I regularly find my twitter feed covered with comments regarding the infamous MP Nadine Dorries. Now as a Christian myself I don't feel that Nadine really does a good job of giving of a good impression about Christians in politics, and some of her views I completely disagree with. Having said this to regularly see ... Read more
Tomorrow's issue of the The Times has an interview with Nick Clegg: Today he will set out how the State will shrink from people's lives (no ID cards, curbs on personal details stored on government databases); how people will gain a more direct say in government (elected peers, voting reform, recalling misbehaving MPs); and "radical devolution" of power to voluntary groups and those other than the State to provide services.The report goes on to say that much of Nick's agenda sounds like David Cameron's "Big Society" - the idea that never took off during the general election campaign. And it ...
Tue 18th
22:55
OMG, another numpty who doesn't understand the difference between dismissing a government and dissol...
Oh good grief. This time it is David Davis. How many times does this have to be explained? The requirement for a 55 per cent majority to dissolve parliament, and thereby dismiss a government, No! No! No! No! 50 per cent + 1 to dismiss the government. 55 per cent to dissolve the parliament. ...dramatically reduces the ability of Parliament to hold the executive to account. Unmitigated bolderdash. It is quite the opposite. It increases the power of parliament over the Prime Minister, preventing the PM from calling an election when it suits him and enabling the formation of an ...
A friend on Facebook (who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are) posted the following article from the Mirror on her Facebook wall: I don't often read the Mirror, or any of the papers along a similar ... Continue reading →
Today, Liberal Democrats sat in the House of Commons but instead of the Oppositions benches as before this time it was on the Government benches as the picture below shows. I will be honest, upto a few months ago this is a scene I never thought I would ever see in my lifetime, however since Chris Fox's arrival as the new Chief Executive the Party has started to believe a lot more and challenge others views. We are no longer the third party, we are the Liberal Democrats and we are in Government, although it is a coalition, we are ...
Help reverse the cuts to Nos 6/7 Bus Services **************************************************** From 23rd May No. 6 will only serve FAIRFIELD PARK & No. 7 will only serve LARKHALL **************************************************** There will be NO DIRECT LINK between LARKHALL & LONDON RD and CLAREMONT, FAIRFIELD PARK, CAMDEN & LANSDOWN **************************************************** It will also be CUT from every 20mins to every 30mins. **************************************************** Sign the petition! Write to Sarah Bell, Western Traffic Commissioner, 2 Rivergate, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6EH Write to First Group First, Freepost 3782, BATH BA1 1SS Email - bath.csc@firstgroup.com Contact us the campaign organisersEmail - saveour6.7buses@gmail.com Tel - 01225 ...
Today's Herald newspaper has uncovered a story that key Holyrood civil servants are driving the policing agenda rather than letting the Police do their job. Scotland's chief constables have revealed they were urged by senior Holyrood civil servants not to reduce police numbers until this autumn, when a decrease could be blamed on Westminster spending cuts.This is completely disgraceful and the senior civil servants concerned - Christie Smith, of the policing directorate within the Scottish Government, and Kenneth Hogg, another civil servant should be ashamed of themselves. If they have acted under orders from SNP Ministers then this story will ...
Spotted this image on the way home tonight, well actually I have seen it quite a few times, thought I'd share it. The wonders of picture phones.
An excellent article on Stockton Soapbox in the Evening Gazette tonight. have a look at I am sorry that I cannot find the link to the U Tube recording, hopefully I will have it tomorrow
Back in June 2005 I mentioned a famous photograph of a ghost taken at Wem town hall in Shropshire. Sadly, a report in today's Daily Telegraph shows pretty conclusively that the photo was a fake.
There has been much talk today over the case of two terrorist suspects being allowed to remain in the UK. I do not wish to discuss the case itself, but it is here. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8690572.stm It does however re-raise the Conservative proposals to ditch the human rights act in favour of a 'British bill of rights'. It is very simple - this should not happen. The HRA must remain as the bedrock of the modern legal system. We have Liberal Democrats at the heart of government - they must stand up for the HRA, and oppose any motion which seeks to ...
Today, along with other city councillors, I attended a briefing and discussion with Audit Scotland on the City Council's Best Value 2 audit report, a report that has many positives but equally highlights many areas for improvement. I raised questions about councils learning from good practice elsewhere and also on asset and workforce planning. On Friday, along with other council group leaders, I will attend a meeting with the Accounts Commission about the BV2 report.
From the Wanstead and Woodford Guardian: "A by-election is due to be called in Chadwell ward after it emerged that Labour councillor Mark Gittens - who took the seat from the Lib Dems on May 7 with 1,949 votes - is a teacher at Wanstead High School, a council employee, and therefore not allowed to stand for office in Redbridge. Mr Gittens, a science teacher at the school in Redbridge Lane West, said: "I was completely transparent about myself during the campaign which can be seen from the leaflets that were handed out. "No-one would dispute that I fought the ...
I've found this guide for new MPs on the UK Parliament website. Given that almost a third of MPs are taking their seats for the first time, then it's quite helpful that the House authorities have produced a 13 page guide to advise them on everything from stationery to where to grab a cup of tea to how to get their computers sorted out to how to conduct themselves in the Chamber. Funnily enough, it doesn't tell them to cat call, insult and behave like 2 year olds. I wonder where they learn that from? One bit which took my ...
We have the first fake terror scare since the election - and Theresa May has jumped in on the authoritarian side. The BBC states that: The alleged leader of an al-Qaeda plot to bomb targets in north-west England has won his appeal against deportation. A special immigration court said Abid Naseer was an al-Qaeda operative - but could not be deported because he faced torture or death back home in Pakistan http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8688501.stm Note the alleged. The truth is that there is no evidence to convict Abid Nasser of anything. What they have is intelligence reports from Pakistan, certainly obtained under ...
As mentioned before, we have not had a multi-party coalition for many years. It may seem strange that two parties that have always been very different are able to work together. It is not actually that strange. Apart from the fact that in nearly every country coalitions run countries, there are always overlaps on policy. If those overlaps happen to be on the areas that will be priorities for a government then working together makes sense. In any argument you either agree or disagree. Under the Blair/Brown era we saw Tories and Labour agree to the war with Iraq, Lib ...
I've scheduled this for quite late at night, when I will probably be fast asleep, because most of my most lovely and geeky Liberal Democrat friends will still be up. In case you haven't noticed, the awesome Jennie has created a group for Lib Dem Doctor Who geeks over on Lib Dem Act. I have started a discussion called "Doctor Who is a Liberal Democrat. Discuss." This is mainly because I am a bit fed up of turning on Labour broadcasts to find Doctor Who actors appearing in them. Did they learn nothing from the Doctor, as I wrote earlier ...
Seasonally adjusted unemployment fell in April. The Birmingham figure came down from 12.5% in March to 12.3%, while the national figures fell from 5.6% to 5.5% in the month. In Acocks Green the unadjusted unemployment figure fell 44 to 1,280 , which is a claimant rate of 11.6%. Unadjusted unemployment is up 997 in Birmingham over the past year but down in Acocks Green by 16; it has also fallen, year on year, in the other three wards in the Yardley Constituency, indicating an encouraging relative improvement in the economy of the south east of the City.
We have started streaming the recording of the House of Comments podcast in the last few weeks. We will be doing so with the latest one from just after 8pm tonight. You can listen to it via the embedded player below:
I have to write my first post-election for Liberal Democrat News tonight. While I do, here are some links for you to enjoy. Nick Clegg and took his place on the government front bench today for the first time. The Financial Times' Westminster Blog suggests he is already proving a handful for his Civil Service minders: "Just imagine the scene when José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain called on Monday to congratulate Vicepresidente Nick Clegg. There was the eager private secretary, listening in on the conversation, poised with pen and paper to note down important matters of state. But there ...
According to Janet Street Porter, my illness is a product of me not having anything better to do. She thinks that if I just get up off my arse and do something about it, it will all magically disappear, and that I ought to just get a grip. She thinks that it's a trendy middle-class malaise, and I'm only diagnosed with it so that I can keep up with the Joneses. Like the people who think that Tourette's is just an excuse for swearing in public, and that dyslexia is just a posh word for stupid, Janet Street Porter thinks ...
This quote from Jon Cruddas beautifully sums up much of what went wrong with the Labour government – and the dilemma Labour faces working out what to do next: I've known for David Miliband for twenty years, I've known Ed Balls for twenty years, but I don't know what they stand for.
Helping the cubs paint the posts around the village pond
On the day we discover how empty the public purse really is, Boris Johnson — somehow elected as Mayor of London — unveils his new shiny. A "Routemaster" in name only it will move fewer people than the buses it will replace; has no rear window to check what the bus following is for when you need to change routes; has no front seats upstairs — thus missing the whole point of a double decker — and is longer and wider than the original so won't deal with City streets and junctions so well (which was, indeed, the whole reason ...
Here is a selection of issues making headlines during the past week: Quiz the mayor about council services tonight 'David Cameron was not an obvious politician' School teacher Rhidian Llewellyn remembered Mr Cameron Thousands object to housing plans SATs tests taken despite wider boycott If you know of any other local political stories then please add them in the comments below. Todays bonus is Reading List April Top 10 blogs
Sometimes I wonder if I'm still in a dream, that I had a nap when the polls closed on election day and I haven't woken up yet. There was a feeling of unreality which I switched on the tv to see the Liberal Democrats, for the first time in my lifetime, sitting on the Government benches, on the left as you watch on tv. It is kind of fitting that we have appropriated the banches previously occupied by Labour's Awkward Squad. It was faintly depressing to see such an overwhelming sea of grey suits on the green benches. You do ...
Christ, just heard that awful faux cockney voice of Rachel Reeves MP, representing Leeds West, on the BBC PM Programme. This tied to the dreary vapid Keynesian claptrap about billions of cuts just makes me want to hold my head in my hands as in that Munch painting. It was like hearing the scream on ...
I've scribbled a bit more over at First Drafts, Prospect Magazine's blog. Mostly to do with Disraeli's failed ambition to form a government with Gladstone and his angry clique of free-trading "Peelites" in 1852: has David Cameron simply succeeded where Disraeli failed? Take a look here. Here's a wee excerpt: He [Disraeli] seemed to see ...
No prizes I guess for suggesting that it's going to be a really wierd few years. The sight of Nick Clegg sittting on the Government benches ain't ever getting old! What we can't tell yet is whether the 223 new MPs and a spirit of Glasnost will fundamentally change the nature of the Commons. Maybe when we look back the real casualty will be an end to the sixth form debating society nature of British politics that has characterised Parliamentary business for decades. The idea that the nation voted for a hung Parliament is patently asbsurd. However, it may have ...
The latest squeal at the sheer unfairness of 'of the absolute power that the markets have over government decisions' can be found at LibCon. To be honest, I can't make much of it: some of it literally makes no sense to me on the third reading. For example, what does this mean: Furthermore, this missed ...
Last week David Miliband announced his intention to stand for the Labour leadership, and there are already websites promoting and discussing potential contenders. However, one of them is not what it seems: [click on image to enlarge it] [IMG: David Miliband fake website screenshot] It looks exactly like David Miliband's personal website, http://www.davidmiliband.info, right down to the photo slideshow, and work has clearly gone into making it come out well in Google search results (known as Search Engine Optimisation). If you Google "Miliband for Leader" the seventh result on the first page is http://www.milibandforleader.co.uk. The giveaways are the typo in ...
What kind of a prat calls his own brother "a huge talent"? Probably the same kind of guy whose every single social grace is undermined by that most poisonous of things: ambition. David Miliband and his brother Edward are now apparently locked in a struggle for the soul of the "Labour movement". Identikit blandness that bares a strange likeness to those other Labour political siblings: Douglas and Wendy Alexander. It is not a struggle based on vision, or principles, or ideology: it is simple, naked political ambition. Yet onto this tabula rasa we are invited to project our deepest wishes ...
Every vote, member, volunteer and supporter that the Lib Dems have lost as a result of entering into a coalition with the Conservatives will be missed. For most, I assume that this will not be a decision that they take lightly. Instead, it will arise as a conviction, from a small seed of doubt. Doubt about whether or not they believe they can be complicit in a Tory Government. I wish them well, and hope that they will be as open to returning as they have been to leaving. However, to those still wavering on the brink, perhaps you might ...
At tomorrow's Cabinet meeting, the council will be making a decision about the draft Affordable Housing Development Plan. It sounds very dry, but it is the crucial amalgamation of the old district policies which dictate how much affordable housing needs to be provided when new homes are built in order to meet the estimated demand for 1700 affordable homes in Cornwall each year. The national guidelines state that when there is a development of more than 15 houses, at least 35% of them must be affordable - either to rent or to buy at low cost. In Cornwall, none of ...
I always enjoy the uncompromising leftist views of John Harris (though he seems most uncompromising with the facts of fiscal arithmetic. He's not bad doing telly either. Here in this video he follows a disappointed Labour voter, and a pre-election David Miliband, round South Shields. The DLV followed this up with a Cif Piece explaining ...
Well here's something I've always dreamed off. Seeing a Liberal Democrat sitting on the Government front bench. Well as Parliament reconvened earlier and got on with the job of re-elected John Bercow as speaker there was the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats sitting behind the dispatch box not over the aisle on the opposition side of the House. We are truly in a period of new politics. Unfortunately that message doesn't seem to have stretched north of the border. The SNP are using the news that the promise to get children out of the detention centre ...
So Nadine Dorries' attempt to unseat Speaker Bercow was not so much a damp squib as a waterlogged firing cap. Hurrah! Bercow is a miles better speaker than Martin was (although he's no Betty, obvs) and I'm glad to see him returned. The sooner we get a recall law, the sooner the evil harpy who sullies our bright new coalition can be removed.
Last week David Miliband announced his intention to stand for the Labour leadership, and there are already websites promoting and discussing potential contenders. However, one of them is not what it seems: [click on image to enlarge it] [IMG: David Miliband fake website screenshot] It looks exactly like David Miliband's personal website, http://www.davidmiliband.info, right down to the photo slideshow, and work has clearly gone into making it come out well in Google search results (known as Search Engine Optimisation). If you Google "Miliband for Leader" the seventh result on the first page is http://www.milibandforleader.co.uk. The giveaways are the typo in ...
About a year ago, following the expenses scandal, I politely told the blogosphere to get lost, in that I gave up commenting on internal party affairs. Well, now I've changed my mind. Given that there will doubtless be keen interest in the affairs of the coalition, it is perhaps more important than ever that someone gives some thought as to how the Party is redesigned to face the challenges ahead. And there are many challenges ahead. How do we make policy in government, especially when that government is a coalition? Do fixed term Parliaments allow us to rethink how (and ...
I would like to thank everyone who voted for me in the election, and for increasing the Lib Dem majority in Manchester Withington to 1894. Nationally the election results were disappointing in so far as having increased our vote, and securing 1 million more votes, the unfair electoral system conspired to reduce our number of ...
Kirsty Williams has called on the Welsh Labour-Plaid government to review its spending following the publication of figures that show that over the last three years, £2,321,560 was spent on bonuses for Senior Civil Servants. She said that in the light of the significant pressures on public finances and with the economy still in the early days of recovery, the Welsh government must look at every aspect of its spending. In 2009, the Northern Ireland Assembly announced that Senior Civil Servants would not receive a bonus. Kirsty said: "We are facing difficult financial times ahead. As the former Chief Secretary ...
Well, the dust has finally settled after some of the most momentous days UK politics has seen for decades. I attended the special one-day Lib Dem Conference in Birmingham on Sunday which overwhelmingly voted to accept the coalition agreement in full. I voted for it too, as I see it is our best hope for sorting out our economy and providing stability. The fact that we will be there in government to provide challenge and an alternative point of view brings me hope that the next few years will see a more moderate government. This should be a government less ...
David Laws MP, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury has written outlining the state of the nation's finances, his letter is below:
[IMG: raycharles] Ray Charles, one of several blind musicians who has attained huge popularity. Others include Stevie Wonder and Andrea Bocelli. There's a fascinating article on the Guardian website today, reporting on new research into the apparent link between blindness and extraordinary musical talent. The study 'shows that blind children are 4,000 times more likely to have perfect pitch than their fully sighted peers'. It is unsurprising, in a sense, that blind children should pay more attention to sounds than those with full sight, as the article goes on to explain. What is more surprising is the way in which ...
It seems coalitions are in the air. The Lib Dem and Conservative groups on Oldham Council in Greater Manchester yesterday announced a framework agreement which will see current Lib Dem Council leader Howard Sykes retain the top job, the Conservatives support the Lib Dem budget for this coming year and a Conservative councillor coming onto the executive. The local elections saw the Lib Dems lose overall control in Oldham, with the new numbers being Labour 27, Liberal Democrat 27, Conservatives 5, Independent 1. The Oldham Council press release reads: The Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups on Oldham Council are pleased ...
There's a room. ( Cut, because I suspect it's triggering for depression and the like. ) [Note: this is distilled, concentrated, and almost certainly sounds worse than it it. And I feel a lot better for writing it. I really just wanted to share, because I'm interested if it rings any bells for anyone else.]
Our special conference in Birmingham was a really amazing event, not least because it demonstrated the capacity of the party to summon nearly 2,000 Liberal Democrats to Birmingham on a Sunday at four days' notice and administer an event of that scale without a (visible) hitch. All credit to Lucy Billingsley and the Liberal Democrat conference team for that. There are plenty of reports of the debate - including by Mark Pack here, by Mark Thompson here, and of course the collected thoughts of participants via Twitter. (In which I briefly participated until the battery in my new BlackBerry gave ...
Via Simon Goldie, I read Dave Chiverton highlighting John Demetriou's piece about how the "libertarian blogosphere" is all falling apart or something because we're all so deeply in love with the Morecambe and Wise show of a coalition we now have. Well of course, some people are selective about what they term the "libertarian blogosphere" and perhaps don't stop round here as often as I would think they ought to, but looking at my output over the past couple of weeks, just before the election and since, personally I don't think there has been much of a let up in ...
I see (courtesy of Lib Dem Councillors blogging from the town)we will be playing Bath City again as they too have gained promotion to the Conference League. I see Eastbourne clung on to survive the drop and Cambridge were comfortably in the middle of the table.Sadly Lib Dems in York, Oxford and Newport didn't make it back to Westminster so I suspect that is one of the lowest representation in the Conferenceof teams who play in places held by Lib Dem MP's
This year's sun roll down the side of Silbury, courtesy Pete Glastonbury
So. Farewell Then Labservative.com Spoof Lib Dem website Which introduced the World to Gorvid Camerown. Yes. You are The first victim of The coalition cuts. 65 years of Two-party rule Was your catchphrase. You just Never said Which two parties. Now gone from the web Twitter and YouTube. But we shall Always have The memories. Rest in Taking the piss. EJ Thribb (17½)
Congratulations to Volunteer Centre Fenland, who have just emailed me a copy of the feature about them in the latest Volunteering England magazine. The whole article is only accessible online to members of Volunteering England, but I'm happy to forward what Volunteer Centre Fenland have sent me to anyone who would like a copy.
I mentioned earlier that I had written a motion about Home Educated children and the Schools Parliament. The agenda has just been published. I've pasted the text below. Whether the motion gets debated depends on the party whips. Only five get picked for actual debate and there are more than five. It's possible though that instead of being debated it'll be agreed across parties in advance. And even if this doesn't happen the Executive Member for the subject, which I understand will be Councillor Jane Corbett, will need to report back on it. So hopefully something will happen whichever route ...
I keep hearing all these concerns about having voted for one thing (e.g. LibDems) getting another (e.g. Tory). It seems to be the only thing disaffected party members can think of saying (at least those the media has been lining up for us, tearing up membership cards in front of the NEC). I wish the people spouting all of this would take a step back and realise just how silly they sound. I've voted LibDem since I could vote; three different governments, one Conservative, two Labour were the result. I voted LibDem and I got Tory, then I got Labour, ...
What a great game when City beat Woking for promotion. Even if it wasn't the best game of the season it was great to be part of such a large crowd chearing on the victory. Well done to everyone involved and looking forward to next season and the challenge. Bath City are holding a celebration party on the evening of the 23rd. Click BathCity link for more detail.
A number of things have caught my eye today. We already appear to have lost a recently elected Labour councillor in Chadwell as he was ineligible to stand, being a Teacher employed by the council. So a by election is on the way. Also we appear to have a Labour councillor in the Ilford Recorder insinuating that there were dirty tricks used by the Lib Dems in the election, however he hasn't made it clear whether he is referring to the General Election or the Local Council Elections, nor has he provided any evidence ( to be expected). This comes ...
As painted by Monet in 1904. Pippa Norris has a great analysis of the parlous state of female representation in Westminster. This election has clearly demonstrated that more needs to be done to encourage women to run for high office. This can't be achieved just by instituting all-women shortlists; not only are they controversial and prone to generating ill will, they also don't address the problem of a lack of women engaged in politics at the lower levels – councillors, party activists and political pundits. America has a generally more robust mechanism for this; the Democrat party and the leftwing ...
So, the Labour leadership contest. What on earth has happened to Labour? They've become a party of the spineless. The slimeball Milliband looks like being coroneted all but unopposed, the worst possible outcome in the circumstances. What's worse is that the main candidates – the two Millibands and Ed Balls – are politically indistinguishable, belonging to the liberal, interventionist, statist school established by Blair, promulgated by Brown and rejected by the electorate two weeks ago. The differences between them are being talked up in the media – David the Ditherer, Ed the Equivocator, Balls the Bully – but their plausible ...
I took a bit of a break from blogging after the excitment of last week. But for now let it be said that I am broadly happy with the outcome of the election, that the coalition document is mostly a delight to read (the civil liberties section gives me a special kind of glee, although the education and environment sections don't go far enough), and that it's a genuine thrill to see Lib Dem ministers in government at last. Theresa May grates, but she made the right noises for yesterday's International Day Against Homophobia And Transphobia, and the awe-inspiring Lynne ...
For the rest of the summer the Bath Area Play Project will be sending a team of playrangers to the newly refurbished play area in Hillcrest Field every Monday afternoon from 3.30 to 5.30 It is hoped that this support will help establish good play opportunities for young people and also install a sense of fun with responsibility. At the first session apart from the rangers and the...
This morning we met with the Highway's engineer and Councillors from Twerton and Westmoreland to discuss our ideas for an access solution to enable Lidl the opportunity to build their new store on the Lower Bristol road. The engineer liked our ideas and had actually come ready prepared with some drawings as to how it would work. Next step - Cllrs Sharon Ball and Lyna Hedges will be...
Conservative Assembly Member, David Melding has an interesting and thoughtful contribution to the debate around the new Coalition Government over on the Institute of Welsh Affairs blog that is well worth reading. In his usual erudite way David argues that the coalition is 'a consequence of Britain's steady shift to multi-party politics not the eccentric or treacherous choice of the Lib Dems after the fluke of a hung parliament.' He says that Labour's criticism of the Lib Dems that we have yielded the 'progressive ground' to them is remarkably complacent: 'Instead of reflecting on their low vote (the lowest since ...
When I left Cowley St last year, one of my aims was to take up a role on the Lib Dems' front bench on Gateshead Council. We held our group meeting last night and the result is that I have been chosen as one of the party's five vice-chairs of scrutiny committees. Assuming the Labour group at full council on Friday does not block this appointment, and I can't imagine they would, then I shall be in
Ian Swales MP will be holding surgeries on Saturday 22nd May. Redcar constituents are invited to speak with Ian regarding issues or concerns by joining him at Redcar Library, Coatham Road, 9.30am-10.30am or at the newly-opened South Bank Library, Low Grange Health Village, Normanby Road, 11am-12pm. Anyone wishing to speak to Ian who cannot attend either surgery on Saturday can arrange a meeting by calling his office on 01642 292847.
Here is the BBC story; here is where you can get the data. The BBC mentions volcanic ash driving up Food prices. But as far as I can see, the things that rose hardest from March to April were not particularly vulnerable to delayed flights: (correct me if I am wrong: I did that graph ...
I think Unite are wrong. Their strike is self-indulgent, self-fulfilling and lacking wider public support. More importantly, the longer the dispute goes on for the less able Unite officials will be able to deliver for their members. Finally, it is not as if BA staff would have a bad deal in relation to the rest of the ...
[IMG: ASA advert] I've recently added a couple of new blogs to my blog list. If you're wondering where that is, look to the right of this page and scroll down, and you'll find it. At the moment it shows the five most recent entries, but if you want to see the rest, just click 'Show All'. Anyway, on with the show! First up is Chris Wilson's blog. Chris first came to my attention with an excellent post answering the question, 'Do Christians make good Liberal Democrats?' Since then he's updated the look of the blog quite a lot and ...
This is the first in a series of posts pulling out some of the constituency results which we'll be running this week. The data is taken from Pippa Norris's data set (for which thanks). Twenty highest Liberal Democrat vote shares: Orkney and Shetland 62.0 Westmorland and Lonsdale 60.0 Bath 56.6 Yeovil 55.7 Norfolk North 55.5 Twickenham 54.4 Sheffield Hallam 53.4 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 52.6 Lewes 52.0 Thornbury and Yate 51.9 Cheltenham 50.5 Ceredigion 50.0 Kingston and Surbiton 49.8 Southport 49.6 Taunton Deane 49.1 Hazel Grove 48.8 Bermondsey and Old Southwark 48.4 Carshalton and Wallington 48.3 Cornwall North 48.1 Bristol West 48.1 Twenty lowest Liberal Democrat vote shares: Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 9.5 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 9.5 Castle Point 9.4 ...
I don't expect John Bercow to go the same way as Charles Manners-Sutton did in 1835 when he was the last speaker to be voted out, not by the people but by the MPs returned to the commons. But who is the poor unfortunate who is a footnote in history books. Charles Manners-Sutton was the son of the 89th Archbishop of Canterbury (1805-1828) his namesake, part of the Duke of Rutland's extended family. His uncle Thomas Manners-Sutton was the 1st Baron Manners and Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1807-1827). Indeed from 1817-1827 this family had the Speaker, the leaders of the ...
Iran undoubtedly pulled off a diplomatic coup with its announcement yesterday of a deal with Brazil and Turkey to store its low grade uranium. It is very hard for even the most ardent warmonger to claim that Iran is enriching uranium to make nuclear weapons, when that same uranium is in storage in Turkey. But perhaps the most significant fact yesterday is one that does not bode well for Iran in the long term. It is that plainly the Russians were caught on the hop and struggling for a response. Russia has been Iran's most powerful diplomatic protector, but ...
Look, I know I ought to hate this movie. But though I found it long, I enjoyed pretty much every one of its 140 minutes. Yes, it plays havoc with history. Even though Robin Hood is just a figure from 'folklore', and therefore a big blank as far as real history is concerned, we all ...
The Orange Book is a book any political anorak will have heard of, but few will have read. It's been out of print for some years, and thus most people rely on the media's description of it as being right wing, and referring to some Lib Dems disparagingly as "Orange Bookers", as accurate. But since when have the media ever been accurate? If you want to find out for yourself what is in this famous tome, the Editor of the book who isn't David Laws is selling it on amazon, at above RRP to reflect the sudden and insistent demand, ...
I am proud of LibDem involvement in government that sees sensible policy like scrapping ID cards. I have long opposed them on the grounds of both civil liberties and cost. They would also prove ineffective against a terrorist threat, but would shackle ordinary citizens.
What do we think of this coalition ? Some will say with Wordsworth, "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven". Others with Browning, "Never glad confident morning again". I go with Longfellow, "Life is real and life is earnest". Sadly however, while we campaign in poetry, we govern in prose. I wanted a progressive alliance but there were two problems,
Todays Times alleges that the outgoing Labour Government embarked on a scorched earth policy in relation to the nation's finances on a scale not seen since Napoleon retreated from Moscow. OK, that may be an exaggeration but still it is still pretty serious. The paper says that Ministers have discovered Whitehall "black holes" that could force even more severe public spending cuts, or higher tax rises than previously thought. They allege that billions of pounds in public money was committed in the run-up to the election campaign in a deliberate strategy to boost Labour's chances at the ballot box and ...
I had to laugh when I saw this pie, silly things make me chuckle and then it took me right back to my childhood, it reminded me of "Desperate Dan" from that good old comic The Dandy.
Good morning and welcome to today's Daily View on International Museum Day. On this day in 1991, Britain's first astronaut, 27-year-old Helen Sharman, blasted into orbit on the Soviet Soyuz TM-12 space capsule. I wonder if I should mention that Ms Sharman is from Sheffield? Sixty years ago, twelve nations agreed the aims and objectives for the permanent organisation of NATO. The founder members at the launch at Lancaster House in London were: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States. Later that year, Dwight D Eisenhower was appointed Nato's first supreme ...
I am receiving a few silly comments regarding the election and who should have won. The bottom line is that I was disappointed with my result and would have liked a few more votes, but I am sure I speak on behalf of most of the candidates when I say that. I have gained from the experience of standing in a General Election and will take that forward into the future, so now, for me it's time to move on and hopefully forward.
Well - when I arrived in Parliament in '05 - Michael Martin was in the Chair. As I knew nothing about business in the House - and assumed that the Speaker knew everything - I just thought that was the way it had been done from time immemorial - and thus would it be ever - biased to calling those MPs from Scotland and men! Well - that is how it seemed to me. Anyway - when John Bercow was elected (and I supported his bid after our own candidate Alan Beith was eliminated) I was delighted by his ability ...
Well I lost the election for Leader of the Lib Dems on Liverpool City Council. It was pretty close but in the end Warren Bradley got 20 votes and I got 17. It was a reasonably good tempered event last night with speeches and questions and I don't at all regret doing it (although walking past the news stand with its poster saying Lib Dem Leadership fight made me feel a tad apprehensive). I decided to challenge not because I have it in for the Leader but because there are some things I thought we, as Lib Dems, needed to ...
As usual, I'm being more than a little deceptive in the title, but this story just pisses me off: John Bercow is set to become the first Speaker in living memory to have his re-appointment challenged by a vote in the House of Commons. If, as James Landale has written in the story, it is ...
Both the Lib Dems and Conservatives proposed a reduction in the number of MPs in their manifestos. The Lib Dems proposed cutting the number of MPs to around 500 as part of a move to PR, whilst the Conservatives want to keep the current voting system, reduce the number of MPs to around 600 and radically redraw constituency boundaries to equalise the number of voters in each. So over the next five years we are likely to be fighting: a general election in which almost every constituency in the country will be larger than today with different boundaries. European elections ...
David Chiverton sees no comfort for libertarians in the new Conservative-led coalition government. Even those Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters should be wary. It is easy to become disappointed with politicians. Obama was conscious of this when he was elected warning that he couldn't achieve everything everyone wanted. There is no reason to expect the coalition to establish a libertarian society but as I have previously speculated they might nudge the UK towards a more liberal and Whig Britain. And as Dave points out, for those who disliked the Labour government there is no reason not to enjoy the fact ...
Two years ago, I wrote about the emptiness of the terms Left and Right. I argued they were empty terms because the words have become confused. In The de-Labourfication of Britain, Jock Coats looks at what Left and Right means. As with all Jock's writings, it is well worth a read but this passage sums it all up very well: As reflected in the French Revolutionary National Assembly, the "right" of the house was the party of "church and king" and the "left" the champions of the individual and liberty from overbearing government. And this was also reflected in the ...
Many years ago, in a long-vanished antique shop in Abbey Street, Market Harborough, I came across a thick book: The Case for Land Nationalisation by Joseph Hyder. That was a promising title for a radical Liberal. Even better was what was pasted inside. It was a sheet of headed paper from East Langton Grange, Market Harborough. It carried other information: "National Telephone, No, 17, Market Harboro'", "Telegraph Office, East Langton" and "Parcels, East Langton Station, Midland Rly." On that sheet was the handwritten inscription: Jan 1st 1914 With best for wishes for a happy new year John. W. LoganYes, the ...
Yesterday, in common, I suspect, with all other Liberal Democrat members for whom the party has an Email address, I received a letter from David Lawes which claimed that there is "no money left", the "nation's finances (are) in an utterly ruinious state" and that "irresponsible decisions (have been) inherited." Well, maybe so and maybe not. But it is this predictable knee-jerk "put the blame on the last lot" reaction which turns people of politics and politicians. Part of the task of the coalition is to restore faith in politics. We shall not do so by continuing sniping as usual. ...
The odds of the Lib Dems forming part of a Government in the UK was poured scorn on by many commentators prior to the election. They claimed the Liberal Democrats were irrelevant and had no chance of success. The electorate, impressed by the campaign and Nick in particular responded by giving the Lib Dems 1 million extra votes to our high watermark of 2005*. The result left the Westminster based government in a situation novel to almost all of its inhabitants. A hung parliament. Thankfully, some people had prepared , Gus O'Donnell, Westminster's most senior civil servant had been out ...
I am currently experiencing this : The picture quality is a bit crap, but the wisdom contained within makes it all worthwhile... Mat is happily snoring next to me. The internet is oddly quiet. I think I shall shut everything down and lie here in the dark pondering some imponderables. Night night, intarwebz.
Yesterday's news that the new coalition will seek to ennoble a significant number of new peers to reflect the vote shares in the last election is an uncomfortable reminder of the realpolitik facing the new government. It would be very easy to regard this as an entirely cynical measure, paying off worthy servants of the party machines and unlucky candidates for their contribution. It is also a blunt reality that the House of Lords currently over-represents the Labour party and under-represents the Government. Given no one can be sacked, and no one in the Lords has any democratic legitimacy to ...
When David Laws sat down for his first day at his new desk he saw three envelops left behind by Liam Byrne with a little covering note. Open one envelope, in order, in case of political disaster. David put them away but in time his first poltical disaster came along and so he opened the first letter. ... Read more
It may just be unfortunate that Newsnight decided to show Ed Miliband talk to the Fabians on Saturday. As one of the two contenders for the Labour leadership, he must have a good chance of winning. It was unfortunate because he was only shown giving an answer to a question about gender equality. "I think we should say right at the outset of this that we are planning for a general election in some time, so what I'm not going to do is give you a sort of a hundred and five policies now and I actually think that the ...
