking about politics and the new coalition and taxes. We were both fans of the idea of raising the Income tax allowance and he mentioned something that I found interesting (at ... Read more
This evening I have written to the Liberal Democrat Education Minister, Sarah Teather, urging her to help abolish End of Key Stage Two tests for eleven year olds for once and for all. I urge all other teachers and Liberal Democrat activists to do the same. A copy of the letter is below:Dear Ms Teather,I would like to start by congratulating you on your appointment as Education Minister in the
Yesterday, we held the first meeting of the West End Christmas Week Committee for 2010. Very early in the year, you might think! However, it is the 10th anniversary and as we want to ensure a superb event to celebrate this milestone - hence the early planning meeting. We are aiming to hold this week's Christmas Week from 20th to 27th November - the launch on the 20th being a community fayre involving local community groups across the West End, with the Christmas lights switch on and children's Christmas concert taking place on Wednesday 24th November - including a superb ...
Below are the minutes of the monthly Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting from 5th May. As it was the evening before the election I was somewhat busy elsewhere, so these minutes are provided by Sgt Dave Mirams: Introductions and apologies. Crime in area since last meeting discussed. Priorities from last meeting discussed; Northanger Road, Shirley Rd @ School Road shops, Nailstone Crescent at Roydon Grove. Floor opened for discussion. Following issues raised; 1) Northanger Road - Continuing Anti Social Behaviour (ASB). 2) Dogs off leads in FoxHollies park causing issues for other dog walkers, intimidating members of public. 3) ...
good to see the old happy shopper has had an upgrade. the glass is in and the fronting is up on the tcup. its a new cafe on the corner. the wick road cafe has shut down by the library though. alomst like squeezing a balloon when you push at one end something pops out of the other. the feel of sandy park road is improving with time. that can only be a good thing. at the other end of brislington, on brislington hill the upgrades to the pavement and bus stop are nearly done. the white hart has become ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment is Free website, Lib Dem peer Baroness Shirley Williams offers a realistic lament-cum-appraisal of the opportunities and risks facing the coalition government: So now we embark on a new politics. The generation I belong to, steeped in ideology and partisan commitment, is passing away. My own vision was one of equality and social justice advanced by state action. The new politics is pragmatic, innovative, suspicious of state power, and holds to values rather than dogmas. ... out of the intense negotiations, brilliantly conducted by Nick Clegg and his team, has come a shared commitment: a ...
Hi, as you know I have left the Liberal Democrats, but if any of you still want to read my blog (which I hope you do) then I have got a new site at: http://janespoliticalramblings.wordpress.com/ Thanks, Hope to still hear from some of you
I have to be honest in the run up to the general election I was a bit worried about what the result would be. Canvassing was showing a lot of people were not saying they were voting conservative (untill my last day I literally could count all the conservatives on two hands and all the "i'm not ... Read more
Ed Davey is PUS at BIS. Stormin Norman Baker at Transport as MoS The Bonkers Hall device invented by that nice Mr Berners-Lee seems to be red hot this evening: Andrew Stunell gets rewarded for poring over 984,329 LibDem motions. (Plus also being involved with conference debates) Heath is in there as Deputy leader of the HoC Also Lord Stutt Indeed, I understand that the 1937 Krug has been pulled out of the Bonkers Hall cellar to celebrate the fact that the Liberal Democrats now hold the Comptrollership of HM Household and the Captaincy of The Queen's Bodyguard of ...
Tories 25590 John Shaw Lib Dem 12414 Labour 10327 Other 2323 The Tory MP held this seat as usual. John Shaw fought a good campaign and being the only local person representing one of the major parties helped boost the Lib Dem vote. Labour will be very disappointed, in 2005 it was there top target seat, since then there vote has crumbled in every election and now they are not only trailing the Lib Dems in borough elections and County Council elections they are last among the major parties in the Westminster and Euro elections as well.
I was hoping to keep this blog up to date during the election, but I wanted to meet as many people as possible during the election campaign. I was still carrying on with council case work as well as campaigning and of course all of this had to fit round by full time job and my family. I will catch up with all that has happened over the next few days. Firstly the local election result. Labour 391 Gavin James Lib Dem 1172 Tory 744 I am delighted to be re-elected for the next 4 years to serve as councillor ...
Well, the Lib Dem/Conservative blogosphere love-in didn't last long. As the new coalition government continues to make junior ministerial appointments, the first signs of stress are starting to appear - on the Tory side of things, at least. Iain Dale, well-known blogger and ubiquitous media pundit, has been busily tweeting his discontent over some rumoured decisions. [IMG: image] I'm intrigued to know why Iain is so opposed to Norman Baker's possible appointment, and so thrilled at Ed Davey's 'humiliation'. I'm not suggesting by any means that Lib Dems have not expressed concern at some Cabinet appointments - Theresa May as ...
The FT Westminster blog - now essential reading - has a further list of ministerial appointments. I think they have all been announced now. The Liberal Democrats in the new list: Home Office Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities) - Lynne Featherstone MP Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Ed Davey MP Department for Communities and Local Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Andrew Stunell MP Department for Transport Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Norman Baker MP Office of the Leader of the Commons Parliamentary Secretary (Deputy Leader) - David ...
[IMG: First joint press conference by The Prime Minister's Office.] Approval rates high for coalition (crown copyright) "The British public broadly approve of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition that, under Tory David Cameron, now forms the Government at Westminster. 60% of the British public say they approve of the Conservative-LibDem coalition, following an unprecedented week in British politics. This is more than double the percentage of those who disapprove (33%), and it seems that, Labour supporters excepted, the majority of those across the nation either strongly approve or tend to approve of the controversial union between these hitherto political rivals.The approval ...
Arrived for final BBC R4 World Tonight election discussion – if I can avoid falling asleep mid-sentence. # @rfenwick Easy to say but 1) Lab only party to lose votes at electn + 2) not enuf MPs for pact. Not heard yet any way round those pts ...? in reply to rfenwick # @idealcamel Shame on you for not realising [IMG: :)] How're you doing? in reply to idealcamel # @idealcamel Defeat of @drevenharris was prob lowest point of low night. Am enjoying it slightly more now thx to sleep + Tory infighting. in reply to idealcamel # Waiting to ...
Back to doing family stuff - nephew's birthday party
Very interesting podcast at guardian tech weekly 11/05 on e campaigning and lost chances well worth a listen-- Post From My iPhone
I should be clear. I was opposed to the Lib/Con coalition, instead I favoured a 'rainbow' coalition. I felt that if we had any desire to bring in proportional representation it would be required of our politicians to prove that they were able to get along with one another and start looking for consensus rather than opposition. I'm starting to think that I've maybe been a bit idealistic about all that. Politicians have spent many centuries opposing one another, each generation is taught to think the same way and trained in the fire of running for electoral office. Trashing the ...
Frankly im gutted that the Norfolk Blogger and Broadland District Councillor Nich Starling disagrees so fundamentally with the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive decision to work with the Conservative party in a coalition. I have great respect for Nich as he is well know in his community and a hard working councillor and is highly principled and a critical believer in Liberal Democrat policies (he is not a fan of the EU for example). I also enjoy reading his blogs about nation politics but I also really like the way he covers Norfolk politics, this has been an inspiration for me ...
The story of the day has been the growing opposition to the plans to require a 55 per cent majority in a vote before the Commons can be dissolved. As Ian Roberts on Liberal Democrat Voice explains, that opposition is built on a misunderstanding. While Love and Garbage presents the controversy in more imaginative form: "Holmes ended, "If people are against fixed term parliaments - let that lie at the centre of their argument. Some are in favour of them, others are against. I, Watson, remain unsure. But the 55% rule (or some higher variant of it) is an inevitable ...
Liberal Democrats lost net 129 council seats*. In most of these we lost hard working and loyal Liberal Democrat Councillors and ALDC would like to take the opportunity to thank them, and all our candidates last Thursday for this service to the Party. In fact the results were mixed, with gains and holds in most areas. Particular congratulations to colleagues in Burnley, Winchester and Cheltenham who took majority control of their Councils. We need to learn from these results, and implement what we have learnt. Almost all of our losses were to Labour. We do know that having the general ...
What with Theresa May's leopard-skin shoes, the aristocratic background of some of the Cabinet, the small l liberal leanings of many of the Ministers and a repeal bill coming soon, it feels as though after more than a hundred years that Britain has a Whig government. The question is, will there be a Corn Laws moment?
From people being locked out of polling stations to the wrong ballot papers being issued ALDC has heard of many incidents and problems that took place during the elections this year. In order to inform discussions with the Electoral Commission and others we have put together an online survey . Please fill it in so we can lobby for improvements and get your council scrutiny process to look at your local situation. Click here to complete the survey
I'm just back nearly a week in Glasgow via an unscheduled stop in Warrington due to an over zealous person with some wire snippers operating on the railway line electrics. I was lucky to have a particularly wonderful dinner overlooking Ardrossan harbour – watching the yachts flapping about with the Calmac ferry coming in against the backdrop of the sunset over the Isle of Arran. Beautiful. I was very struck by Gordon Brown's dignified exit from Downing Street. You could see we were in for an emotional one when he stepped up to the podium with Sarah Brown. Frankly, I ...
A YouGov poll suggests that the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition has the approval of 60% of the public – almost exactly the combined vote of the two parties in last week's General Election. Of course, the reality is slightly more complex than this, with a significant minority of Labour voters approving and not every Lib Dem or Conservative voter being in favour. Here's what YouGov say: The British public broadly approve of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition that, under Tory David Cameron, now forms the Government at Westminster. 60% of the British public say they approve of the Conservative-LibDem coalition, following an ...
Sorry, I am in a sunny mood. Martin Wolf is also infected with the sun, because he comes out with a surprisingly generous verdict on The economic legacy of Mr Brown. The general theme is that his mistakes were shared by most of the economic policymaking world, and Wolf makes this telling point: "In retrospect, ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week 1. What should the party do next? Have your say by 2pm on Saturday (394) by Mark Pack 2. Deal or no deal? Here's what I think (300) by Stephen Tall 3. Thirsk & Malton election delayed after candidate dies (17) by Mark Pack 4. What Lib Dem members think about talking to the Tories: LDV poll results (89) by Stephen Tall 5. The morning after the night before: 10 questions we need to answer (but maybe ...
[IMG: steve-cooke] Over at Lib Dem Voice, Steve Cooke has written a rousing statement in support of liberalism as a unique ideology, separate from Labour and not party of some loose "Left Wing" fantasy land: The Liberal Democrats have our own beliefs and our own values - we are not and never have been Labour Mark II as so many disaffected socialists wish us to be. Labour simply doesn't believe in individual freedom and valuing people's right to be autonomous and make choices. Labour has always thought that the state knows what's best for us, whether we agree or not ...
I have always thought the development of the new Routemaster Bus was a mad, bad waste of time and effort when London has so many more pressing concerns. And now it seems I'm not the only one; in a recent TFL survey creating the new Routemaster was deemed to be one of the least important projects to be undertaken in London. Only 18% of people thought it was a priority, as Adam points out. Well, there's a surprise! I wonder if Boris is getting bored of being Mayor yet? After all he's no longer the most powerful Conservative in the ...
Fri 14th
16:10
Paper criticises Facebook for privacy policy longer than US constitution, but its own policy is too
The New York Times has a good piece highlighting just how complex the privacy options and privacy policy have become for Facebook users. (Piece found via a work colleague's blog post.) However, the newspaper also criticises Facebook's privacy policy for being longer than the US Constitution (or rather the US Constitution without amendments, which is a rather odd comparison to make; if you're going to exclude amendments, why not exclude the amendments made to the Facebook privacy policy too?). One thing the newspaper doesn't mention though is that its own privacy policy is ... also longer than the original US ...
The BBC and other media should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for how they have spun the new Tory/Lib Dem coalition's proposals on fixed term parliaments. The coalition agreement has the following text: The parties agree to the establishment of five year fixed-term parliaments. A Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will put a binding motion before the House of Commons in the first days following this agreement stating that the next general election will be held on the first Thursday of May 2015. Following this motion, legislation will be brought forward to make provision for fixed term parliaments of five years. ...
Over the few days since the coalition government was announced I've been dismayed to hear several Liberal Democrat members say they will rip up their membership cards in protest. Whilst many are understandably disappointed that we now have a Conservative Prime Minister, or that we don't have a Liberal Democrat Prime Minister, a coalition government including the Lib Dems is not a bad thing. Coalition talks with Labour failed. Of the two remaining viable options, a Conservative minority was the only other choice to a coalition. We would have a Conservative Prime Minister either way. Unlike 1974 when the Liberal ...
I'm not sure what the implications of the decisions made at the Sefton Tory group AGM are. We are told that there was a challenge to the Porter Parry leadership and that Mrs Parry sneaked through. I am also told that Cllr Anne Ibbs is their Chief Whip. The Tories lost seats at the local elections-one in Ainsdale to the Lib Dems and one in Manor Ward Crosby to Labour. As a result the composition of the Sefton Council Cabinet is 4 Lib Dems, 4 Labour, 2 Con, with the casting vote with Lib Dem Council Leader Tony Robertson. The ...
Fri 14th
14:59
Dee Doocey: London Mayor should not take over the Metropolitan Police Authority's role
Commenting on the statement by Theresa May, the new Home Secretary, that she intends to push through plans for directly elected police commissioners, Dee Doocey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly policing spokesperson and a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said: For ten years the Metropolitan Police Service has been accountable to Londoners through a police authority. To now place all that accountability in the hands of one person would be a serious mistake. "Boris Johnson struggled to even chair the Metropolitan Police Authority, so the idea that he, or indeed any Mayor, could now do the work currently carried ...
As is the way with Southport politicians John Pugh opened his heart to John Siddle of the Visiter: ON Tuesday, British politics changed in a way none of us could have imagined and which most of us have barely grasped.It was very clear to all of us during the election campaign that voters liked the idea of politicians working together and that they were tired of 'Punch and Judy politics'.It was obvious that following the election results the only stable, lasting arrangement would be a coalition either between Labour and the Lib Dems or the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.It ...
Just as the General Election produced a mixed bag of results, so did this year's council elections. Although overall we had a net loss of 135 seats and control of a number of councils, the outcome was far more complex. The results in metropolitan and London councils saw a net loss of 52 and 77 seats respectively losing overall control of Richmond upon Thames, Liverpool, Rochdale and Sheffield in the process. However, in unitary councils and the English districts we lost just 5 and 1 seat respectively, and gained control of Burnley, Cheltenham and Winchester councils. These figures also hide ...
Fixed term politics are good for democracy and good for stability. Uncertainty about the timing of the general election was not healthy for our democracy in 2007 or indeed earlier this year. And it wasn't good for the country in the early 1990s or in 1996-7. It is bad for democracy that a Prime Minister can choose the timing of an election to suite the political needs of the ruling party. The
Is it pressure of work? Or the usual policy? The special conference online booking form does not allow for debit card payments so I cant book online. On principle dont have a credit card. If anyone with clout is reading this could they pass it on?
For every vote and every candidate up and down the country that signed the pledge on behalf of the National Union of Students, may I please put this to you - at the Emergency Conference on Sunday, oppose the provision in the coalition agreement which prevents us from voting on the outcome of the Lord Browne review on Higher Education Fees. As a Party we have consistently been the only party to talk about fees, let alone come up with a costed policy for replacement of the present system where many graduates leave with thousands of pounds of debt. Students ...
From Newbury Today: Newbury's former Liberal Democrat MP, David Rendel, has not denied claims he voted against a coalition Government THE former MP for Newbury, Liberal Democrat David Rendel, has refused to deny claims he was the sole vote against his party's decision to form a coalition Government with the Conservatives during a ballot of his party's Federal Executive members. Negotiators from his party met with senior Conservative and Labour figures several times after the election in order to broker a deal which would end the hung Parliament and form a Government after no party recorded a winning majority. The ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: Labourfail] Under the new coalition agreement there is an entry under 'political reform' which states: "The parties agree to the establishment of five year fixed-term parliaments" Which is obviously awesome, even in a coalition the 'big' partner could no longer spring a snap election on the 'smaller' one. In face neither partner could double-cross the other. Plus this stops the uncertain period around year 4 of a Parliament, where at any time a general election could be called (Similar to how Brown acted in the last year). To me this is a bit of a fundamental point ...
Just under three weeks ago I wrote a blogpost speculating about what could happen in the event of a hung parliament and how we could end up with a Lib Dem/Tory government. I focused on how were that to happen, given all the negative comments by the Conservatives in the run up to the election about how disastrous hung parliaments would be. I then went on to say: Cameron would not be able to easily escape his election campaign words and predictions. In fact the only way he would be able to get out of it is to prove himself ...
So as soon as the election was over, my post a day routine disappeared into the ether as I got down to catching up with other work. I will try and post my thoughts on the coalition deal before I head off to Birmingham this weekend for the Special Conference about it, but before that, ...
6th MayHalton UA, MerseyLD Christopher Martin Carlin 1117 (38.9)Lab 1153 (40.2)Lab 1062LD Trevor Edward Higginson 1044 (36.4)Con 364 (12.7)BNP 235 (8.2)Majorities 55 / 91Turnout 102.83%Reigate and Banstead BC, Redhill EastGreen 1882Con 1398Green 1361Con 1364 LD Soo Abram 1335Con 1274Green 1043Lab 880 Lab 635UKIP 509Ind 140Turnout 66.34% Preston City Council, RiverswayLab 1140LD Liam Pennington
"That's all we've got, we've got five years..." - David Bowie Parliaments that last five years invariably end in disaster. Look at recent precedent: 1992 – John Major squeaks home with a 20 majority that could so easily have been a hung parliament. 1997 – John Major ends a disastrous term, battered from crisis to ...
Like all Liberal Democrats, I would never support a Tory government. Most of us have spent many years asking countless people to vote Lib Dem to "keep the Tories out", but I actually think that's exactly what we've done. Without the Liberal Democrats the Tories would have a majority now. So many Lib Dems seats are Tory/Lib Dem fights, and it's because the Lib Dem vote held up in places like the South West that Mr. Cameron did not get the majority he needed to enable him to go ahead with the sort of traditional Tory policies that were in ...
The beginning of my week was dominated by the suspense involved in the outcome of two series of late night meetings. As with all the best stories, both had happy outcomes. The EU's finance ministers agreed in the early hours of Monday morning on a EUR 750 bn standby package to support the euro against the international speculators. And at around the same time the UK's Liberal Democrat MPs agreed nem con to the proposed coalition agreement with the Conservatives. In neither case were the circumstances those we would have chosen; yet in both cases imaginative leadership and a shared ...
Given that the next election is possibly 5 years away, am I the only one to find arguments about Labour's election strategy just a little premature? I keep trying to remember what such discussions must have been like for the Lib Dems in 2005, and then find I can't. Because five years is such a ...
Welcome to the Daily View for May 14. Happy 66th birthday to George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars movies. "Do or Do not. There is no try" video also available on YouTube. Perhaps Lynne Featherstone had this in mind this morning when she wrote Doing - not saying! Congratulations, Lynne, on your appointment as Under Secretary of State for Equalities. Do or do not? – 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that caught my eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: We have to make this work From Cllr Steve ...
Back in November 2009, the council finally agreed to consult and then implement an access only restriction on New Road. Following this meeting, on the 28 November 2009, I was told by officers that: "We have been looking out for section 106's to carry out this work and I would like to put the following proposition to you and your fellow ward councillors. If you and your fellow ward councillors are happy with that approach we will start the TRO process in anticipation of the funding being available within the next two months." They went on to say: "[the TRO ...
[IMG: blairbrown] Blair and Brown: the 'beautiful people'. Dear all, I know you're upset. These are unprecedented and troubling times. Many of you are currently experiencing what might be aptly dubbed a 'red mist'. Others of you are simply foaming at the mouth. But please permit me to set out why your position is tenuous at best. You appear to be basing your entire criticism of the new Lib Dem/Conservative coalition on a view of the Labour Party that could most charitably be described as rose-tinted. [IMG: labourrose] I fully recognise that the thirteen years you have had in government ...
Fri 14th
11:30The Lib Dem / Conservative coalition government agreement: new LDV members' survey now live
The new LDV members' survey is now live – and it focuses, unsurprisingly, on the coalition government agreement between the Lib Dems and Conservatives. 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 ahead of Sunday's conference. Questions we are asking your opinion on include: - would you choose to back the deal; - how effective you think our negotiating team has been; - what your view of the outcome is; and - whether you ...
Interesting post on Cynog Dafis' comments in the Western Mail on why Plaid lost Ceredigion: Worth a read. And just incase you want to read the article these comments came from: Happy Reading - Greg Foster NB: Please ... Continue reading →
I have carried out my traditional perusal of all the general election results. I have cast my eye over every single result listing. I have invariably carried out this task since I was 11 years old in 1970. Mind you, in those days I used the results listings in my Dad's Daily Telegraph. These days it's the from the Guardian – naturellement. Once again, I am staggered by the number of seats which are hugely safe for Labour or Conservative. ...Where the Labour or Conservative majority proverbially can be weighed rather than counted. It is just unbelievable when you look ...
Sad, I know, but I do get excited about my YouTube viewing figures. I now have a 2nd video to reach 150,000 viewings: a trip on the London Eye. I guess I am doing my bit to promote UK tourism as many of the viewers are North American. Anyway, here's the video:(BTW, my most viewed video is "Inside a Former Soviet, Secret Submarine Base" which I shot in the Crimea on the Black Sea: http://
Jack Allen, the private company which wants to put a waste plant on Garston Docks, is trying again to get permission to build this monstrosity. The City Council's planning Committee, which at the time had a Lib Dem majority, turned the plans down. But the national law says that Jack Allen had the right to appeal. So they did. Now there is a public enquiry which starts on 15th June at Garston Urban Village Hall in Banks Road. (A central Liverpool venue was originally booked in case a local one couldn't be found. This location is good news as it ...
Theresa May being in charge of equalities is being seen as an outrage akin to Ruth "Opus Dei" Kelly being in charge of communities. This is because Mrs May has a voting record on equalities which is... well, less than stellar would be putting it mildly. The thing is, Theresa May is Home Secretary, with Equalities bolted on as an afterthought, probably just because she's a woman. And yes, equalities being an afterthought is frustrating and offensive, but that's the way a government composed of and negotiated by white middle class men is ALWAYS going to see it. Who is ...
Across Britain on May 6th people voted for the Liberal Democrats because they liked our policies, or they liked our values. Some voted for us because we were not 'the other lot'. No doubt a goodly number voted Lib Dem because they felt (quite rightly) the party they truly wanted to vote for - the Labour Party - has lost its heart and lost its soul. People voted for us hoping, but never ever expecting they'd get a Liberal Democrat government. After the votes came in it was clear that the Conservatives had won the election, but without a big ...
My friend Iain Roberts had a great posting. So I'm going to make the most precise Lib Dem put down and I'd like people to see if they can do better. `Every Tory's evil and now the Lib Dems are too` Over to you.
Imagine if Lembit Opik turned around and claimed that the reason why he lost Mont was due to an influx of immigrants living in Mont. It would be quickly condemned as a pretty racist remark and a pretty shite excuse to explain his result. He would be attacked by the media and probably rightly so, as it would be just a touch on the racist side, a side most of us want to avoid. But is there really that much difference between that hypothetical comment and what Cynog Dafis, former Plaid Cymru AM and MP said in yesterday's Western Mail? ...
Ed Balls appears to have been attempting to rewrite the history of last week.Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister before the partnership between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives had been agreed.On Monday he indicated that he was willing to step down as Labour Leader to facilitate a rainbow coalition. On Tuesday he resigned as Prime Minister many hours before an alternative coalition had
If you talk about the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapons to almost any Arab politician one of the things that they cannot understand is why the West ignores Israel's nuclear arsenal. Mordechai Vanunu ( a convert to Christianity) blew the whistle -if I remember correctly via an article in the Sunday Times. Craig Murray reports his rearrest and his adoption by Amnesty as a prisoner on conscience
The Evening Standard reports: Andrew Dismore is considering lodging an official petition after losing his Hendon seat by just 106 votes to Tory Matthew Offord. He claims hundreds of would-be voters were prevented from casting their ballot because of failures by Barnet council to organise the election properly. Mr Dismore, who has held the seat since 1997, claimed procedural and administrative errors by the council included: people queuing at 9pm being told to leave as they would not get in to vote in time; postal votes arriving late or not being sent, and wrong directions to polling stations being given. ...
I have become something of a podcast addict. These are the five I cannot live without:BBC Friday Night Comedy Podcast - alternates between The News Quiz and The Now Show, both of which are awesome. The Pod Delusion - difficult to categorise, but always interesting. Has features on science and politics and other geeky things. Also has regular guest spots from Alex Foster, whose voice makes me do Vic Reeves thigh-rubbing. Dirty Whoers - the best Doctor Who podcast by a country mile. Slightly sweary, utterly irreverent, and now featuring Brian Blessed. BBC Gardener's Question Time - Bob Flowerdew is ...
Having just completed its first concert, my choir is briefly opening to new singers, as we start rehearsing for a CD to be recorded in June and launched in September. Tenors and basses are particularly needed, but sopranos and altos are also welcome. There are no auditions, and if you don't read music, we'll teach you. We have high performance standards, but we're also very friendly and will help you get there! Rehearsals are 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm on Monday evenings, at St, Mary Aldermary (opposite Mansion House tube on the District/Circle Line and also only a short walk ...
The British government, mainstream parties and the mainstream media never mention Israel's nuclear weapons, even when pontificating about the effect of potential Iranian nuclear weapons on the balance of power in the Middle East. Consistent with that, no amount of googling brings up any British mainstream media mention of the fact that whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has just been jailed again in Israel. This is for breaching the terms of a military edict - not a court order - restricting his movements and contacts. One slight ray of light is that Amnesty International, an organisation I generally hold in high regard, ...
The BBC has run a piece looking at what bloggers made of the election, including quotes from Jonathan Calder and this from myself: The online world provided a route for party members to be able to express their views very quickly. The speed was particularly important as negotiations were going on at national level. The LibDem Voice blog had the ability to do a poll for party members and cross-check it. It's about asking the right questions at the right time. The forums [ie questions] are useful if they relate with what's going on, so we knew we had to ...
My party is now in a very unfamiliar position. We are in government. I think that our negotiation team did an excellent job. We have 5 cabinet ministers and numerous other government positions with some of our best MPs now in a position to actually do things rather than just say them. We got a higher share of the vote than at the last election. We also did well to take some of our target seats such as Wells and Norwich South. I know from first hand experience just how hard our candidates, members and helpers across the country worked. ...
David Worsford writes: The election of a Parliament with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat majority has led to the searing injustice of the Labour government's failure to compensate policyholders in the failed Equitable Life being remedied. This has been a long-running saga but at its heart lay the failure of successive regulators to get to grips with the way Equitable Life over-extended itself and offered policyholders guarantees of returns that were never going to be sustainable. Enquiry after enquiry was set set up as the government tied to wriggle away from its responsibilities, which actually have their origins in the period of ...
Has anyone noticed the extraordinary resemblance between the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, and the new Dr Who, Matt Smith ? I wonder if by any chance they are related ? I think we should be told.
I'd started to write a story about the (deliberate?) misinformation being spread about the proposal that Parliament should be able to be dissolved by a 55 per cent majority of MPs, and found that Cllr Iain Roberts of Stockport had beaten me to it and said everything that needed to be said. A useful and informative article.
This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us 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 this document.
Challenge for those starting to write post-mortems: so much usually based on polling info yet final polls painted v diff picture from result # @CatTurner Some cheery additions to make, but also... in reply to CatTurner # Good result for John Bercow holding with 12.5k majority, and UKIP third # First vote of the new Parliament will be for Speaker. Bercow back but also more Tory MPs. Could be interesting... # @wildebees Unofficial stuff from supporters had more impact than official stuff - e.g. LibDem Facebook group, various poster spoofs etc. in reply to wildebees # Balance of power rests ...
This week sees the 60th anniversary of Formula 1. The first race took place at Silverstone on 13th May 1950. Last year was horrible because it looked that the 2009 Grand Prix would be the last one there, but the place has had a welcome reprieve. Kayels has cycled round the new circuit to see how it's evolved for the 21st century. Here is her report. Marvellous Meemalee finishes her interviews with the Masterchef finalists with winner Dhruv Baker. For her next challenge, I want her to track down Karen Gillan and interview her for she is a Doctor Who ...
Pope Ratzinger, an 83 year old man with an imaginary friend who speaks to him on occasions, has continuted to blather on about homosexuality being the worst thing in the world and an insult to God and blah blah blah. Meanwhile, our Equalities minister is certainly not in favour of gay rights, as her voting record shows.
This morning's Daily Telegraph reports that the government's emergency budget later in the summer will put the first plank of the coalition agreement in place by implementing the Liberal Democrat policy of raising the tax threshold for the low paid. They say that the tax-free personal allowance will be raised by at least £700 to more than £7,000, a move that will benefit an estimated 25 million lower-paid workers and pensioners. The income tax cut is to be introduced from next April. The personal allowance could rise by even more if extra money is collected from an increase in capital ...
Well a rather important decision has been made. And studies of people who have made such decisions (or had it made for them) suggest we are going through a well-known psychological process. If you have ever had to make choices in your personal life - say about who to marry (or with whom to initiate a parallel emotional arrangement) you may recognise this process. Likewise people who have agonised about what job opportunity to select. Possible members of a controlling Council group may have allied experiences. When such a decision has been made there is a strong need to assert ...
Shoot me down in flames, but: Dissolution at present is entirely at the whim of the Prime Minister. Confidence votes require a simple majority to pass but don't necessarily lead to a dissolution. It's up to the PM. This proposal will make it mandatory but only with sufficient support. The proposal means that the Conseravtives cannot threaten the Liberal Democrats with an election merely
I am still waking up and getting my head around what has happened during the last 5 days. I can't say my reaction was warm on Wednesday night. I am however, in politics to deliver policies that will lead to a fairer more liberal society. I have always worked with anyone who will help me achieve that aim. In my 12 years of active politics I have worked with everyone from the far left to right wing Tories ( and UKIP) to achieve these aims. As such I am pleased at the policy platform of the new government and if ...
Last night's Have I Got News for You? included the story about a bouncer being hired to patrol the public library in King's Lynn. I was in the town last summer and photographer the library. It is a piece of Edwardian fantasy, funded and opened by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
When I got the news last night that I was appointed Under Secretary of State for Equalities (Home Office Minister) it didn't really sink in as to what that really meant. This morning - lying in the bath thinking about the portfolio - I realised that this is a huge opp0rtunity to change things for the better. I will be able to do - not just to say. For two years as Shadow Equalities spokesperson - through the Equality Bill, through countless speeches to groups , through our conference policy papers on Women and Youth - it has always been ...
One of the joys of being in government is being hated. Thatcher and Blair were both attacked daily by large numbers of people when they were in power (at times I was one of them) – though of course neither ever lost a General Election. In contrast, being in opposition tends to be easier – people may disagree with you, but it's not you making the hard decisions, from which there are inevitably losers as well as winners. For the Lib Dems it's going to take some getting used to. Our fate has more often to be ignored than hated. ...
Fri 14th
08:23
Invitation: rob and tam date night - steph babysitting @ Thu 20 May 19:00 - 22:00 (langleyblackie.ro...
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I was shared this link by Hugo Anson who tweeted this, EA sight says this is about prayer. Campolo actually talking about Christians only answering our own questions?! it's quiet interesting what he says about "theology in the age of wave theory" and about the integration of the secular academic world and Christian faith. (I can't seam to ... Read more
I have just spotted a comment by Lib Dem blogger Stephen Glenn on a posting by J. Arthur MacNumpty. One of the subjects discussed in the posting is the victory in Belfast East by Naomi Long of the Alliance Party. MacNumpty speculates that she may take the Liberal Democrat whip in the Commons and Stephen comments: I fully expect Naomi to take the Lib Dem whip in Westminster.Does anyone know if she has done so yet?
Canvassing and leafleting during elections, one learns to be careful about sticking fingers through letterboxes, but even after being barked and growled at and attacked in front gardens, I don't agree with Lord Harris's stand on dogs. Toby Harris, another old Labour dinosaur, says we should shoot dangerous dogs to save money.
The new Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition government has four women in its cabinet. This is a very small number and does not compare well with other countries. But, much as the commentary would have you believe, this is not a simple issue to fix. Broadly, there are three areas that need to be looked at in order to increase the number of female MP's. 1. Encouraging more women to come forward to stand as MP's. There is research from the US (applicable here) that shows that women need to be encouraged to run for public office rather than going for it ...
The General Election saw nearly £1 million in lost deposits from candidates achieving less than 5% of the vote. The biggest losers were the small parties, with UKIP losing 458 deposits, costing them £229,000. The Green party was hit by a £164,000 loss, 265 lost deposits cost the BNP £132,500 and the English Democrats were out of pocket by £53,000. In contrast, the Conservatives lost just two deposits, Labour five and the Liberal Democrats just one, by nine votes, in Glasgow East. These figures show the uniform support for the Liberal Democrats right across the UK.
The policy agreements are published, the ministerial roles are distributed and the cabinet has held its first meeting. And the verdict? From me - mixed.On policy, I'm delighted to see so many Lib Dem policies in there either as definites for this year or as aspirations over the next 5 years. I'm delighted that the detention of children whose parents are seeking sanctuary here is to be stopped.
I received an email yesterday about the concern business leaders expressed over Labour's plans to increase National Insurance charges. It included a link to which summarises criticisms from "around 70 of Britain's top business leaders", including comments such as "this will greatly affect our business when it comes to hiring apprentices". These criticisms may be seen as no longer relevant, given that Labour are no longer in power and the Tories intention going into the election was to scrap the planned increase. However the Tories have accepted the Liberal Democrat proposal for a "substantial increase" in personal tax allowances ...
I've been hunting around looking for evidence of serious disaffection amongst Liberal Democrat activists with the coalition deal and it appears to be very limited. Several self-described progressives have felt the need to apologise for the party, or more accurately the voters who didn't choose to make a stable 'progressive' alliance possible. And they're pretty miffed with the Labour party, who they were shocked to find, despite 13 long years of evidence they don't share power, didn't want to share power. There has been one dignified if odd resignation by a blogger, interesting mostly for highlighting the paradoxes in the ...
