A site housekeeping notice follows... Liberal Democrat Voice is an independent website, and therefore is not bound by the rules governing the party's selections. However, we are happy voluntarily to operate our editorial policy in the spirit of selection rules adopted by the party. Where those rules ban endorsements generally any comments that would infringe these rules will be withdrawn (eg, a comment saying "I'll be voting for Herbie Asquith", or "Don't vote for Bill Gladstone; he supports chopping down trees"). However, where endorsements are permited, either generally or outside of the formal manifestoes, we will allow such comments as ...
Last month I blogged about presenter Clare Balding's complaint about the nasty homophobic language used by AA Gill in the Sunday Times. Clare decided after being the subject of numerous snide remarks about her sexuality that enough was enough and made a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission. Today the PCC have upheld Ms Balding's ...
I am told that the people of the town will be massing outside the public loos at the Market Hall tomorrow (Saturday) at 10.30 to prostest against the Tory council's plans to close them. Television cameras are expected.
The election result was disappointing after our hopes had been raised so high by the 'Clegg Bounce' which we failed to use to consolidate support by then showing our 'cabinet of talent - in waiting'. Our support might be said to be 'soft' and our core support rather less than the two main parties. However, the FPTP system has, at last, thrown us a proverbial bone, a once in a generation opportunity, and we find ourselves in coalition government for 5 years. The nature of our support will not change overnight - we still inhabit a predominantly two-party system and ...
The next meeting of the Selly Oak Constituency Committee will be held on Thursday 23 September 2010 from 7pm to 9pm as usual.The venue will be St Andrews Methodist Church, Cartland Road, Stirchley (at the junction with Pershore Road).The agenda items have yet to be confirmed but I will post link here when they are available.
Nick Clegg deserves to be cheered to the echo at the Liberal Democrat conference. He has led his party out of the wilderness and into a government that is already changing the face of British politics.There is nothing wrong with the opening of David Hunt and Michael McManus's article in the Guardian this morning. It is shortly afterwards that the problems set in. The two authors argue that: the emergence of a strong, broadly-based Lib-Con coalition marks the exciting rebirth of one of the most important traditions in British politics.But the examples they offer will not reassure their Liberal Democrat ...
Don't you just love technology. Lots to do as Iget ready for conference. Council e-mails are still not working properly and some officers have been without them for 3 days. I cannot access the internet in the group room in the Council offices. I have the bright idea that I can share the charger for the laptop with Maureen who I am going with - but they need different ends. I go to a mobile...
Lee Valley Park - mostly 10,000 acres in Essex and Hertfordshire - was created in the 1960's as a regional park. When it was created a levy system was created and this year Southwark residents will pay £294,190 towards its upkeep. What do Southwark residents get for this? When I've contacted the park authority to ask how many Southwark residents use this park in Essex and Hertfordshire with a tiny sliver down into east London they told me a couple of Southwark school classes had visited last year. I think this money would be better spent on Southwark parks. Hell, ...
The BBC reports: Barnsley's only Liberal Democrat councillor has joined Labour because of her opposition to her party's decision to join a coalition government. Sharron Brook had represented the town's Dearne Valley South ward as a Liberal Democrat since 2003. Her decision to switch to Labour, which controls Barnsley council, came after she was briefed on the government's plans for children's services. "It was on impulse really, I'd had enough," she said. Cllr Brook gained some prominence in the summer, when she circulated a leaflet denouncing the Lib Dems' decision to go into coalition with the Conservatives, telling voters she ...
I've had a few emails this week from people worried about the changes to the free bus passes and token schemes so thought I would try to explain what is going on. There are a few changes happening and will try to cover them all. At present those over 60 are entitled to a free bus pass, the scheme was introduced by Labour but it quickly became clear that it was not sustainable. With an aging population, more and more people were given free travel and the government had less and less money to pay for it. So the qualification ...
Two hundred elected conference delegates, from at least twenty different Local Parties or Specified Associated Organisations. Shouldn't be a problem, after all, there are about 1600 either in Liverpool or on their way. However, there are at least four of you (and perhaps more, after all, Chandila Fernando only decided to run at Conference two years ago), which narrows the field a bit. Using one list ensures that you don't get duplicates, but it's slow. You don't really want a queue, as people are in a hurry. So, you might want to have a team spread out, each with a ...
Paris Gourtsoyannis was editor of the Journal, a newspaper serving Edinburgh's higher education institutions, last year, and is a Lib Dem supporter. In an article for the paper, Paris sets out reasons for continuing to back Nick Clegg and his party — here's an excerpt: You only have to listen to the chatter from the right of the Conservative party to understand the effect that the Liberal Democrats are having on the government. Crusty relics like Norman Tebbit and John Redwood speak for the silent majority in rural Conservative safe seats, and they're aren't happy. That makes me happy: it's ...
crossposted at Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland My congratulations are given to Stephen Glenn for being ranked number 65 in the Total Politics Top 100 blogs awards. Slugger O'Toole comes in at number 100. Filed under: Blogging Tagged: Stephen Glenn, Stephen's Liberal Journal, Total Politics
Nick Clegg's most enthusiastic supporter in the last Lib Dem leadership election and latterly the Coalition's greatest critic, Lindylooz Muze interviewed the deputy prime minister today. Did he reconcile her to the Coalition? It seems we'll have to wait for part 2. Millennium Elephant was there too - and took a photograph. An elected mayor for Colchester? What You Can Get Away With says no and quotes Karl Popper: "What a monument of human smallness is this idea of the philosopher king. What a contrast between it and the simplicity of humaneness of Socrates, who warned the statesmen against the ...
I admit that I'm finding the Pope's visit to Britain quite disturbing. I'm reminded that I may be an atheist but (to use Christopher Hitchen's terminology), I'm a protestant atheist. I learned Latimer's words to Ridley at the stake by heart when I was at school, and somewhere deep in my brain, all that early indoctrination must have stuck. I wish the Pope didn't have such a cloth ear for history and culture. For a Pope to visit England and then make references to Sir Thomas More is not tactful. I can almost hear my puritan Congregationalist ancestors turning in ...
Our congratulations are given to Stephen Glenn for being ranked number 65 in the Total Politics Top 100 blogs awards. Slugger O'Toole comes in at number 100.
No. 62 in the Total Politics poll to find the top UK political blogs, that is. Up from no. 69 (fnarr, fnarr) in last year's poll.
Then seek thee out David Matthewman, aka [IMG: [personal profile] ] djm4. He has my nomination forms, and a pen, and he's happy to help you to bring the two into conjunction. Please do remember that if you're going to sign presidential nomination forms, not only do you have to be a voting rep (or MP or MEP or AM etc.) you can only sign them for one candidate. I'll be very happy if it's me, obviously, but if you want to nominate someone else please don't sign more than one form as it invalidates your signature on ALL forms. ...
Ok I know the Beatles song is 64, and no I haven't slipped in a few extra birthdays. But hey best I could do because somebody should have given me a slightly higher ranking. Yes I'm looking at you (only joking). Thank you everyone who voted for me in the Total Politics Poll. Total Politics have announced numbers 51-100 in their poll today and I'm delighted to say that my good friend Caron is not to be seen on that list. Why? Because she was convinced she wouldn't be in the top 50 so this morning I put all the ...
Fri 17th
18:54
we are forcibly reminded that what we share, in Christ, is greater than what continues to divide us ...
The address given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Sovereign Pontiff, in the Abbey and Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster (formerly Westminster Cathedral 1540-1550) St Edward the Confessor, pray for us. Dear friends in Christ, I thank the Lord for this opportunity to join you, the representatives of the Christian confessions present in ...
This morning, along with my fellow bloggers I wended my way along to Nick Clegg's new office (formerly occupied by Peter Mandelson). Given I was on my way to Liverpool I was accompanied by my case, causing Nick to quip that he thought I was opposed to the coalition, so why was I moving in? Hmmm, well, in my student days our preferred mode of protest was occupationJ. The quips about my love for the coalition continued throughout, can't think why - but time was short and far too short for us all to ask all the questions we had ...
Courtesy of the FringeList.com service, based on users who have registered to receive free SMS text message reminders to attend events, the top 10 most popular events on the fringe are in order: 1. Yes to reform! Winning the battle 2. Blog Of The Year Awards 3. Lessons for future campaigning from the 2010 election 4. LibDemVoice Fringe 5. Coalition, Cuts and Conservatives: an attractive agenda for the Lib Dems? 6. Cable on cuts: the economics of 'progressive austerity' 7. Entering the Coalition: our duty or our demise? 8. The Future of Higher Education Funding 9. Is the Lib-Lab coalition ...
On 29 November 2003, a woman's body was discovered near a farm by her husband and other people from her village. She was 20 years of age and her name was Naang Sa. She and her husband Zaai Leng had been approached, three days before, by 40 soldiers from the Burmese Army. Zaai Leng was tied up and Naang Sa was gang raped. The soldiers took her back to their base and her dead body was left at an unknown time during those three days, completely unconcealed, to be found by those who loved her. Events such as these are ...
In 2007, I proposed to the then council administration - and fellow councillors agreed - to a two and a half fold increase in capital funding to tackle the problem of poor-conditioned unadopted pavements in the city. It is good to see the progress on this issue that has taken place since - and this week the bad pavements in Glamis Terrace are being upgraded to a high-quality standard - see right.
About a year ago, I wrote a post about how Councils were having to choose between two new structures for organising themselves, both of which required a huge concentration of power into the hands of one individual – either a 'strong leader' or an elected Mayor. However, after the General Election and with the Labour ...
I've read yesterday that Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale is to stand for the Presidency of the Liberal Democrats. This follows the announcement by current President Ros Scott that she intends to stand down at the end of her 2 year term. This came as a great surprise as Ros has been a particularly popular President and as she would probably have been re-elected unopposed had she have stood. She'll be a particularly tough act to follow. The choice of Ros' successor couldn't be more important. At a time when the party is being ...
The Coalition White Paper on Health could be the top topic at the Lib Dems' Liverpool conference. There is still time for delegates to have a genuine impact on future legislation. Previous soundings on LibDemVoice.org have produced a thoughtful and largely critical postbag with the results passed on to the party's Health Minister, Paul Burstow. Paul, and indeed Nick Clegg, believe there is plenty in the White Paper Liberal Democrats should warmly support — such as the increased commissioning role for GPs, and the increased role of local authorities in public health. Others point out that Coalition agreements to have ...
Before I came out to the Ukraine I had been following Michael Thomas' teach yourself Russian beginners course and trying to write in Cyrillic as much as possible to help myself get as firm a grip of the language as possible and so as to not be completely stranded when I arrived. In fact I had actually started to learn the language before I decided to do my CELTA course, to come to the Ukraine in
Oops. I almost forgot the get this sorted out for this week. However, as there is a Papal Visit on guess the theme. First up from Father Ted who's have thought that Father Jack was beaten to promotion by a Polish guy called Karol. And Billy Connolly a Weggie and a Catholic is pleased for the Churches stance on birth control. And the lastly Dave Allen tells us about his first remembrances of his Catholic schooling. Of course Dave Allen always ended his shows in an ecumenical way with "Goodnight, thank you, and may your God go with you" so ...
A story in today's Mail Online seems to indicate just how insensitive an estate agent can be - or desparate! "An estate agent showed prospective buyers around an £800,000 house while the owner lay dead on her sofa, an inquest heard yesterday." Estate Agent didn't notice Owner was Dead PS If that house is worth £800,000 then I'm even poorer than I thought. Hmmm.
I have a strange feeling in my bones that something is wrong. It is my birthday weekend coming up and I am surrounded by family! Don't get me wrong I really love my family but in recent years familial celebrations of my birthday are either premature or delayed. There have been a couple of occasions in recent years that of course I've been fighting a by election, in 2005 for example dinner on my birthday included the Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicol Stephen at my table at Zaika, Livingston. But what I really want to be going on a ...
Fri 17th
15:53
The Independent View: a Digital Economy, can the Coalition Government make it a reality?
Delivering a Digital Economy is a critical test for the new government. A pledge in the Coalition Government Agreement, the Departments of Business and Culture, Media & Sport now face the challenging task of ensuring broadband is rolled out across the UK by end of this Parliament. But why is access to broadband—and next generation broadband– so crucial? There are two crucial econ-political reasons for the government to support the expansion of broadband. The coalition has emphasised repeatedly that broadband infrastructure and access to services, particularly for the UK's business community, will drive the UK economy out recession. Widening access ...
Although I do have a ballot and am not the only Lib Dem MP to have a ballot paper, I don't think I should cast it.At least, however, I have only one ballot paper. I think Harriet Harman and Jack Dromey have 7 votes between them.
Any Liberal Democrat will tell you he or she believes in localism. So it may be surprising that we have a 'graveyard slot' debate next Tuesday on what ought to be familiar territory. What's more, we are given to believe that the Coalition Government, despite what we always thought about the Tories, is also pursuing an aggressively localist agenda. Up to a point, Lord Copper. On a good day the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government does indeed talk the talk and walk the walk of devolving power. But he also has bad days. He has told councils ...
The elections for the Scottish Parliament next year will be hard for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, as I explained here. Being the fourth largest party in the Parliament has been a hard fact to swallow, if only because we are the second largest party representing Scottish seats in Westminster. We need to gain more seats in Scotland and to do this we need to offer the people of Scotland something totally different from the other parties. We also need to offer something positive and hopeful for Scotland because the narrative of painful cuts is a negative one were Scotland is ...
I have just linked to my article in the Independent about the deficit and Labour's approach.
I was pretty dismayed yesterday at the way the Times interpreted Nick Clegg's article about welfare reform, as if he had become a born-again slasher of people's life support systems. We are in danger of allowing Nick to be portrayed as a hate figure on the left. The baying of the audience in Sheffield during Any Questions last week was not just unpleasant, it was a little frightening. Read the article properly and it is clear that, far from taking the Osborne side in the struggle with Iain Duncan-Smith, Nick seems to be saying that benefits reform needs to create ...
But as one election campaign drew to a close yesterday, another began. Just as we were all about to put away our rosettes and clipboards, Cambridge City Council's lone Tory, Chris Howell handed in his notice. The word in the Lib Dem committee room last night is that it was due to pressure of work but I see he's told the local press he's fed up with it all. Party politics aside, I would like to acknowledge his hard work as a local councillor. His vigorous support of cycling was always very refreshing — not what you usually expect from ...
If you read the headlines you may think that Vince Cable, Business Secretary is criticising the Cap on immigration, well if you look at the detail your see its the temporary and arbitrary cap that he is criticising. I was emailed this today by someone who works in IT; 'So the Lib Dems lost my support and vote yesterday when Vince Cable again insisted that a cap on non-eu immigration would hurt businesses who cannot recruit the right staff. He is missing the point. As far as businesses are concerned they cannot recruit staff AS CHEAPLY AS THEY WOULD LIKE. ...
I thought rather than just blog about the debates (although I intend to do that too) , I would also like to post about what going to the Autumn Conference is like as a first timer. I am sure that many people from other parties would relate to their first conference. As I type this I am somewhere heading Northwest to Liverpool on a train which seems to be pretty full of people heading to the conference. This is only the second time I have been to Liverpool, the last time being 18 years ago to see a mate of ...
I'm in London today, because this morning I took part in a 'bloggers' interview' with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. I'll be blogging about that soon. However no visit to London is complete without a visit to one of my ... Continue reading →
Three quick links to must-read articles this past week, all with compelling arguments to make: The Cameroons already thinking the unthinkable (Bagehot, The Economist) Tory MP Nick Boles' naively sincere suggestion the Tories and Lib Dems will band together at the next election has given rise to much meandering 'could they really?' commentary. I think it's 99% certain not to happen, and I'm not going to invest over-much effort in contemplating a 1% likelihood. But this paragraph did strike me as interesting: I cannot shake the feeling that all these careful, practical objections make sense only if you suppose that ...
Here's the text of the flier I have produced for the LDDPR fringe event happening this Sunday in the ACC in Hall 1B at 8pm. Please get in touch if you would like to help distribute fliers in Liverpool. It's Time We Talked About Drug Policy A Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform fringe discussion With speakers: Niamh Eastwood of Release Danny Kushlick of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation and Ewan Hoyle of LDDPR chaired by Julian Huppert MP A recent poll found 70% of Brits deem the legal regulation of cannabis a more tolerable option than prohibition Would ideas ...
I discovered what at best can be described as a dodgy election ploy and at worst as little better than a Mugabe style voting tactic when I returned from holiday earlier this week. Let me explain....The Trade Unions have made no secret of their desire to see Ed Miliband as the new Labour leader. They see him as a more leftwing character, more in tune with the wishes of the union barons (trade
Lib Dem MPs need to take a vital role restraining the exuberance of the Coalition's secretary of state for education. His enthusiastic promotion of academy status for top ranking schools (as opposed to the previous government giving this to struggling schools) and his determination to get parents and others to set up state-funded free schools answerable only to himself, is in danger of creating a two-tier system of state education. These innovations are driven by political ideology rather than by educational evidence and professional advice. They will undermine the erstwhile democratic attempts by local authorities, once supported by the Lib ...
This week at the TUC Conference Mervyn King clearly stated that the economic disaster that has befallen the UK is the fault of the financial firms and policy makers. It was a candid admission on his part. Mr King is not a politician though and getting Labour supporters to admit failure on anything is virtually impossible. I was at a function the other evening and had a dicussion with a senior Labour Councillor, not from Edinburgh, who claimed that the banking crisis was global and inexplicably Labour had taken all the right decsions to sort it out. Mervyn King ' ...
The local Labour party in Bury has suspended one of their councillors, Tamoor Tariq, and Manchester police are investigating following the discovery of a series of confidential electoral documents dumped in Brandlesholme. The local newspaper lists the items as including, Election canvas sheets containing hundreds of names and addresses of Redvales residents and details of how they intended to vote at the last election — postal General Election ballot papers — a confidential letter from the Governors of the Derby High School — documents and letters addressed to Cllr Tariq at his home in Gigg Lane, Bury — unopened letters ...
[IMG: Hastoe Village Hall] Peacefully slumbering up on the hill at Hastoe is a forgotten gem. The Hastoe Village Hall is remarkable example of a Victorian public building constructed by the Rothschild Estate for the use of villagers in several surrounding villages and hamlets and opened on 13th February 1893 by Lady Emma Rothschild. Now largely unnoticed by those outside Hastoe it is nevertheless part of the Tring town area, thanks to the lands of the old Tring Grange remaining administratively linked to the town. Rather underused, but never neglected, it has now gained the support of the Hastoe Club ...
The leading gay titles in UK publishing Attitude, Diva, GT and PinkPaper have joined together for the first time to make a joint statement: "As our country hosts the Pope this week, we - the leading gay press - stand united against his out-dated stance on homosexuality. We oppose and challenge his view that gay people are unequal, deserve less respect and are a threat to society. Instead, we regard the hate he encourages as one of the greatest threats to fairness and freedom, which should form the foundation of any society, and indeed, religion."As I blogged yesterday I agree ...
Fri 17th
13:10The Independent View: Political Innovation No.4 - opening policy research to the public
This is a guest cross-post by Ivo Gormley – originally posted on the Political Innovation site here. Although Government claims to want our participation and wants us to appreciate its policies, it hides the evidence on which it bases its policies in fat documents and reports that are hard to read and only available free at special events at think-tanks around Whitehall. [IMG: A pile of paper] Responding to our consultation? Excellent! Here's the background reading.... If we want participation in politics in a way that goes beyond choice we need to share policy research in a way that engages ...
Over in New Zealand there is a new initiative to increase collaboration and participation with citizens. The Government have asked the people to make the new Policing Act with a wiki where people can edit and is part of an ongoing public review of proposed changes to the act. The BBC reported it here and ...
Today's Guardian is reporting that David Miliband, ... would like to persuade Nick Clegg to pull out of plans for a referendum on the alternative vote next May. Instead, Miliband wants the Liberal Democrat leader to consider his proposal of a joint referendum on the House of Commons voting system and an elected House of Lords on the same day - something Miliband has called a democracy day. Pause for a moment to recall that the Conservatives have agreed to introduce elections for the House of Lords, and by Proportional Representation no less. So David Miliband's offer amounts to a ...
I was having a pint of Nutty Slack with Michael Braham at the Beer Festival on Saturday, well actually it was a half, when talk turned to elections in Birkdale in the time before it merged with Southport. (You may wish to check out the context in more detail than this posting will allow so please consult the online version of Michael's History of Southport Liberals which can be found on the Birkdale Lib Dem website.) Michael maintains that these may be the oldest council election leaflets in existence from this constituency. They come from the second set of County ...
Frinday: At last! Now I really AM in Government! Uh oh, here comes the BOSS, better look BUSY! Now THIS is how to run the country! [IMG: Posted by Picasa] ACTUALLY, we're here for a BLOGGER'S INTERVIEW, along with awesome Auntie Helen, fearsome (just kidding) Auntie Linda and Best New Blogger nonimees Ms Charlotte and Mr Nick (no, another one!): Liberal Democrats mean open Government [IMG: Posted by Picasa] More, as they say, on this story later... .
The Local Government Chronicle has today published research on how the Lib Dems (and others) have fared in local by-elections since May. It's useful to note as there's been some disagreement. Lib Dems have been pointing to victories and holds as evidence that, where the party campaigns, its vote is holding up very well. Opponents have disagreed (not least in comments on this site) and suggested evidence is being cherry-picked and the Lib Dems vote is actually falling. Here's what the research says (as reported by Paul Waugh in the Evening Standard since the LGC site is subscription-only access). In ...
Stockwood had another meeting on Wednesday, this a Community Meeting. A pleasant change from the Public one called by our two ward councillors on 6th Sept. Tea, biscuits & muffins were on offer. A lot of interesting facts from the youth service, churches, community police officer, review of the Community Festival amongst others & yes the green space plans! From the meeting it's apparent that many Young People are aware of the proposals and one young person in particular is using their Facebook page to promote their opposition to the green space plans to fb friends. Nothing like new media ...
You might be wondering about hustings, now that I mention them... The presidential election rules provide: (a) The Acting Returning Officer shall co-ordinate arrangements for official party member hustings events via the states and regions with a view to balancing the competing demands for media coverage of the campaign, parliamentary and other duties. Other party bodies may only hold hustings-type events if they invite all candidates to attend, but they do not require the agreement of all candidates to attend or send a representative in order to proceed. Events designated as official hustings by the Acting Returning Officer shall take ...
Vince Cable, Lib Dem secretary of state for business, skills and innovation, has made plain his views on the Coalition Government's official policy of an immigration cap. In an interview with the Financial Times, Dr Cable states: "A lot of damage is being done to British industry," the business secretary told the Financial Times on Thursday. He said companies were moving jobs overseas in response to punitive caps that left them unable to hire key staff. "I've got a file full of examples. This is not just people whingeing," he said. The cap on non-EU workers was a manifesto pledge ...
With last week's victory in Fylde putting a spring in our step, by-election watchers have been waiting to see whether this week's crop of nine principal by-elections could turn it into a full-blown Indian summer just two days shy of Federal Conference. The Conservatives held three seats, in Carlisle, Hackney, and the first of their two defences in Kensington and Chelsea. Labour held the Park ward in Knowsley, and also took two seats in Worksop from the Tories; the Worksop South ward on Bassetlaw District Council and the Worksop West division on Nottinghamshire County Council. Much better at fending off ...
I have already blogged here on the prospect of the Coalition Government going ahead with a cull of badgers in England. Their proposals though verge on madness. As I understand it they are suggesting that farmers are licensed to kill badgers either on their own land or collectively within a defined area. This is about the worst option scientifically that they could have chosen. It will lead to massive perturbation due to the piecemeal and uncoordinated approach inherent in the plan, and that will lead to an increase in bTB amongst cattle and other animals. Dr Rosie Woodroffe, a badger ...
Freedom of speech and all that, but I rather do hope this book isn't getting many readers any more: [IMG: Aeroplane Designing For Amateurs] Somewhat disturbingly in the preface author Victor Lougheed says he was inspired by someone who ... died in search of aeronautical knowledge. He does however go on to reassure readers that, "aviation has proved less dangerous, for a given number of persons engaged in it, than [American] college football ... The fact that precarious and ill-designed machines have been extensively built, and have been operated by men more reckless than competent, does not gainsay these facts". ...
Someone on twitter just asked me what makes you qualified and what quality will you bring to the role? with regard to the party presidency. I am indebted to Lady Mark for his succinct description of the threefold nature of the job. To address each of those parts in turn:1, Being the Chair of federal executive, as well as a member of lots of other committeesWhat makes me qualified? I'm currently an officer in my branch party (secretary), my area party (press and communications officer), and my karate club (press and communications officer), and I have had similar roles in ...
Nick Clegg has written about the future of the welfare system, and this is what he had to say: "One of my predecessors as party leader, Jo Grimond, argued 30 years ago that a centralised, bureaucratic "welfare State", treating people as passive recipients of benefits, had to be replaced by a "welfare society", in which people engaged as active citizens in promoting their own welfare, and the welfare of others. This vision is long overdue. Our welfare system is broken — and everyone knows it. The people trapped on benefits year after year with little hope of moving on know ...
As I was driving up to my mother's house on the Wirral yesterday afternoon, through the beautiful Powys countryside, I was reflecting on the political history of the massive Brecon and Radnorshire seat. The Liberal Democrats have held onto this seat at Parliamentary and Assembly level for 25 years, with a short break between 1992 and 1997 when it fell to the Tories by a wafer-thin 130 votes. It was not until I got to my destination that I found out about the untimely death of Richard Livsey, who had single-handedly carved out the Liberal Democrat legacy in that constituency. ...
Fri 17th
11:25New LDV members survey now live: your views on Lib Dem elections, Trident, and the Labour leadership...
The new LDV members' survey is now live. So if you are one of the 1,000+ registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum - and any paid-up party member is welcome to join - then you now have the opportunity to make your views known. We'll be undertaking a full post-conference survey in a week or so's time, so this survey focuses on some internal party elections coming up in the Lib Dems and Labour, specifically: following the announcement that Baroness Ros Scott is standing down as Party President, what you think the main role of the President should ...
I was up at the Royal Victoria Hospital yesterday for my regular checkup. The visit is now pretty routine, with a regular way of working: arrive, check in with the lovely receptionist, sit in waiting room (for ages) see consultant have blood taken for testing head down to pharmacy for prescription Now, my appointment was ...
So, there are, at the time of writing, 4 hopefuls holding their hats at the edge of the ring for the job of Party President. The Establishment's boy is Tim Farron,MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, a man with a zest for life and the energy of at least 20 normal people. His capacity for work is enormous. You can tell that he's popular because he turned a wafer thin majority in 2005 into a whomping one in 2010, taking 60% of the vote. I know people who have worked for him and they think he is brilliant. Having said that, ...
North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell raised the importance of RAF Leuchars during a debate on the "Future of the Armed Forces" at Westminster in which he outlined the contribution the base makes to the UK's defence. Speaking after the debate in the House of Commons, Sir Menzies said: "I took the opportunity to outline briefly the strength of the contribution made to Britain's defence by RAF Leuchars, particularly in view of the enormous success of the Airshow last Saturday when it is estimated as many as 50,000 people may have attended. "I made the point also that in ...
I've been asked to give an update on what's happening with the former Tatton Cinema site in Gatley, which I'm happy to do. There's not much to tell, to be honest. To the best of my knowledge, the owners - Dickens Property Group - are still looking to either sell the site as a whole, or to develop it and let the units for retail. If there's anything more than that, I don't know about it. One comment I will make - on the planning process. Following a strong campaign by local residents, the Council turned down the previous application ...
Welcome to a series where old posts are revived for a second outing for reasons such as their subject has become topical again, they have aged well but were first posted when the site's readership was only a tenth or less of what it is currently or they got published and the site crashed, hiding the finest words of wisdom behind an incomprehensible error message. Today's is a comment Gordon Brown made in 1997 that now, looking back after his Premiership, looks all too prescient about his own time at the top. Speaking to Paddy Ashdown in 1997, Gordon Brown ...
[IMG: Manda Rigby surveying on Pulteney Bridge] A public meeting has been organised to discuss the closure of Pulteney Bridge on the knock on effects to public transport and traffic. The meeting will be on Friday 24th from 7pm at the Percey Room in the United Reformed Church on Grove Street. Manda Rigby, a city centre resident, is organising the meeting after speaking to residents and business owners on the bridge and Great Pulteney Street. She says "there appears to be much confusion about the current state of play, some dismay about the consultation process and timing, and some dissent ...
Today I am preparing for conference. Tomorrow I will be joining the massed ranks of the Liberal Democrats in Liverpool for our Autumn Federal Conference. What has been billed as our largest conference ever. I had wanted to have completed a number of projects and have had some things prepared before conference began. The theory being that I could then make the most of the opportunities of the week and get more out of it. Of course I have finished none of these things. I haven't even properly gone through the conference agenda. I don't know why this happens. Every ...
I mean I wouldn't get away with dropping the C word on Scottish TV would I? Not like this genius on BBC Northwest Tonight anyway. "What did he say?" "Who knows, just broadcast it. By the time it comes on ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Rosette] East Chesterton electors went to the polls yesterday in a by-election for a new county councillor. Local Liberal Democrat Ian Manning beat off an intense Tory challenge from Matt Bradney, the Tory who was defeated at the last county elections, reportedly due to having overseen the Guided Bus fiasco. When the votes were counted, the Tory actually came in third behind Labour. Full results as follows: Liberal Democrat 832 Labour 663 Conservative 334 Green 117 Socialists 53 UKIP 37
The letter referred to earlier this week has been published by the Guardian. Hurrah. We welcome His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the UK as both head of state of the Holy See and as leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics and to the Catholic community of this country. We believe that his presence ...
If you wish to contact me, your best method is to leave me a blog comment on this blog. All comments are immediately emailed to me (unless they get caught in the spam trap), and I check my email on my mobile phone constantly when I am awake. You can also @reply me on twitter, and although I will notice, if I'm not following you myself it will be less immediate than a blog comment. Least immediate is leaving a comment on the wall of my public facebook profile; I check this about once a day. I don't currently have ...
On my way to work on the dreaded commute this morning, I received an email about this blog that rather took me aback. It was from an obviously made up and anonymous email account proclaiming that this blog "didn't stand ... Continue reading →
Here is the latest on the plans for a theatre on Clifton Terrace, N4: Park Theatre Newsletter No.2
[IMG: Doomed!] It's a fair bet that much of the media coverage of Liberal Democrat conference will be of the form 'THEY'RE DOOMED!', with the more subtle coverage for the more discerning journalists being 'Are they doomed?'. That has, after all, been the standard media fare since long before the Coalition, since before Nick Clegg became an MP, since before David Cameron became an MP, since before Tony Blair become Labour leader and since before John Major became Prime Minister. My money isn't on the old standard formula changing this time round for much of the media. There is of ...
I love Liberal Democrat conferences. There, I've said it. Non-political friends of mine don't get it. Surely, what coluld be more tedious than watching people talk at a podium in detail about constitutional ammendments?! They couldn't be further from the truth! It's now 9am on Friday morning and I'm all ready for a long road trip by bus to Liverpool and the autumn 5 day federal conference. I'll be travelling by bus from Cardigan to Aberystwyth, then to Dolgellau, then to Wrexham, then to Chester and then, finally, to Liverpool. It's going to be a long day of travelling but ...
Vince has pointed out that not being able to recruit the right skilled people might be damaging to British businesses. Inevitably, the media are screaming SPLIT! SPLIT!, and the Daily Fail are particularly strident. All Vince is doing is pointing out some empirical evidence that has arisen from the trial application of this policy. OK, so it's anecdata, rather than a proper study, but that's better than no data at all, right? Collective Ministerial Responsibility should not have to mean blindly ignoring signs of trouble. And if Vince is right, and this is expelling banking business abroad, well, that IS ...
Myself, John Pugh MP, Cllr Brenda Porter and Cllr Barry Griffiths before our meeting with Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health. But how did we get to this when the future seemed so rosy ? I have been campaigning since 2003 for the return of children's services to Southport, initially as a mother with 2 small children but also now as a councillor for Southport, so I was incensed and very disappointed at a report, recently produced by Sefton PCT, into the provision of a WIC for children in Southport. This report followed a series of meetings spanning two ...
I have been meaning to restart this blog for a while but the sad news of the death of Richard Livsey was the last thing I expected to be the reopening topic.Richard was without doubt a politician from a different era. Someone who cared about his constituents not just climbing the greasy pole. I remember all too well the shock of sitting on the back step of my house in Aberystwyth in the 1992 sun
Following my second blog post about Clinton Cards I received a strange, badly written and spelt tweet from someone claiming to be the Marketing Director of Clintons. We then made contact, after a round or two of answerphone message table tennis. It appears, allegedly, that my first message to Clinton Cards (first blog post) via their online contact system didn't arrive! I say allegedly because I could see via Site Meter that the Clinton Cards website/IP address was used to read the first blog post. Therefore, even if as they claim they didn't receive the message, why did their PR ...
Regular readers of this blog will know I am a Christian. That means that, contra most of my friends in the Lib Dems, I have a small amount of sympathy with the Catholic church, although I do not recognise their theology as Biblical. The visit of the Pope to Britain is therefore something of a tightrope [IMG: LOL] for people like me. I have absolutely no wish to defend the Catholic church over its behaviour on the paedophilia issue. And I, in common with many, would rather see our public money spent on useful things like hospital beds and apprenticeships ...
I feel that I would like to have a bit more content in here, and these 30-day memes which are going around are rather attractive. The "book-lovers" meme starts by asking for your favourite series of books with more than three volumes. I'm going to give several answers, as I imagine will be the case for later installments too. The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold: Starts off as a slightly quirky set of space opera tales, the hero being both the Emperor's cousin and a liberal dwarf; but culminates in a set of brilliant character studies - Mirror Dance, ...
As you may have heard, the Government is considering a range of measures to deal with the problem of Tuberculosis in cattle, including a targeted cull of badgers.I feel very strongly that we should no...
On Wednesday evening I went to the Arena Theatre to watch Bad Girls - the Musical by Glitterbelles Productions. It was very good, and made me want to get the Bad Girls box-set (by the way that is a hint for my birthday!).
The Liberal Democrat Conference Committee has allowed very little time for emergency motions proposed by members. There are two slots, one of which they have given to a motion on floods in Pakistan which nobody will oppose and will not really require debate. Six perfectly good motions are left to compete for the remaining slot. The ballot between these motions is also so arranged to limit
During the Holocaust thousands of LGBT people were tortured, persecuted and killed. The Nazi's views of family life and focus on procreation rendered those with different sexualities to suffer a great deal (along with many other groups of untouchables be they Jews, Communists, democrats, Jehovah Witnesses, Roma, the disabled, the list goes on). So it was ironic to hear Pope Benedict XVI criticise atheism and link it to Nazism despite atheisms modern form. His hatred of LGBT folk, his focus on the family and on procreation (which leads to higher STD levels in countries who take his demand they do ...
Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime's attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives. As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ...
I hope you will read this appeal for support for a Lib Dem council candidate and his agent who were the victims of an unpleasant libel claim by a Tory opponent which they eventually won but which cost them dearly. They were left out of pocket to the tune of many thousands despite winning the case and being awarded full costs. It seems that in the arcane world of English law, 'full costs' does not mean what it says. The two Lib Dems were even helped by a Conservative lawyer who recognised the action as a serious attack on democracy. ...
On Friday last week we had a major moment of family drama - B, our eldest, who is severely disabled and lives in permanent residential care 30 km away from us, went down with serious food poisoning and had to go into hospital. Because she can't talk and can be rather difficult if people mess with her (eg, giving her medicine, or more specifically putting a drip in her arm), Anne had to go and stay with her full-time in hospital; I had to rush back early from my business trip to Moldova and look after the other two until ...
Richard Livsey – Lord Livsey of Talgarth, former Brecon and Radnorshire MP and former Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, died peacefully at home on Wednesday night aged 75. Kirsty Williams AM, the current leader of the Welsh Lib Dems, has paid tribute to Lord Livsey. Richard Livsey was a man of immense honour and decency who was loved and respected by his constituents, colleagues and by politicians of all parties. He will be remembered particularly as a champion for the rural communities in which he lived and an expert on agriculture, which he worked in all his professional life. ...
Lord Livsey - Richard Livsey - who was Liberal and then Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon & Radnor between 1985-92 and 1997-2001, has died at the age of 75. BBC News quotes a tribute to him from Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and AM for the same constituency: "a man of immense honour and decency who was loved and respected by his constituents, colleagues and by politicians of all parties. "He will be remembered particularly as a champion for the rural communities in which he lived and an expert on agriculture, which he worked in all his ...
There is a small piece of me that is glad that I'm not involved in what is to follow. However, having been here before, I feel that my role as public information announcer for the contest to come is my contribution to enhancing our internal democracy. The key dates are as follows; 29 September - close of nominations 16 October - issue of ballot papers 10 November - deadline for receipt of ballot papers 13 November - count of ballot at Cowley Street and announcement of result As for hustings, here are the potential locations... 9 October - Dunfermline (Scottish ...
I've been aware of Tim Minchin for a few years now, although have never heard him perform much more than a handful of songs on Radio 4's Loose Ends. A couple of weeks ago, I recorded a broadcast of one of his shows and I watched most of this last night. He looks a bit like a ginger, Australian Russell Brand although a closer comparison might be Bill Bailey. His set is combination of stand up and comedy songs with subject matter ranging from being a father and failed rock star to religion and Middle Eastern politics. There were a ...
RT @libdemvoice: Should someone doing 3 days a month work get £14,358 per year? http://ldv.org.uk/21066 # Top story on the engine-group Daily http://bit.ly/bvIopg (via @synergytim) ? Meeting the Little Master | Synergy Sponsorship: The Sponsor... # 42pc of general election candidates were on Facebook; 34pc were on Twitter #epop # Woo! #epop pub quiz winners, and it's quality prizes all round http://flic.kr/p/8zTqpY # RT @libdemvoice: Ros Scott not standing again for LibDem President http://ldv.org.uk/21083 < Party chatter is Tim Farron will go for it # The engine-group Daily is out! http://bit.ly/bvIopg ? top story via @luciebartlett : Single-minded man with ...
Thanks to the wonderful djm4, who recorded it on the night and sent it over to me, I've been watching my TV appearance on BBC Northern Ireland for the general election coverage back in May. One thing that jumped out at me now, which I was too busy to pick up on the night, was the different reactions of the DUP and UUP to the fate of their leaders. Arlene Foster in the studio and Ian Paisley jr at his count were clearly disappointed but not shocked at Peter Robinson's defeat; thinking about it, and reflecting on my conversations at ...
On Wednesday the Guardian ran a leader under the above title, suggesting that Charles Kennedy may be playing a "long game." It is just possible, of course, that such articles appear without promptings from Kennedy and his supporters - or maybe not. Charles Kennedy receives may plaudits from his supporters for leading the party to victory in 63 seats, its largest number for umpteen years and larger than at present. However, in the 2005 election Labour was in disarray, largely over the illegal Iraq war, the Conservatives were led from the far right by Michael Howard on a manifesto written ...
i) births and deaths 17th September 1972: death of Peter Stephens, who played Cyril, the Kitchen Boy, and the Knave of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker (1966), and Lolem the high priest in The Underwater Menace (1967). ii) broadcast anniversaries 17th September 1966: broadcast of third episode of The Smugglers. Ben and Polly use witchcraft to escape the villagers, but are recaptured; the Doctor fails to escape the pirates. 17th September 1977: broadcast of third episode of Horror of Fang Rock. People start dying; Reuben starts glowing; and the Doctor admits to Leela that he has locked the enemy in ...
On the eve of the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference, Vince Cable has used a speech to criticise the Coalition Government's immigration policy. According to the Financial Times' Westminster Blog, Vince says that the immigration cap is "doing great damage" and cited a British company that needed 300 specialists - half of which needed to come from outside the EU - but had geen given a quota of just 30: He said he wasn't willing to defend the existing system (a temporary cap is in place ahead of a more permanent system from next spring) and said he was "at the ...
Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Linda Wade has scored a stunning triumph in Earl's Court Ward, Kensington & Chelsea, comfortably taking a seat off the Conservatives in a byelection held yesterday. This is the first time in the history of the Royal Borough that this ward has been Liberal/Liberal Democrat-held. Indeed, until last year, no Liberal Democrat ...
I was sad to hear earlier tonight about the death of former Liberal Democrat MP Richard Livsey. I never really knew Richard, although I do remember standing up to disagree with him in front of loads of other party members at a post-election wash-up meeting in Llandrindod Wells in 2003. I don't think he minded. ...
[IMG: Helen Pighills (centre) wins Northcourt by-election, Abingdon] Oxford West & Abingdon Lib Dems are celebrating their third local by-election victory in a row since the General Election. Helen Pighills held Northcourt Ward on Abingdon Town Council with an increased majority over the Conservatives. This means that the Lib Dems retain all 21 seats on the Council. Helen Pighills said: I look forward to joining the hard-working and effective team of Lib Dems who are doing such a good job running Abingdon Town Council. Constituency Organiser Neil Fawcett said: After the disapointment of the General Election the local team have ...
In a move which some commentators view as a recognition by the Conservatives of the strong feelings about the expense of the Trident programme on the part of their allies in the coalition government, Liberal Democrat Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey has suggested that some major decisions could be put back from 2014 to 2015. There is also a comment on Liberal Democrat Voice.
I went to see 1984 at The Duke's Theatre in Lancaster yesterday. I'm sure you know the story but I did think about the ways George Orwell's vision has come true. Look up in any town and you will see CCTV. We are being watched continuosly. Maybe we are all observed to a much greater extent than in the story, but at least in the story they knew they were being watched and Winston Smith found a little corner of his room where he could hide. We don't think about how many cameras we pass when we leave our houses. ...
