Iain Dale has revealed an 'exclusive' on his blog tonight (although a fair few of us had wind of this a day or so ago) in that Sir Menzies Campbell is mounting a campaign to secure the position of Speaker of the House. Ming has let it be known that he is willing to be included ...
life goes on did loads of county work how do i love my beloved northumberland let me count the ways
Turns out Ning groups are quite easy to set up - it took me less than half an hour this evening to create an ACT group for a more liberal asylum and immigration policy and put up a little bit of content. More to follow - do come and join if you're a member or supporter and would like to help us! Help spreading the word is also welcome. This entry was cross-posted from Dreamwidth, where there are currently [IMG: comment count unavailable] comment(s). View DW comment(s).
Today I was with some of the people from my church and the topic got round to money and wealth and some one mentioned this web site: The Global Rich List The idea of the website is that you enter you average yearly salary and it shows you where in the worlds rich list you would come. ... Read more
(being an open memorandum to the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office and Minister for Equalities, The Hon Lynne Featherstone MP, particularly on the occasion of "International Day against Homophobia"). Dear Lynne, Congratulations on your elevation a little way up the greasy pole. I am sure, like your many new colleagues, you are the best person out of the sixty odd million of us for deciding how we ought to live our lives in your area of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
"You can't be a little bit equal, in the same way as you can't be a little bit dead or a little bit pregnant. You can only be equal or unequal."
In one attack, the team transformed the instrument panel into a clock that counted down to zero from 60 seconds. In the final seconds the horn honks and as zero is reached the car engine shuts off and the doors are locked.
The mood emerging from Sunday's special conference – which overwhelmingly endorsed the Lib Dem leadership's decision to enter into a coalition agreement with the Conservatives – appears to have been almost universally positive, with even doubters rallying at the prospect of the historic opportunity open to the party. But we wouldn't be liberals unless we found something to critique – and on this occasion it's been the Lib Dem media office which has got it in the neck from some supporters. The Bracknell Blog puts it reasonably (many on Twitter have been a little more splenetic): Why was this meeeting ...
[IMG: milibands] Last week I wrote an open letter to the many Labour activists and journalists deriding the decision of the Liberal Democrats to join the Conservatives in a coalition government. I felt it necessary to remind them of their beloved party's record in government over the last 13 years, having won three successive elections with what were, by historical standards, enormous majorities. Now the media machine is starting to ratchet up the pressure and the coverage of the race for the Labour leadership. The power vacuum left by Gordon 'Substantial' Brown has so far coaxed declarations from just two ...
Over at The Independent, Daisy Cross gives a first-hand account of the Lib Dem special conference in Birmingham, and captures some of the sense of the unreality felt by many who were there: The ambience was similar to that of a very successful village fete; many had brought their own sandwiches, some had brought their babies, but everyone was focused centre-stage, the odd gleeful glance sideways or incredulous nudge asking: "Are we really here?" Apart from one councillor, who declared the party had "made a pact with the devil" to awkward applause, there was hardly a word uttered against the ...
I've been mentioned in the Daily Mirror. Sadly, not for any great achievement on my part, or coming out with some great opinion that needed to be heard by the people, but because they can't be bothered to report a story properly. I was one of several people who tweeted from the Lib Dem Special ...
The work goes on. We had a meeting this morning of the 3 ward councillors for Eaglescliffe to discuss some of the less urgent issues which had been shelved while the election campaign took up spare time. It's good to know that we will soon have the CCTV relay poles in place so that cameras will be able to link Eaglescliffe and Yarm into the borough system. We hope to be able to deploy the
My blog can now be found as part of my Tumblr Blog at http://nradford.tumblr.com/ Look forward to seeing you over on Tumblr.
I finally got around to watching this week's Doctor Who, and I think you're all going to know what I'm going to say. Why can't she ( SPOILER! ) Looking forward to next week, though. Especially after Special Conference, and the holes in the floor showing the cavernous space millimetres beneath us...
Writing in yesterday's Independent Chris Huhne argued that we were in the midst of a national crisis and that a national coalition was the proper reaction to the situation. .......the strongest governments in our own history have been coalitions in pursuit of a clear goal. Sir Winston Churchill's government - the last to have Liberals in the cabinet - saw us through the darkest days of our history to ultimate victory in 1945.Few can doubt the difficulties we face nor that the public would wish us to lay aside our differences to tackle the crisis. When you realise the breadth ...
Writing on the Guardian website (and in tomorrow's paper), Patrick Wintour predicts that John Bercow will be re-elected as speaker of the Commons tomorrow "despite the opposition of a small group of Conservative diehards led by Nadine Dorries who are trying to depose him". Wintour says that Bercow has the support of David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the acting Labour leader Harriet Harman, and that he will "play a key role in trying to adapt parliament to the reality that the Liberal Democrats have joined the government, so leaving parliament with only one large formal opposition party". He adds: One ...
Charles Kennedy wrote an article for yesterday's Observer explaining why he abstained in the Liberal Democrats' vote to approve the coalition deal with the Conservatives. He wrote that last week's events: drive a strategic coach and horses through the long-nurtured "realignment of the centre-left" to which leaders in the Liberal tradition, this one included, have all subscribed since the Jo Grimond era. It is hardly surprising that, for some of us at least, our political compass currently feels confused. And that really encapsulates the reasons why I felt personally unable to vote for this outcome when it was presented to ...
I attended the Liberal Democrat Special Conference details of which have been blogged by Jennie Rigg, Mark Reckons and theuglytruthandthebeautifullies. This meeting was not required. I thought it was brave of the Liberal Democrats to hold this conference to make amendments to the agreements and to vote on the memberships agreement. This is risky because if the party did not achieve the required 2 thirds then I believe there would of been a crisis within the party and further later confirmations votes may of been required. Can you imagine how uneasy Lib Dem MP's would of felt know that they ...
At tonight's Development Quality Committee, I moved refusal of a recommendation to agree to variation of the period for the erection of a wall to be erected at the west end of Hillside Terrace on the following grounds : "The permanent closure of the west end of Hillside Terrace, in accordance with a confirmed Stopping Up Order, formed a key element in the approval of the development of the site for dwelling houses. The proposed variation would result in an extended delay in the provision of a wall in this location to the detriment of the environmental qualities of the ...
So the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury has let a 'joke' note for his Lib Dem replacement, telling him the country 'has no money'. Then after receiving wide-spreed condemnation, he informs us that it was joke.It may have been funny if the country was going through a prosperous era, but being told during the worst recession since the second world war and when we are told to expect 'savage'
Dear Fraser My Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne, left me a note saying 'Dear Chief Secretary, There's no money left.' He may claim this is joke, but sadly it is all too true. Labour have left the nation's finances in an utterly ruinous state and we face a colossal task ahead of us. That is why today the Chancellor and I announced the creation of the Office of Budget Responsibility as well as the date for the emergency budget in six weeks time on 22nd June. It is also why over the next week I will be working to identify £6bn ...
I am extremely worried by the judicial activism involved in a series of decisions to prevent strikes. This year both Unite and RMT have been prevented from holding strikes, amid general undisguised establishment glee that workers have not been allowed to go on strike. In today's judgement against Unite (and for British Airways), there was no dispute that union members had genuinely voted to go on strike. But they had been notified of the result of the ballot by posted notices, and the court ruled that this did not meet the requirement that all members must be individually notified of ...
A quick glance through this blog will show that I have been a harsh critic of the Conservatives both locally and nationally. I still am. I tend to attack Labour less often as they are not serious rivals in Basingstoke. I don't mind admitting that the thought of a Conservative majority government frightens me. That is why I have always, and will continue to campaign against them in elections. Whilst David Cameron as Prime Minister, I am delighted we do not have a Tory majority government. We have a coalition government. If the Lib Dem influence makes an authoritarian conservative ...
According to the BBC, our leading universities wants the government to increase tuition fees, possibly to £9,000 a-year. If there is anymore reason than having Liberal Democrats embedded in the Department of Education and our government, it must be that.Tuition fees are unfair. It cripples our young with huge amount of debt and helps creates a culture where personal debt is accepted. It deters
The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws has e-mailed party members to explain his approach to fiinding £6 billion worth of savings in Government expenditure: My Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne, left me a note saying 'Dear Chief Secretary, There's no money left.' He may claim this is joke, but sadly it is all too true. Labour have left the nation's finances in an utterly ruinous state and we face a colossal task ahead of us. That is why today the Chancellor and I announced the creation of the Office of Budget Responsibility as well as the date ...
The story of the day has been Liam Byrne's joke about there being no money left. Presumably it was intended to be one of those that is funny because they are true. Caron's Musings discusses it and also has David Laws' message to Liberal Democrat members promising that the tough decisions he will have to make will have social justice at their heart. If you can bear to think of the next general election, Liberal Burblings has the new list of Liberal Democrat target seats. Come to think of it, he has the list even if you can't bear to ...
There is a lot of talk around the blogsphere about a sudden increase in Lib Dem peers. Without throwing too much caution to the wind, I think Nick Clegg needs to think carefully before appointing any life peers.Firstly, we have fought for a long time to abolish this undemocratic second chamber. Nick needs to ensure he has enough votes to go all the way before committing himself to putting a large
So: it's settled. We may not have planned the route together, but if this train crashes we got on it together. Some people asked about the route and some people wondered about the destination but no one suggested that we may as well stay where we were. By my reckoning well over 1,500 people attended Sunday's Special Conference. Some dozen or more voted against the motion adopting the coalition agreement. So that's a 99% vote in favour. (In fact the coalition agreement seemed to be as popular as proportional representation. A few lost souls voted against reaffirming the party's commitment ...
Paul Walter has helpfully reproduced the Guardian's list of Lib Dem target seats for the next election. It's interesting providing you take into account a number of caveats: - If the coalition's plans come to fruition before the next election, the current 650 seat will be scaled back to a much lower number. The Tories proposed a 10% cut - down to 585. The Lib Dems wanted a more radical cut to 500 MPs. Both of these - or something in between - would require complete boundary changes and so the figures in the table would be merely the basis ...
Hmmm... this article has opened a bit of a can of worms for me. Along with (Baroness) Liz Barker and (now Sir) David Williams, in 2004 I drafted the current rules for electing the interim peers list. Unaccountably, I am yet to receive any kind of honour myself. Earlier today, I tweeted Stephen Tall ...
I have been talking to a few people recently who have mentioned that there does appear to be a lack of young right wing bloggers. I had assumed that due to the circles I moved in that I just naturally gravitated towards more left leaning bloggers and so wasn't noticing them however now I am less certain. ... Read more
It has been quite a month to be a Liberal Democrat-we find ourselves on a journey none of us predicted. We can be proud of the campaign we fought both on the ground and in the air. We saw the birth of Cleggmania after Nick's superb performance in the televised debates which caught the public's attention and energised the campaign. I think that we all got caught up in the optimism of the moment which came with the spring sunshine. Liberal Democrat hopes and expectations soared. I even dusted my SDP "the time has come" mug! The Guardian urged readers ...
It has been quite a month to be a Liberal Democrat-we find ourselves on a journey none of us predicted. We can be proud of the campaign we fought both on the ground and in the air. We saw the birth of Cleggmania after Nick's superb performance in the televised debates which caught the public's attention and energised the campaign. I think that we all got caught up in the optimism of the moment which came with the spring sunshine. Liberal Democrat hopes and expectations soared. I even dusted my SDP "the time has come" mug! The Guardian urged readers ...
LibDem voice has unearthed the LibDem list of potential peers. I have never in all my born days come across a more odious and disgusting concept. Someone described it as a "me, me, me" list. I did actually vote in the election for that list. But I used a novel approach. First of all I started at "Z" in the list of candidates' blurbs and worked backwards through the alphabet. As I went through I voted only for all the women ethnic minority candidates. Then I voted for male ethnic minority candidates. Then that was it. Oh – one candidate ...
The special conference that endorsed the Lib Dem / Tory coalition deal was a strange affair. Firstly the media were excluded and although it is not something I would like repeated I think that on this one occasion when the party was baring its soul it was the correct thing to do. Rather than have glib soundbites and pictures of pink fluffy handcuffs telling the media's desired story of alleged division, all the media had to go on were our tweets and a Labour MP's lonely demo outside, until the Deputy Prime Minister strode out to tell them how united ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 169th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (9th – 15th May, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Lib Dems in Government ...
I saw via Twitter this morning that there was something going round saying that Liam Byrne, Labour's former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, had left a note for his successor saying starkly and simply "Dear Chief Secretary, There is no money left." Not having seen a news report, I just assumed that this was some internet joke going round. Not for one minute, until I saw the news and saw new Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws actually tell the story himself, did I think that anyone could display such crude callousness. It all brings to mind ...
Not a phrase you hear very often. But here's a job advert.
I see that the usually very considered David Davis has spoken out today about the plans to give Parliament the power to dissolve itself. It seems that, as with much of the criticism of the last week, there is still a great deal of confusion about what is actually being proposed. This is perhaps unsurprising ...
My Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne, left me a note saying 'Dear Chief Secretary, There's no money left.' He may claim this is joke, but sadly it is all too true. Labour have left the nation's finances in an utterly ruinous state and we face a colossal task ahead of us. That is why today the Chancellor and I announced the creation of the Office of Budget Responsibility as well as the date for the emergency budget in six weeks time on 22nd June. It is also why over the next week I will be working to identify £6bn of wasteful ...
Yesterday in Birmingham the Lib Dems held a special conference to discuss the decision to go into coalition with the Conservatives. Along with around 1400 others, I was there. I think that the decision to hold this conference was definitely the right one - despite it not being constitutionally necessary as the Parliamentary Party and Federal Executive had already voted to approve the coalition deal by 75%. The Lib Dems are a party in which the membership gets to decide. We decide policy at conference and we choose our representatives in all elections. We also have one member one vote ...
Apologies for the lack of posts recently. One eve of poll my lap top died and it has taken me until now to get a new one. So welcome please my shiny new MacBook. Why a Mac? Well, despite the apparent extra cost, the price is actually about the same as a similar spec PC. Of course you can get a PC much cheaper, but not one capable of doing all the work I need to. In addition, I think Macs look nicer, don't crash nearly so often and are quicker to start up and close down. Oh, and because ...
Lib Dem Voice have a post today discussing the likelihood of the coalition nominating 172 peers, 95 of which would likely be Lib Dems. I know there are strong arguments against doing this given our policy on the House of Lords and if it goes ahead as reported I expect it will only be a short term adjustment until the second chamber is elected. A fairly robust debate is ongoing on the post linked to above along these lines so if you want to discuss the merits or otherwise of doing this please go there. However, here I thought we ...
I'm an old softie. I was genuinely thrilled to get this update on the nation's finances from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, today: Dear Paul, My Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne, left me a note saying 'Dear Chief Secretary, There's no money left.' He may claim this is joke, but sadly it is all too true. Labour have left the nation's finances in an utterly ruinous state and we face a colossal task ahead of us. That is why today the Chancellor and I announced the creation of the Office of Budget Responsibility as well as the date ...
All seats we contested on May 6th which we didn't win, ranked by the percentage point difference between our percentage of the vote, and that of the winner. Rank Seat LD % vote Winning % Difference 1 Camborne and Redruth 37.42 37.58 0.16 2 Oldham East and Saddleworth 31.63 31.86 0.23 3 Oxford West and Abingdon 42.01 42.33 0.32 4 Ashfield 33.3 33.69 0.39 5 Sheffield Central 41 41.33 0.4 6 Edinburgh South 34 34.74 0.72 7 Truro and Falmouth 40.83 41.73 0.9 8 Newton Abbot 41.94 43.03 1.09 9 Chesterfield 37.83 39.03 1.2 10 Swansea West 33.24 34.66 1.42 ...
The Guardian ran this piece from me earlier today: Travelling by train to the Liberal Democrat conference yesterday, I did what I usually do on my way to party conferences - read through the agenda and background policy information. Except this time there was one key difference. I wasn't reading a list of worthy exhortations from which, if the Liberal Democrats were really lucky, a couple of policies might be lifted by another party a few years in the future. Instead, I was reading an agreed programme for government which is being put into force. Moreover, despite it being an ...
Mon 17th
16:45
David Laws: "Whilst the decisions ahead will be tough I will always put social justice at their hear...
David Laws, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury, and the guy tasked with finding the public spending cuts in the years ahead, has just emailed Lib Dem supporters to outline his apporach to the task which awaits the new coalition government: Dear Friend, My Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne, left me a note saying 'Dear Chief Secretary, There's no money left.' He may claim this is joke, but sadly it is all too true. Labour have left the nation's finances in an utterly ruinous state and we face a colossal task ahead of us. That is why today the ...
What does Liam Byrne's "joke" say. He left a note saying:"I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left." The point about the money is that without funds the government is limited as to what it can do in assisting the weak in society. Labour Ministers may have had a laugh creating a "scorched earth" environment for the next government.But it is no joke.
Seat Lab->LD, % swing Redcar 21.8 Ashfield 17.2 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 16.9 Barnsley East 14 St Albans 13.9 Bosworth 13.8 Norfolk North West 13.4 Pontypridd 13 Maidstone and The Weald 12.9 Hemel Hempstead 12.5 Selby and Ainsty 12.4 Hull North 12.2 Wycombe 11.9 Canterbury 11.5 Chelmsford 11 Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford 11.2 Brent Central 11 Northampton South 11.00 Sedgefield 11 Leeds North West 10.80 Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough 10.8 Wellingborough 10.8 Salisbury 11 Leeds West 10.4 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 10 Cannock Chase 10 Suffolk West 10 Wimbledon 10.1 Cambridgeshire South East 10 Dartford 10 Ceredigion 9.9 Westmorland and Lonsdale ...
Seat C->LD, % swing Redcar 14.5 Westmorland and Lonsdale 11 Ashfield 10.8 Dunfermline and Fife West 9.2 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 9.2 Maidstone and The Weald 8.5 Brent Central 7.5 Ceredigion 7.2 Sheffield Hallam 7 Orkney and Shetland 6.6 Spelthorne 6.1 Bosworth 5.9 Bromsgrove 5.9 Bath 6 Hull North 5.7 Leeds North West 5.40 Canterbury 5.4 Wycombe 4.8 Newport East 5 Lewisham East 5 Cheltenham 4.3 Carshalton and Wallington 4.3 Sheffield Central 4 Edinburgh North and Leith 4.2 Fylde 4.10 Eastbourne 4 Tewkesbury 4 Bexhill and Battle 4 Wyre and Preston North 4 Herefordshire North 3.8 St Albans 3.7 Rutland ...
Seat Vote Sitting Member Elected Twickenham 32,483 * * Yeovil 31,843 * * Westmorland and Lonsdale 30,896 * * Somerton and Frome 28,793 * * Taunton Deane 28,531 * * Kingston and Surbiton 28,428 * * Norfolk North 27,554 * * Sheffield Hallam 27,324 * * Cheltenham 26,659 * * Bath 26,651 * * Bristol West 26,593 * * Lewes 26,048 * * Hornsey and Wood Green 25,595 * * Richmond Park 25,370 * Thornbury and Yate 25,032 * * Eastleigh 24,966 * * Cheadle 24,717 * * Eastbourne 24,658 * Wells 24,560 * Devon North 24,305 * * Winchester ...
All, I've been up to Stratford a couple of times in the past week to find out what I need to know to be a District Councillor. I also remembered to sign my acceptance forms! You'll be pleased to know that I've turned down the free laptop and the council's broadband (hopefully that's saved a few pounds in council tax money), and I've learned how to access my council email - but it's probably still best to use the one at the top right as I check it more often. My first meeting proper is the Annual Council meeting on ...
Today is 17 May 2010. As a pensions administrator the date of 17 May is engraved on my heart. At work I refer to it several times a day. It is the day connected to the infamous Barber judgement which occurred in 1990 relating to pension scheme equalisation of retirement ages for men and women. For most of the pension schemes I work on, there is an actual date of equalisation which may be months or years after 17/05/1990. This means there is a transition period between 17/05/1990 to actual equalisation date, therefore adding several layers of complexity to a ...
Seat %Vote Sitting Member Elected Orkney and Shetland 61.97 * Westmorland and Lonsdale 60 * * Bath 57 * * Yeovil 55.71 * * Norfolk North 55 * * Twickenham 54.39 * * Sheffield Hallam 53 * * Ross, Skye and Lochaber 53 * * Lewes 52 * * Thornbury and Yate 51.91 * * Cheltenham 50.5 * * Ceredigion 50.03 * * Kingston and Surbiton 49.78 * * Southport 49.61 * * Taunton Deane 49.06 * * Hazel Grove 48.8 * * Bermondsey and Old Southwark 48.35 * * Carshalton and Wallington 48.3 * * Cornwall North 48 * ...
All, I was at a meeting last week at the Primary School - who would like Shipston to be a Fairtrade Town. I think this is a great idea - not only does it get the children involved in the community, but it also promotes an excellent scheme. More information will be coming from the school in the coming weeks - so keep an eye out, and if you'd like to find out more about the Fairtrade Town scheme click here. Regards, Philip
The big headline from Osborne's first days at the Treasury is his setting up the Office for Budget Responsibility. Stephanie Flanders describes the move here (she adds an observation about Osborne asking Mervyn King for permission to start cutting) and argues that this is not as significant as Brown giving away power over interest rates ...
I started this blog with the best of intentions but my time management is obviously rubbish, at that was months ago and I've never been back since. So I'm having another bash now and I'll try to do better. I'm kicking off this time with a fervent vote of thanks to Southport District General Hospital (known locally as the DGH). During the week before the General Election I was out doing my usual election thing, i.e. shoving leaflets through letterboxes, and I took a tumble on the pavement. Fortunately there were people about. and a very nice man came and ...
Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia(IDAHO)* it is the 20th Anniversary of the World Health Organisation de-listing homosexuality as a mental illness. Some people who think there is still a cure should get with the 1990s and realise it isn't a disease. So our Home Secretary and Equality Minister Theresa May issued this statement: "This government is committed to creating a society that is fair for everyone and supports equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. "This means supporting civil partnerships, tackling homophobic bullying wherever it occurs, changing the law regarding historic convictions for consensual gay ...
If there's anything more repugnant than a bunch of people, having lied and connived and cheated us mere mortals into numbering them amongst the 650 people supposed to rule us, it is the thought that one of their first acts would be to create a whole lot more of them who do not face such rudimentary scrutiny by those they are going to pass judgement on. I refer, of course, to the idea that the coalition government may create up to 170 odd new unelected members of parliament, to sit in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my ...
[IMG: Bath Guildhall] The expenses of all councillors are published on the BathNES website. This year's are due out soon and will show that I didn't claim anything this year (except the regular 'allowance' or wage). This is because I am able to walk to nearly all of the meetings and forgot to claim travel money for the occassional trip to Keynsham. The list of meeting attendence shows that I attended all five of the full council meetings and twelve of the monthly planning committee meetings. I also acted as a substitute for three Regulatory & Access meetings and one ...
"Re-Tweet", or whatever the kids are saying these days, from the blog of Tom Palmer: Click here for Tom's explanation of the case. Click here to sign the petition.
Recently, the Electoral Reform Society has released a study claiming to show how the recent election would have gone under the Alternative Vote (and the Single Transferable Vote). This study has been picked up by The Guardian, The Telegraph and the BBC, who all seem to be presenting the results as scientific fact. However, there are massive flaws in this study, which apart from making it plain bad "science", very possibly end up sabotaging the Electoral Reform Society's efforts to campaign for Proportional Representation. The first problem with the study is its assumption that how people voted under First Past ...
[IMG: pound] Last weekend I ambled somewhat indifferently to the Wengerdome to see the Arsenal v Fulham. While the last game of the season is a nice one to attend - one can bid one's side's young players farewell for the summer - on this occasional it was essentially a nothing-game. Arsenal needed only a draw to guarantee a top 3 finish, and Fulham needed nothing. All a bit boring. Not so it seems for Labour MP Stephen Pound who (unlike yours truly, owner of the cheapest variety of season ticket) was located amid the prawn sandwich section in a ...
Seat Lab->LD, % swing Redcar 21.8 Ashfield 17.2 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 16.9 Barnsley East 14 St Albans 13.9 Bosworth 13.8 Norfolk North West 13.4 Pontypridd 13 Maidstone and The Weald 12.9 Hemel Hempstead 12.5 Data from the Guardian here
Seat C->LD, % swing Redcar 14.5 Westmorland and Lonsdale 11 Ashfield 10.8 Dunfermline and Fife West 9.2 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 9.2 Maidstone and The Weald 8.5 Brent Central 7.5 Ceredigion 7.2 Sheffield Hallam 7 Orkney and Shetland 6.6 Data from the Guardian here
At Comment is Free, Mark Pack shares his impressions of the Liberal Democrat Special (not-so-secret) Conference held yesterday in Birmingham. In an atmosphere I described yesterday as "more wedding than wake" more than a thousand party members met to debate the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition agreement. Mark captures the mood of a party who now have their hands on the levers of power: Travelling by train to the Liberal Democrat conference yesterday, I did what I usually do on my way to party conferences - read through the agenda and background policy information. Except this time there was one key difference. ...
Well, it's hardly surprising, is it? The zig-zag story of the Conservatives' attempt to embrace liberalism under Cameron has its images, sayings and catchphrases: the well-hugged hoodie, the huskie, the green tree, We Believe in Society, Cameron's embrace of the NHS, and so on. But the other movement that led to the coalition partners coming ...
There has been a lot of talk in the media about the New Politics in this country. I personally think the new coalition government has the potential to help us get away from the old tribalism and encourage people to think more and condemn less. It, and the country, will only succeed if we listen more and lecture less. That challenge is there for all parties but is of course very relevant to the Liberal Democrats, as a party that has been preaching Pluralistic politics for many years and now has to work out how to practice it. We in ...
At Comment is Free, Mark Pack shares his impressions of the Liberal Democrat Special (not-so-secret) Conference held yesterday in Birmingham. In an atmosphere I described yesterday as "more wedding than wake" more than a thousand party members met to debate the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition agreement. Mark captures the mood of a party who now have their hands on the levers of power: Travelling by train to the Liberal Democrat conference yesterday, I did what I usually do on my way to party conferences - read through the agenda and background policy information. Except this time there was one key difference. ...
These are the total deposits lost by each party in the General Election. Make of it what you will. UKIP £237,000 Green £151,500 BNP £133,000 English Democrats £53,000 Christian People's Alliance £35,000 Labour £2,500 Conservative £1,000 Liberal Democrats £0
Well, the Great Manchester Run has come and gone for another year. I completed it (I won't claim that I ran the whole way), despite being overtaken by a giant caterpillar at the 5K mark. It is always a great day out and almost worth the aches the following day. As previously, I am raising funds for Cancer Research UK, so please do come to my fundraising website here to help.
I am in favour of Lords Reform, but not of an elected upper chamber. This is not because of the nascent campaign to get me enobled, but because of the function I think the upper house should be performing. The upper house should be scrutinising the proposed legislation of the government, weeding out badly drafted and impractical legislation, and amending wording as necessary. Given my background (law degree, bar vocational qualification, five years doing voluntary work at the CAB) I actually reckon I'd be fairly well qualified for that, but I don't think I would get elected to an upper ...
In his first press conference as Chief Secretary to the Treasury today, Liberal Democrat MP, David Laws revealed the advice that had been passed down to him by his predecessor, Liam Byrne: Laws revealed the contents of the letter at a press conference today, telling reporters: "When I arrived at my desk on the very first day as chief secretary, I found a letter from the previous chief secretary to give me some advice, I assumed, on how I conduct myself over the months ahead. "Unfortunately, when I opened it, it was a one-sentence letter which simply said: 'Dear chief ...
This morning's Times has a intriquing piece discussing how the Liberal Democrats are going to campaign in by-elections now they are in government: Over recent decades the party's strategy has been built on offering themselves as the alternative to whichever of the two "old" parties is strongest locally, and encouraging tactical voting accordingly. This has produced some striking successes. Parliamentary by-election gains have not always proved enduring, but the oxygen of publicity has been invaluable. In 1994, the victory over the Tories in Eastleigh — which Chris Huhne retained with an increased majority this month — confirmed that the skids ...
Mon 17th
12:50Labour's Liam Byrne confesses all to David Laws: "I am afraid to tell you there is no money left"
In the first Treasury press conference this morning of the coalition government, Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury David Laws revealed he'd received a letter from his Labour predecessor, Liam Byrne: "When I arrived at my desk on the very first day as Chief Secretary, I found a letter from the previous chief secretary to give me some advice, I assumed, on how I conduct myself over the months ahead. "Unfortunately, when I opened it, it was a one-sentence letter which simply said 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left', which was honest but ...
It is not often that I quote Welsh Ramblings on this blog (and indeed I am going to ignore the less comfortable and inconvenient parts of his post so as to make my point) but he really has hit the nail on the head today over Labour's hypocritical indignation regarding the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Westminster. He says: there is an immediate sense that Labour are getting carried away with their attacks on the new liberal conservative coalition. They have immediately gone to the barricades, cementing their false "anti-cuts" narrative. Whether they're talking about delaying cuts for a while ...
Since the start of the year, The Voice has been tracking how newspapers do at reporting the political opinion polls they commission. Each time a newspaper reports on such an opinion poll, the report gets scored out of 30 against a set of basic criteria. The scoring system has generally worked well, though it doesn't catch the nuance of newspapers commissioning poll questions about political matters and then not reporting certain ones which happen to contradict their editorial line (such as on this, this and this occasion). How then do the different newspapers come out of this all? Here are ...
Just under 25 years ago, when I was in the early stages of full on campaigning (rather than just delivering leaflets), Elizabeth Shields won the the Ryedale by-election for the Liberal-SDP Alliance in a beautiful part of Yorkshire. Now, there as delayed election for the new seat under some boundary changes of Thirsk and Malton. With the new coalition agreement we must do all we can to remind
Having travelled exensively around the globe, I have never found anywhere where hotels offer such poor value for money as the UK. One thing that particularly annoys me is a charge for guests to access the internet. I was annoyed enough when I was staying in the Dundee Hilton at £110 a night, and being charged another £10 for internet access. But here in the Coorwne Plaza in Birmingham I am paying £130 a night, yet being chraged another £15,99 for internet access. Complete rip-off. I would certainly never advise anybody to visit the UK on holiday.
Ronnie James Dio July 10, 1942 - May 16, 2010 I can't think of what to really say, except I am choking up. As you get older you find all your childhood rock n roll heroes passing away one by one. When Ronnie was diagnosed with Stomach Cancer last year he vowed to Kill this dragon, maybe it was one too many dragons to kill. His list of epic songs will continue to be enjoyed and inspire many; he will be deeply missed. Tony Iommi sums it up best via his website http://www.iommi.com/index.php?story=69 Yesterday 16th May my dear, dear friend ...
Jenny Randerson has just announced that she will not be standing again as the Assembly Member for Cardiff Central in May 2011. This is her statement in full: I have this weekend informed my local party executive that I do not intend to seek re-election in the Assembly Elections next May. This has not been an easy decision to make but after 12 years as AM for Cardiff Central, I believe it will be time to move on and find new challenges. While I made this decision some months ago, I felt it was important to get the General election ...
I love Stephen Fry and I have so missed his tweets when he's been away writing his books. This morning he tweeted about elephants being all over London. This is going to mean that a trip to London for us this Summer, before July 4th is going to be essential. We'll probably have to spend most of the time between now and then down there too, given that my energy reserves aren't going to permit tracking too many of them down at a time. In 2006, we were completely enraptured by the Edinburgh Cow Parade. If you are my friend ...
It is an exciting time in politics at the moment with the coalition and Lib Dems in government positions for the first time in decades. There are lots of Lib Dem MPs pleased to have been made ministers. Indeed I saw some of them at the special conference yesterday. Amidst all the excitement though it is worth considering how the cabinet and ministerial situation for the Lib Dems is likely to work during the course of the parliament. I am particularly thinking of how reshuffles will work. Let's start with the cabinet because I think that is where Clegg will ...
Mon 17th
11:24
It's funny that getting 846,064 more people to vote for you is painted as a disappointment
It's funny that in the fug of numbers from the General Election, these two figures often get obscured and ignored: 2010 general election votes cast for Liberal Democrats: 6,827,938 2005 general election votes cast for Liberal Democrats: 5,981,874 That's a 846,064 or 14% increase.
The Mayor of London today unveiled the design for the new "Bus for London." (Doesn't quite have the same ring as "Routemaster" but no doubt Londoners will come up with their own nickname.) Curvy, glassy and airy, this shiny bauble of a bus has echoes of other modern London icons: City Hall, the Gherkin, the pods on the London Eye. The buses are expected to enter service from early 2012. Passenger capacity will be comparable to double decker buses currently in service: Total: 87 (22 seats on the lower deck and 40 on the upper deck. There will also be ...
Following complaints from residents about the overgrown state of the site on Perth Road, I contacted the City Council's Planning Enforcement Officer, who now updates me as follows : "I've visited the site and have drafted a letter to the last known owners of the site requiring them to do the following : * remove the vandalised 'For Sale' signs and their frames * cut back the weeds and ivy at the entrance to the site and * remove all cuttings from said site" A couple of photographs from the site :
The Times reports today that one of the first moves of the new Lib Dem / Conservative coalition government will be to create up to 172 new peers in the House of Lords to create political balance and "ensure that controversial legislation gets through Parliament". The current composition of the Lords is as follows: Labour 211 (30%) Conservative 188 (27%) Lib Dem 72 (10%) Ukip 2 (0%) Crossbenchers 182 (26%) Lords Spiritual 25 (4%) Other 24 (3%) Total 704 In total, then, the coalition government comprises just over one-third of peers, and could be blocked on its legislative agenda – ...
What is so fascinating about the current "new politics" of coalition government is the fact that, for the first time in decades, there is truly only one opposition party. For the next five years – if that is to be the way things proceed – the Lib/Con coalition will be tarred with the same brush. ...
I'm going to be honest: in the last few years I've been a member of more political parties than most people would in their entire lives. My still hopeful ideals have always been based on my moral compass; and I thought it'd be wise to explain where I'm coming from, and most definitely why I ...
Still backlogged, still unlikely to catch up. Let me know if there's anything I should be replying to or otherwise dealing with. Thanks. This entry was cross-posted from Dreamwidth, where there are currently [IMG: comment count unavailable] comment(s). View DW comment(s).
Liberal Democrat Special Conference in Birmingham today overwhelmingly approved the party's Coalition Agreement with the Conservative Party. Speaking after the vote, Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said: "It is five days since I accepted the position of Deputy Prime Minister. "Just five days, and we now know there will be no ID cards, no third runway at Heathrow, no more fingerprinting in schools without parents' consent, no more child detention. "Changes Liberal Democrats have spent months, years, campaigning for, are happening. "Promises we were making to people on their doorsteps just a few weeks ago are ...
This graph shows the UK-wide vote shares for each of the three main parties, along with the total Conservative plus Labour share. As you can see, the proportion of people voting for one of the two largest parties dropped again this time, hitting another record post-war low. The combination of this and our voting system means that the Conservative Party's share of the vote was sufficient to make the party the largest, but at any previous election it would have been a vote share that would have sent the party to defeat rather than 10 Downing Street. The Liberal Democrat ...
I've had a major piece of coursework to complete for my course (deadline tomorrow night), I've not slept properly in several days thanks to toothache, and my wife is flying to the US in half an hour, which has been a more stressful proposition than usual thanks to the volcano. This has meant I've not ...
Harry Hayfield seems to be running a web log which reports election results. I will, therefore, cease posting election results on this weblog.His weblog is http://postgeneral2010.blogspot.com/
Fascinating to hear an interview with Tory Cabinet Minister Philip Hammond this morning on the Today programme. He spoke cautiously as you would expect a newly installed government to do but one comment made me stop and think. When asked about the spending review and the cuts to come across government Hammond replied that he didn't know what David Laws had in mind. Not George Osborne, you understand, but Lib Dem David Laws. Now this either means that David Laws has been given unimagined powers to control public finances to relieve Osborne of tasks which might be too much for ...
An economically liberal friend of mine whose politics nevertheless tend to haver between the Conservatives and the SNP contacts me from an overseas trip. He says that he fears that the coalition will simply continue the economic policies of Gordon Brown. Although I point out that those policies can not be sustained anyway, he remains nervous. In fact I have little doubt that the budget now announced for June 22 will show some very nasty red ink indeed. The question will be how to create a policy response that walks the line between fiscal responsibility and economic recovery. Most importantly ...
The Birmingham special LibDem conference was pretty special. In a party that has always been (for lack of better terminology) left of centre - it was very life affirming to see that Liberal Democrats en mass got it. We all understood - not only that coalition with the Conservatives was the best and only game in town - but that you cannot believe in Proportional Representation which always results in balanced parliaments - and then say - don't like them - not doing it. Watching and listening to my colleagues, one by one, give heartfelt voice to their thoughts, their ...
Over at The Independent yesterday, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, Chris Huhne, argued that a half-hearted deal between the Lib Dems and Tories would have appeared fragile and short-term. Our economic problems, he argues, call for tough decisions and certainty. And the constituional changes the Lib Dems have negotiated will endure: ... we face a prolonged period when we will be relying on the financial markets to lend the Government the money to bridge the largest peacetime gap between taxes and spending in our history. A fiscal problem of this scale is not resolved overnight. Indeed, ...
And so, the deal is done, and a bunch of people that I know are running the country. It has been a very unsettling week or so, with all of my political assumptions having been challenged as talk swung between coalition with the Conservatives and coalition with Labour. It turns out that talking about collaborative government means, at some point, you actually have to decide who to collaborate with, and on what terms. From my unusual vantage point, I can testify to the stresses and strains that those negotiations generated, and am astounded by the steadfastness demonstrated by the negotiators, ...
Probably my last ever Party Conference, so a quick 50 minutes trip on the train from MK to the NEC on Sunday. Not a voting delegate, but it did give me an experience to add to some historic memories. How many others attending were also at the Liberal assemblies where David Steel moved the old Liberal Party towards wider co-operation? The first (was it at Llandudno -cant remember) was the late 1970's Assembly where his proposals triggered a noisy placard-waving conference floor protest demonstration by the Young Liberals. I remember his recently defeated leadership rival John Pardoe sitting beside him ...
Anyone interested in maths? How well can you approximate pi using the numbers 1-9 only?
David Cameron has appointed Frank Field as his 'poverty tsar' and Will Hutton as the head of a review into public sector pay. Field is a well-known 'maverick' who was appointed by Tony Blair in his first Labour government to 'think the unthinkable'. He is actually pretty right-wing on a lot of issues (particularly immigration) but he is very highly regarded across all parties for his expertise on welfare reform and I am encouraged by his appointment. Nonetheless it is no real surprise to see him working alongside a Tory government. It is, however, a surprise to hear that Will ...
Well, it's been an extraordinary month, particularly the last twelve days. I don't think I've slept so little since the children were babies - at least not from choice and/or the need to function, as opposed to insomnia, which feels different Before the election, I thought the most likely outcome was a hung parliament leading to a Tory minority government. I didn't think there would be a coalition with either of the larger parties. There is quite a lot of animosity towards both of them in the Lib Dem membership, so any deal was going to have to be good ...
When I first really started to become properly aware of equalities issues as a student in the mid 80s, it never really occurred to me that the same themes, of the lack of women in public life, would be an issue a quarter of a century on. Sure, things have changed a bit since then, but this election campaign was just one example of how blokey things seem to have become again. It seems like we've gone backwards. The only difference is that when I was growing up the politicians I was used to seeing on TV were old men ...
Happy Monday morning, everyone, and welcome to the first full week of Lib Dem / Conservative coalition government. Let's get down to the news ... One Big Story Lib Dem members give overwhelming thumbs-up to coalition government agreement The Daily Telegraph has a fair-minded report proving that extraordinary things really can happen in the new politics (and in stark contrast to the snarkiness of the Grauniad): ... members voted "over-whelmingly" in support of the deal with no more than a dozen of the 2,000 delegates opposing the deal in a show of hands at the gathering in Birmingham. Speaking after ...
Chris Addison hit it on the head on Have I Got News for You, the media doesn't have a clue as to how to report the coalition deal with the Tories as they continue trying to shove it into their adversarial mode of reporting. You could see their problem show in their reporting of our Special Conference this weekend. Excitable interviews with a Labour MP outside the venue and with the revelation that former leader Charles Kennedy abstained in the MPs' vote, the press were gearing up for a scrap between the party and the leadership. How little they know ...
Having spent last week on a walking holiday with French friends in the Isle of Wight I have missed the blow by blow accounts of political developments in what has probably been the most exciting political week of my adult life. " La loi de l'emmerdement maximum," as the French would so graphically put it. On one thing I should like further and better particulars: who scuppered the possibility of a "progressive alliance" between Liberal Democrats, Labour and other moderately left-wing parties? Was it the Liberal Democrats, who, Labour claim, were really only interested in a deal with the Tories, ...
Lots of people have already written about special conference, so I'm not going to rehash everything that's already been said. I do want to thank [IMG: [personal profile] ] po8crg for being such a lovely chauffeur, and buying me breakfast. It was lovely to see so many of the Lib Dem Massive, even if there were a lot of white heterosexual blokes in suits called David (some of them far sexier than others - my my, doesn't [IMG: [personal profile] ] djm4 scrub up well?). There were loads of people not called David* too, and I lost count of all ...
On this day 200 years ago the body of Robert Tannahill was found in a culvert in Paisley, he had taken his own life. Like another famous Robert he was a poet and indeed was in the eyes of some comparable to Scotland's bard.Here is one of his poems. Eild The rough hail rattles thro' the trees. The sullen lift low'rs gloomy gray, The trav'ller sees the swelling storm, And seeks the alehouse by the way. But, waes me! for yon widowed wretch, Borne doun wi years an heavy care; Her sapless fingers scarce can nip The wither'd twigs tae ...
Liberal Democrats have "overwhelmingly" backed the coalition with the Conservatives at the special conference in Birmingham. I am pleased at that because if I had been there I would have voted with the majority. I was invited and I have been to conferences in the past but I am not telling you about my invitation because I want to feel important but to let you know about the level of democracy within the party. While Liberal Democrat MPs were meeting last week to decide on whether to form a deal with the Conservatives, their MPs were wondering what was happening. ...
