Back in March we reported on the Liberal Youth conference and the involvement of one of our Birkdale members Sarah Harding. Sarah is now standing for the Liberal Youth Exec and explains more about her ideas: Why did we join the Liberal Democrats? Because our party is a party of the future. Because our party truly is a promise of more. By Sarah Harding, Candidate for Liberal Youth General Executive Member, Candidate for Policy Committee Liberal Youth exists to give young people a voice within the party. It gives them training, inspiration and a forum to express their opinions. We ...
Lib Dem Voice polled party members registered on our members' forum today asking them whether David Laws should resign following the Telegraph's allegations over his expenses. Over 350 members responded, and here's what you told us ... LDV asked: In the light of allegations made against Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury David Laws and his expenses claims, what do you think should happen next? Here's what you told us: 59% – He should stay put in his job 29% – He should step down temporarily pending the findings of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner 12% – He should resign ...
Labour politicians have expressed shock and outrage over David Laws resignation from the Cabinet after revelations in a newspaper. "He's an absolute disgrace," said one former Labour Minister. "He should have hung on in there until the last minute. It's the kind of thing that brings Labour politicians into disrepute."
As much as David Laws may hate me expanding on Andy's timely but short post I cannot let this matter pass without adding my own views. David Laws' resignation is nothing short of a disaster for this country. It was his vision, his fine mind, his sheer brilliance that brought such a shine to the coalition. It will be a much poorer Government for his leaving it. I am confident that the Parliamentary Standards Commission will find that the definition of "partner" was indeed ambiguous and open to interpretation - and David Laws will get a clean bill of health. ...
Today I have been mostly wandering around Melton Mowbray hoping that David Laws would not resign.
Like most Liberals I am passionately pro European but I draw the line at Euro vision. As I write this the Azerbaijani entry has finished performing and the Spanish entry has just taken the stage. I am about to switch over but out of the corner of my eye I see the rather inanimate singer surrounded by as yet static dancers dressed like toys. I have the sound off - always the best way to take this tat! David Laws has just announced his resignation. He was caught up in an expenses story this morning in the Telegraph. At just ...
When a Sunday newspaper contacted me earlier today to ask what I thought about the unfolding David Laws affair, I said I thought he had been silly but not dishonest. Since then, he has resigned following revelations in the Daily Telegraph that he claimed allowances for accommodation in the London home of his male lover, and ...
David Laws has resigned from the Cabinet, but, pending the outcome of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner ruling, he'll likely be welcome back. The absence of his fine mind in a role critical to cutting the deficit will be a loss to the Coalition. However I would be very surprised if the new appointee, Danny Alexander, doesn't use him as an adviser, so perhaps not entirely. Meanwhile David seeks to restore something of the privacy that has cost him his job. So let us leave it at that.
So David Laws has been forced out? A big hurrah from tribal Labour supporters, right-wing Conservatives, who can't grasp the fact that they haven't got an internal majority, let alone a parliamentary one, and for homophobes all round. I expect the inhabitants of Telegraph Towers feel jolly clever tonight, as they claim another scalp. For goodness sake, ...
So we've got the first casualty of the Coalition, and unfortunately it's one of it's best people involved in the cabinet. Laws is a highly capable man, and has demonstrated over the last few weeks that he had all the attributes that were required to work at the highest level of government. I am absolutely gutted that he's been forced to resign, but this blogpost isn't really about that. I couldn't really put it any better than Mark Reckons has throughout the day, so I'm going to switch focus onto another incident this week. One that appeared separate at the ...
Here's a strange thought thrown up by my last blog. I doubt it is novel in the musings about the coalition but it has intrigued me. David Lloyd George, the last LD Prime Minister, was elected in 1918 on the back of his success in bringing the First World War to an end at the head of a coalition government. In the process the Liberals divided among themselves, resulting in his needing the support of Conservatives to govern. Ultimately the Liberals fell apart, allowing the new Labour Party to emerge as the main opposition to the Tories. In 2010 we ...
I feel very sad for David Laws who resigned this afternoon. As Julian Glover puts it in the Guardian, "This is a scandal - if it is a scandal - caused by one man's inability to face up to his sexuality, not a desire to fiddle expenses." David Laws was respected as an honorable man and was proving to be a great asset to this country through his work at the Treasury. I hope the media respect his wishes and give him and his family the space they need at the moment. Iain Roberts has a good analysis of the ...
I know people will think I am saying what I am about to say because I am a Lib Dem but I would be saying this if David Laws was a member of any party. I did have a fairly hard line on some of the MPs who were guilty of the worst excesses regarding the expenses regime last year. However I was only hard on those MPs who I felt had clearly tried to play the expenses system to their financial advantage. In the case of David Laws it is now abundantly clear to me that all he was ...
From the BBC: Dear prime minister, The last 24 hours have been very difficult and distressing for me, and I have been thinking carefully about what action I should take in the interests of the government, my constituents and – most important of all – those whom I love. I am grateful for the strong support which I have received from my friends, family, and from you, the deputy prime minister and the chancellor. This support has been incredibly important, but nonetheless, I have decided that it is right to tender my resignation as chief secretary to the Treasury. I ...
It is difficult to be anything other than disturbed by the enforced resignation of David Laws due to the revelations of the Daily Telegraph, a strong supporter of the Conservatives since time began and a truculent critic of the new coalition. There is no question that Laws messed up and if it had been a Labour or Tory MP who had been exposed in this situation many Lib Dems would have joined the chorus baying for their blood but in the light of the antipathy being expressed towards the new coalition by numerous Tory leaning correspondents it raises questions. It ...
Well. That's that then. David Laws, a man with a Double First in Economics, 9 years practical experience in business and a man who is uniquely capable of performing the job of Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The man replacing ... Continue reading →
OK, so Roy Orbison is the real star here, even more than Dean Stockwell. But Blue Velvet was the film in which I first became really aware of Hopper, even though he acted with James Dean in the 1950s. The Guardian has a good life in pictures feature on him.
I spent a fair bit of time at the General Election working with Willie Rennie in Dunfermline and West Fife - and despite being a superb MP, Willie narrowly lost on 6th May. Willie held a 'thank you' party in Dunfermline today, and despite my hair being caked with brown paint from this morning's graffiti action day, it was great to be there - a huge turnout of Willie's supporters and many friends. Willie is now an adviser to Danny Alexander, the new Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, and I wish him well in his new role. Here's ...
David Laws has just announced his resignation in a dignified statement at the Treasury. I'm gutted that he has gone. I genuinely thought that he would stay - partly because it is not clear that he has broken the rules - he certainly has not profited from any breaches of the rules. Also, for the purely political reason that it is early in the new coalition government and troubles now can be got over simply because the new administration is enjoying a honeymoon period. Biut mainly, because he is damn good at the job. That he has chosen to resign ...
The BBC reports: Liberal Democrat David Laws has resigned as Chief Secretary to the Treasury after admitting he claimed expenses to pay rent to his partner. Mr Laws said he would be standing down with immediate effect in a statement given at the Treasury. He had earlier apologised and said he would pay back the money which the Daily Telegraph said totalled £40,000. The Yeovil MP said he wanted to keep his relationship with James Lundie private. Mr Laws said he had informed both David Cameron and Nick Clegg, but it had been "his decision alone". Explaining his decision, he ...
The timing of the revelations about David Laws' expense claims was, as they say, no coincidence. It was a clear attempt by the Conservative diehards clustered around the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator* to undermine the coalition by bringing down the person who has already emerged as one of its central figures. David Laws' resignation this evening is a blow to the coalition. It may be possible to find someone can display his obvious competence and command of his brief, but Laws' importance went beyond that. He was a Liberal Democrat who was universally respected by Conservative MPs. That quality ...
So David Laws has resigned. As you can read in my previous blog entry, I was calling for this. And it appears that David, in his statement, cited two of my three reasons why he is leaving; that his task in government should be focused in the difficulty times the country is facing and secondly he has done something wrong and therefore needs to face up to this responsibility.This was the right
This morning, along with West End residents, city council representatives, fellow councillors, a local community police officer and with assistance through the Community Justice Authority, we undertook the first of two days of graffiti clean ups - starting at the former Homebase site on Riverside Drive and getting rid of the mess along Roseangle, including the Tay Rope Works site. Superb start, and it was great to see the community spirit of many residents who came along and helped today. More tomorrow - the north of the West End Ward - but here's a few photos from today : Above ...
When we finally hear what the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has to say on the David Laws' case we'll finally know the truth of the episode. I feel intensely sorry for David Laws and his friend. It seems that a desire to keep their private life private may – may – have caused a misjudgment by Laws. I suspect his resignation was inevitable in the end. I am sure Laws will bounce back. What is a great shame is that David Laws was almost uniquely placed to pull the UK out of its financial deficit in a humane way.
[IMG: azerbaijan-cp-6698217.jpg] As usual, where Craig Murray treads, the rest of Europe follows in time. Of last year's Eurovision song contest I blogged: Last night I voted for Azerbaijan because I thought the girl was seriously hot. Tonight I expect the rest of Europe will catch on. UPDATE In the end I voted for Armenia, as having an altogether better class of tottie.
Yesterday at Tayside House, I had a useful meeting with John MacNeil, Assistant National Manager, STV North with Digital UK and Luke McCullough, National Manager for Scotland for the BBC Switchover Help Scheme, to get an update on how the switchover to digital TV is going - with just a couple of months to switchover in Dundee. And the answer is that it is going well. Most people are well aware of the digital switchover and are prepared for it. Further information can be found at : Digital UK : http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/ BBC Help Scheme : http://www.helpscheme.co.uk/ Digital Outreach : http://www.digitaloutreach.org.uk/ ...
The news that David Laws has resigned his position as chief secretary to the treasury is a severe blow to the 'new politics' of recent weeks – but not, as some Labour tribalists have tried to make out, because of the expenses claims themselves. It is a blow because it continues the tradition established by ...
I've read, and listened to, a great deal of comment about David Laws today. Rumours are currently circulating that Laws has resigned from the Government. If so, I think it's a great shame, a great injustice and a great disservice that's been done to the British people. Let's take the absolute worst case scenario: that Laws knowingly broke the rules, saw himself and James Lundie as partners, chose not to admit it and took the money. If that were the case – and Laws says it isn't – the public purse will have been no worse off as a result ...
Warm praise to Nikolai Alekseev and the other organisers of today's Gay Pride mini-march in Moscow. Having been banned for the last five years by Mayor Luzhkov, Putin and Medvedev, and after an appalling catalogue of political violence and persecution, activists managed to hold a ten minute street demo in Moscow today with nobody injured or arrested. This was achieved by posting false trails all across the web as to where it would be, and by activists buying new clean mobile phones in the last day to organise it. Many congratulations also to Peter Tatchell, who went across to help ...
"When I grew up, being gay was not accepted by most people, including many of my friends."So I have kept this secret from everyone I know for every day of my life. That has not been easy, and in some ways it is a relief not to have to go on misleading those close to me about who I am."http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8712383.stm The above quotes make it clear....we're roughly the same age. We grew up in the same climate of outrage and horrifying prejudice against the gay community. That someone of my age in a position of trust should find it difficult ...
My partner kay gave birth to a wee daughter this morning. It was an all nighter with her going into labour at half midnight and Charlie Cerys appearing at 903am. It was certainly an education. labour is an horrific experience - or from what i saw my end. massive pain, blood, muccus, stitches, injections etc Its a good job I do my work about health care over the phone. I was too squimish to even cut the cord. And when the midwife offered the placenta to take home - now you have to draw the line somewhere. Anyway, it seems ...
There is an argument raging at the moment about when summer can be said to officially start. Is it the beginning of June or is that still a spring month. How about July, when the school holidays start? For me, summer starts with the late May bank holiday weekend. You can guarantee that the previous few weeks have been wonderfully sunny. Particularly the four weeks leading up the first Thursday in May when I have been spending all my time electioneering and have had not chance to get anywhere near a beach. The Whitsun bank holiday is also when Run ...
Lib Dem Voice has been conducting a survey this week of party members registered on our members' forum asking them for their views of the coalition, Labour leadership and the party's general election result. Over 400 have responded, and here's part one of what you've told us ... LDV asked: How would you rate the Lib Dems' general election result? Here's what you told us: 1% – Very good 9% – Good 22% – Okay 52% – Disappointing 16% – Very disappointing LDV then asked: Which of the following reasons do you think best explain why the Lib Dems did ...
I had a near miss this weekend. My day job (i.e. the one that tends to keep most of the bills at bay) is at the rather splendid Quarryman pub, just outside Wadebridge in the People's Republic of North Cornwall. I normally do the daytime shift on a Saturday, and would have been cheerfully welcoming ...
At the last committee meeting we resolved the following: First AGM to be held on 17 JUNE at the YMCA at 7pm All Welcome In addition the Friends will again be taking part in the Big Lunch event run by the Eden Project For more information click on links Friends of Roundhill or Eden Project's Big Lunch So far the...
Yet again we have reported to Somer a number of flytip sites around Rosewarn Close and the field (5 in all this time) and asked for them to be removed. We will also be working with a number of residents next weekend on a community litter pick. However the main issue is that we need to work together to stop the flytipping in the first place. Picture...
Ah, Summer is here again. Hearing an icecream van playing the "Just One Cornetto" tune this morning reminded me of getting a fit of the giggles at a funeral a few years ago. It was that of a well liked member of our church choir. He had loved singing and opera so his widow chose that particular tune to be played at the crematorium chapel. She was a dear lady whom I would never want to offend, but she has subsequently died herself so I can now tell the story. Waiting at the crematorium chapel we heard the music begin. ...
So should Labour try to split the coalition. They have an opportunity to use David Laws for political gain or stay quiet on this issue bearing in mind their own gremlins. If Laws is replaced by say John Redwood this could actually cause a rift in the coalition so could a more left Liberal Democrat. There are not many experts remaining within the Tories or the Lib Dems to fill Laws shoes and we have already seen that George Osborne does need support. Maybe Vince Cable however I don't believe Vince and George could work that closely together. At the ...
Damien Shannon is a candidate for Vice Chair (Finance) of Liberal Youth. It is a dispiriting sight to see the swell of twenty Liberal Democrat Ministers of the Crown - five of whom have taken on Cabinet roles - abandon with gusto the free thinking policies that secured the popular approval of twenty three percentiles of the voting public just a few short weeks ago. Nick Clegg, Vince Cable, David Laws, Chris Huhne and Danny Alexander will all have had a stark realisation of the tremendously constrictive machinery of government awaiting them when acceding to their respective offices. They will ...
I know that I will probably stand alone here, but having most of the day to reflect on the news that David Laws has repaid nearly £40,000 in expenses he used to pay rent to his partner, I feel that David Laws should tender his resignation as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. There are three reasons why I think this:Focused GovernmentAs this particular time (worse recession since the second world
It's difficult to decide what thefavourite part of my house is. I love my huge kitchen, with it's vast expanse of worktops and cupboards big enough to store all sorts of kitchenalia. But I also adore my built-in bookshelves. At four metres long and stretching from floor to ceiling, they are better than any glass-fronted display ...
Back when Cix was the main way of talking to other Lib Dems online, a tradition emerged of posting Lib Dem MPs' maiden speeches so that people could read them and respond - a tradition LDV would like to continue. The first new Lib Dem MP to speak in the 2010 Parliament was Gordon Birtwistle, with Julian Huppert shortly after. Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD): Thank you for giving me this chance to speak so early in this Parliament, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is great to see you in the Chair. There has been a long succession of maiden speeches ...
Blog sponsorship kind of went out the window during the election and its aftermath; partially intentionally, I have to say. However, it's now back and I am going to be sponsored for June by an old favourite...
Mr Laws is just the type of person we need in positions of great responsibility, especially, in these tough economic times, those such as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Kerry McCarthy posted this on her blog: If David Laws had told the authorities that he was in a relationship with his landlord,he would not have been able to claim rent. The rules have been clear on this since 2006. If he had just stuck to those rules and not claimed rent, no-one would have needed to know. No-one would have asked why he wasn't claiming, and even if they did, he could have said "I'm a rich man, I don't need to" and gained brownie points for doing so. So what if he couldn't afford to not claim the ...
With depressingly undue haste and sneering Conservative 'morality'; the Daily Telegraph have forced David Laws to admit his homosexuality. Of course they claim it is all to do with expense claims. The reality of it though is that the Telegraph wish to derail ASAP the coalition, they want a Lib Dem head on a pike first and they believe that their readership are against CGT (probably they are) and are deeply entrenched in 1950s style homophobia (again, they probably are). As a gay man I can see the human side to this. It wasn't until my father died I felt ...
[IMG: David Laws] The still-unfolding story of David Laws raises some very difficult questions for me about what kind of society I want to live in. As a Christian, I believe that homosexuality is sinful. The Bible is clear in both Old and New Testaments that it displeases God and is one of the marks of our rejection of him. As such, I hold socially conservative views that on face value the majority of Liberal Democrats would find objectionable. But it's not that simple. Because these views have to be held in a balance with other Biblical principles: those which ...
First, a big thank you for the incredible support given to me by so many people during (and after) the recent election. The level of support was astonishing and humbling – the personal support, along with all the hours spent delivering, canvassing, writing and stuffing envelopes, printing, sticking up posters etc. It was something to behold and I am intensely grateful. Regrettably this didn't translate to a win the in Parliamentary Election. Through everyone's work, we got 43.1% of the vote – the fourth highest losing vote share in the country, a higher share of the vote than Mark achieved ...
Of course, David Laws shouldn't resign and/or shouldn't be sacked. This is a most depressing furore and I wager that the Comissioner will not raise any eyebrows over this technicality of interpretation of "treat each other as spouses". (Their relationship was not known to family or friends, they had separate bank accounts and social lives). Compare Laws' episode with the thumping great flipping of Labour ministers such as Hoon. There was no question of Hoon being asked to resign so why the hell should Laws resign over a finely nuanced semantics issue, from which he made no personal gain? If ...
Back when Cix was the main way of talking to other Lib Dems online, a tradition emerged of posting Lib Dem MPs' maiden speeches so that people could read them and respond – a tradition LDV would like to continue. The first new Lib Dem MP to speak in the 2010 Parliament was Gordon Birtwhistle. Gordon Birtwistle (Burnley) (LD): I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech so early in the new Parliament. I pay tribute to those who made their maiden speeches before me—the hon. Members for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi), ...
I am loving the new version of spotify. If you are on it and you want to be friends and see my playlists, my profile link is here. If you have similar love for spotify, do join [IMG: [community profile] ] spotification, which has probably not reached critical mass yet, but is a playlist sharing comm. And if you have no idea what I am talking about, I have two invites available for spotify free for people I know if you want to find out - first come first served. I have a couple of collaborative playlists (girl power being ...
I came back home late Friday night and read the telegraph article on David Laws and his expenses. From the headline, it didn't look good. Neither did the first sentence. "claimed up to £950 a month for eight years to ... Continue reading →
George Osborne, theoretically at least, is David Laws' boss. What he should be doing, provided there are no further facts to scrutinise, is stepping outside the door of Number 11 and calling down the thunder. He should tell the press that his faith in Laws' ability is undimmed. He should say that forcing Laws out of the closet was to the press' shame. He should say that he believes that Laws has made and will make sound and prudent judgements about the economy and looks forward to continuing to work with him through a very difficult period. In other words, ...
Over 20 years ago I was at a training course about work with young women organised by the NYA (National Youth Agency). It was in the days when "anti-oppressive practice" was high on the agenda - and a debate ensued about whether it was right for the two male members of the course to even be there. Inevitably the debate turned to who was most oppressed and the difference between sexism and racism. One of the participants turned to the colleague she had came with and said "but when you walk into the room I don't even notice that you ...
I had hoped that the election had drawn a line under Telegraph expense stories. I'm happy to wait for the verdict of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner on David Laws. The matter seems to boil down to interpretation of the rules, the definition of partner and regarding onesleves as living like spouses or not. David Laws' explanation that he and his friend had a relationship unknown to friends and family, and that they have had separate bank accounts and social lives, seems entirely plausible. But I feel as though we are finding out more than we ought to know. I feel ...
Last night, Lib Dem Voice covered the Telegraph's story that David Laws, the chief secretary to the treasury, has referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner because it is alleged his second home expenses claims breached the rules which state rent cannot be paid to an MP's spouse. The story is dominating today's news agenda, presenting the coalition government with its first real test. There are, as I see it, three options: 1) Tough it out. David has referred himself to the Commissioner, maintaining that he has done nothing for personal gain, even if he has broken the rules. Many ...
.....of those Labour activists and mouth pieces on twitter and in the blogosphere for the turning on, of the anti machine. It is sheer hypocrisy though, because when their MPs were being pictured walking into court for actual fraud the same bloggers/tweeters were all strangely silent. I have long admired David Laws (not like that) politics and how he has handled himself within the Party and on the economics stage in the real world. Has today's story in The Daily Telegraph also explained the reason why Alistair Campbell produced a framed photo of David Laws at the end of Thursday's ...
David Laws is trouble with the Telegraph over his expenses. He stands accused of claiming for rent from his long-term partner which may be against rules against paying rent to a spouse or equivalent. He has accepted a degree of fault, offered to pay money back, given an explanation based on protecting his privacy, and referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. His future as a minister must be considered uncertain. There are two issues within the Laws story. The first is what level of privacy it is reasonable for someone to expect in public life. Here his behaviour looks ...
Sat 29th
10:47
David Laws & the perils of being a politician in the dying days of the dead tree press #ISupport...
Poor David Laws. If he had declared his relationship, he could have claimed for a lot more money. If he had declared his relationship, none of this media storm would be enveloping him and his loved ones. He is basically being punished for being gay, and not wanting to come out of the closet to his family. Gaybashing is never dignified, and this is no exception. I am so angry this morning I can barely think straight. Clearly the telegraph have been fed this by someone with an axe to grind, or they would have run with it during the ...
I'm quite moisty eyed this morning. It's wonderful to see Floella Benjamin being made a peer. I saw her once at a conference discussion on adult education and she was very impressive in both her commitment to and knowledge of the subject. And of course, I seem to remember watching her with my (then) two year old as she (Floella) did an impression of a steam train on the telly. Also, it is enormously great to see Meral Ece being made a peer. Her blog has provided a very fair commentary on many matters, especially those in relation to equality. ...
Yesterday's unveiling of the dissolution peerage lists has to be the last time we see this kind of thing happening. The list is a veritable Who's Who? of the failed, the disgraced, the defeated and the meddling ones who had decided they wanted to continue to be in politics but not have to face the ...
It's just possible that Alastair Campbell has become the first, and scariest Ghost of New Labour Past – the one who'll cause panic among government ranks with his every media intervention. This week's Question Time debacle is evidence of a man, newly re-converted to the opposition mindset, flying quickly out of the traps while the ...
It is very difficult to look at the dissolution honours list for the Lords without retching. Lord Prescott, Lord Reid, Lord Blair of Stockwell Tube Station? Then there are the Tory donors. Floella Benjamin is the only redeeming feature. Indeed, I hope someone can find Brian Cant and put him in there too. But seriously, surely this lot, with so many of Gordon Brown's backroom chums as well, stretch to breaking point the credibility of the Lords? It beggars belief that we still have this ancient stench-pit of corruption and patronage as an integral part of our legislature. Nick Clegg ...
"Oh good, my copy of Local Government First has arrived !" For those who have never been a councillor, you might be totally unaware of this publication, but Local Government First is a weekly magazine that you get sent from the Local Government Associated which, to be honest, is ignored by the vast majority of councillors I know, in many cases they are thrown in to the nearest bin, totally unread, and if we are talking about cutting out waste, they could easily be emailed to councillors rather than be printed and posted every week. Mine arrived this morning. 30 ...
David Laws recent expenses scandal has been well covered all other the blogger-o-sphere. So I'm not going to wade into this subject but link to it. Defending Laws Iain Dale on David Laws: I Hope He Survives Lisa Harding at Spiderplant Land on The Telegraph's vendetta on the coalition government Sara Bedford at Sexuality, sickening hypocrisy and CGT Not defending Laws SNP Tactical Voting on A Laws unto himself Craig Murray on David Laws Must Resign GrumpyOldTwat at The Laws According To David And somewhere in the middle And John Ward in Medway is already giving Laws Job to John ...
David Laws and I are about as far apart in our political thinking as it's possible to get within the Liberal Democrats. The Orange Book, for which he was one of the prime authors, makes me shudder at its very mention as an old fashioned tax and spend liberal. However I did rather warm to him last year - I never expected to write a blog post in his praise, but when he and Annette Brooke adopted an anti smacking policy stance, they made me proud. Today it has been reported that he claimed rent on MP's expenses which was ...
Sara Bedford's excellent posting on David Laws is followed by an intriguing comment by Pat Nash, suggesting that Alastair Campbell played a role in the story. Why did he produce a photo of David Laws in the 59th minute of Question Time ?
Last night I went to see "Little Voice" at Manchester Road Players. It is on as part of the Chorlton Arts Festival, and the final night is this evening. I suppose that I should declare an "interest", in that I've been involved with Manchester Road Players for over 20 years, but everyone who was there ...
Since getting involved in the party almost nothing has disappointed me more than Liberal Youth. At times it appears remote, unaccountable and to have little to say on policy outside of the tuition fee debate. Given its elections are going on, I thought it was the right time to ask, why do we need Liberal Youth? Because working regularly with enthusiastic students (and being a young person myself) I'm not sure we do, for the following reasons... 1. As 'young Lib Dems' do we actually need a single voice? I would argue no. Unlike a student body at a university ...
I am among those who has been very impressed by David Laws' performance in his brief ministerial career. And I have read carefully the Lib Dems blogs - which seem universally to be defending him, like this. The difficulty is that the Commons rules stated quite unequivocally that an MP could not claim to rent a room in a home owned by their partner. In 2006 a specific amendment was made to make that crystal clear. Laws does not deny he broke the rules, and is paying the money back. The point made by Lib Dems throughout the ...
I fail to understand how Bracknell Forest Council's planning committee could be split over such a small site for gypsies and travelling show people. The site located at at land off Wokingham Road, near the Wellingtonia Roundabout, Sandhurst. This site only has two bays, surely two bays can not cause that much traffic. Should we expect caravans to be driving out of this site every day? Could the reason why some people don't want Travellers at this site is because they simply don't want any travellers anywhere near them? The government plan to require sites for caravans is in an ...
How could I have missed yesterday's list of those appointed to working peerages? John Shipley, who has led the first Liberal Democrat controlled major council in the region for the last four years, becomes a peer. Newcastle Lib Dems now have the job of deciding on a new group leader who will also lead the council. I had the privilege of working with John on some regional Lib Dem strategies and
Liberals and Liberal Democrats have traditionally believed in the devolution of power to the lowest possible level, and the Conservatives say that that is now their belief. It is therefore anomalous that the coalition proposes to hold the next general election on the first Thursday in May 2015, local government election day. Elections for local government are often used as a substitute for a referendum on the government of the day, but this is surely a trend to be resisted. Council candidates of all parties and none deserve a campaigning period in which they can promote their local policies with ...
The story that broke last night about David Laws and his £40,000 claim for rental of a room from his lover is reverberating around the blogosphere today.My initial thoughts last night were that he should not resign and that this seems more like a technical breach basically forced upon him because he is gay and wanted that information to remain private. I argued this strongly on the paper review on 5 Live yesterday. Having slept on it I am even more convinced of this.I don't have much time this morning but Sara Bedford has said everything I was thinking in ...
Whatever one might think about school reorganisation proposals in the west of Cardiff, there is no doubt that their rejection by the First Minister has exposed a growing rift around the Welsh language within the One Wales government. The Welsh Local Government Association described the Assembly Government decision to reject plans to modernise English-language provision and expand Welsh-medium education as "retrograde and questionable". It said the decision "yet again exposes the yawning gap between national rhetoric and local reality on the issue of surplus school places". However, the most damning criticism came from Labour's coalition partners, Plaid Cymru. They branded ...
Former Home Secretary, David Blunkett showed yesterday what a sore loser he really is when he threatened to sue the Government for the £30 cost of his ID card. He is upset that holders of the documents will not be compensated when they are abolished. He is still under the illusion that these cards will make a difference to National Security or to the fight against crime despite all the evidence to the contrary. It is a useful indication that whoever wins the Labour leadership contest is going to have a long fight to reform that party so as to ...
When you are a Liberal Democrat, there is nothing as unsurprising as hearing that a colleague is gay. Or indeed, not hearing about it. Having a sexuality that is not monogamously heterosexual is no big deal in the party, but nor is wanting to keep your private life private. As someone who is happily MH, ...
I wrote previously how I'd signed a petition in support of Equitable Life pensioners and how they'd been fighting for over 10 years to get fair compensation from government maladministration. The fight, although long, should be over soon, as the new coalition government has announced in the Queens Speech to compensate all Equitable Life pensioners, even the ...
...with this 'lovely' headline: "The Treasury Secretary, his secret gay lover and the coalition's first scandal" Their closing salvo makes me feel sick to the pit of my stomach: "And, in all likelihood, what chance is there that Lundie has not further profited whilst Laws protects his privacy at the taxpayers' expense? The right to ...
...With this posted just a short while ago by Iain Martin. I wrote earlier that the words "potential future Prime Minister" don't sound silly in relation to David Laws. (That'll teach me.) His project to restore Gladstonian liberalism – sound money, low taxes when possible, keeping the state not overly big and guaranteeing sensible use ...
What seemed like a good week for Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws has turned into something of a nightmare. The breaking story tonight in the Daily Telegraph is that he has wrongly claimed expenses oh, by the way did you know he is gay and here is a picture of his partner too ...
The news about David Laws is sad. His second home expenses were not unreasonable for London, less than many MPs claim. The issue is whether your lover is your spouse. The opposition will exploit popular salacious homophobia but pretend only to care about the money. Society pretends not to care about public figures' sexuality but denies them the right to private lives.
The Coalition is slowly, torturously, pulling me in two directions. There is the simple elation of seing Liberal Democrats at the Dispatch Box on the Government side (it would have been a coup simply to have access to Opposition side a few months ago). There is the promise of swathes of Liberal Democrat policy being implemented – Reform of the Lords, 10K income tax threshold, Capital Gains Tax increases and the referendum on voting reform. And the promise of Lib Dems being at the heart of Government in the coming years to shape further policy. On the other side, there ...
In the last week Fergie has found herself in a spot of bother for accepting £40 000 from an undercover reporter for an introduction to her former husband. According to Piers Morgan we are to feel sorry for her because she needs the money. I can't find myself feeling too sorry for her as I presume she managed to keep the money and nobody seems to think that opening doors for money is such a bad thing. If seeing Prince Andrew is important then it should matter that the rich have access to something important and the poor don't. Normally ...
