One of the readers of this blog has suggested that I should run a "suggestion scheme" for ways that the county council could save money. After all, the government set up a Public Spending Challenge website - which it has since had to close down whilst it evaluates the 100,000 suggestions it received - and the council itself has invited its own staff to make suggestions. Whilst it might take a while for this website to reach 100,000, I would be willing to forward any reasonable ideas you have for the county council to save money - and feed the ...
Andrew from Tweetminster grabbed me for a quick audio interview about the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool earlier today. You can listen to the interview here. More detailed coverage of our conference is over on Lib Dem Voice.
... is to be found over on Left Foot Forward: Party democracy alive and kicking at Lib Dem conference. I don't agree with all of it – such as the use of "indefensible" [IMG: :-)] – but it's a good post that shows an understanding of how parties work and makes good use of details of what has happened at conference.
I understand that the county council have now heard from the inspector's clerk who has said that the report will not be out till next week.
The coalition represents our single biggest chance in a generation to end for good the old two party politics with us playing piggy in the middle. For the first time since the war, we sit on the government benches, and Liberal Democrat policies are being introduced as government policy. We should be shouting this from ...
The jokes write themselves for this one: Walter Kirke, deputy head of military intelligence at GHQ France, wrote in his diary that Mansfield Cumming, the first chief (or C) of the SIS was "making enquiries for invisible inks at the London University". In October he noted that he "heard from C that the best invisible ink is semen"The first head of Mi6, called Cumming, got his agents to use semen as a form of invisible ink.
Over the past three years, I have raised concerns about the condition of Queen Victoria Works in the West End Ward. Yesterday's partial roof collapse reinforces my concerns. Earlier today I wrote to the council's Legal Manager, Director of City Development and the Buildings Safety Officer as follows : "I paste below some of the previous correspondence regarding the above works and write to express my concern at the collapse of a significant section of roofing of the building yesterday. I reiterate my concerns about the safety of the building. I am aware that it has been inspected in the ...
Yesterday evening I was invited to a meeting between Andrew Mitchell, the British secretary of state for international development, and BOND - an overarching body for Britain's non-governmental organisations. The BOND was made up of senior people from many of Britain's most important health and development campaigns, So there we were, in the boardroom of the United Nations Foundation in New York: the minister, the great and good of the British development world and, er, me. It is a tribute to the mystique that attaches to blogging - and more to the work and contacts of my new friends in ...
The other day, an elite group of bloggers* (and myself) met up with Chris Huhne MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (and a Lib Dem to boot), for a nice chat. I will leave it to those terribly organised people who actually took an audio recording of the interview to relay in ...
So it's Spurs 1 Arsenal 4 in tonight's Carling Cup match at White Hart Lane. A brilliant debut goal from Henri Lansbury and an all-round performance from everyone except Mr Flappihandski. Had the linesman done his job properly, it would have been 0-5. But hey... The match stats are quite telling. The Gunners had more ...
This evening, I attended the networking event run by the Maxwelltown Information Centre (see right) before its AGM, to highlight the educational and support services the centre offers. I then attended the Harris Academy Parent Council at which the rebuilding programme report going before the City Council's Education Committee next Monday was discussed.
I've just got back from Liverpool, a little earlier than I should have, leaving the conference in full swing. It was a strange business. Police frogmen in the Mersey. Sniffer dogs in every boot. A lot of sharp-suited lobbyists. The argument behind the scenes was about how, in practice, to manage the business of differentiating the party from the government. More about this one later. I felt rather proud to be part of the party. The only bit I feel really frustrated about is the overwhelming rejection of the free schools idea. I realise, of course, that I am in ...
I am deeply disappointed that the US Senate has managed to drop the ball on whether openly gay people can serve in the armed forces. Gay personnel can serve but face being kicked out if they reveal their sexuality. 10,500 have been expelled between 1997 and 2008 under the so called "don't ask don't tell" policy. The move supported by 56 senators to scrap this was lost - they needed 60 votes out of the 100 senators. The US Senate is not a proportional body with a massive state like California (pop 37 Million) only getting the same number of ...
Yesterday afternoon Nick Clegg delivered his eagerly awaited conference speech. There had been many specultions about how the new Deputy PM would pitch his first speech to Lib Dem grassroot members. Would it be triumphant or defensive? Would he shout from the roof tops about Lib Dem achievements or would there be a nervous and disgruntled membership that needed to be calmed down? ...
This week our leader Nick Clegg made his first speech to the party faithful at conference as Deputy Prime Minister. Watching the speech later in the evening (as I was unable to watch/listen to it all at work) I was struck by how different Clegg's delivery has become. He seemed calmer and more assured and ...
- finished my degree in Law - got properly involved in party politics. I campaigned supporting our lovely Steve Goddard in Oxford East. - got into professional modelling. Got people to pay me money for looking pretty - worked as a teacher -worked as a waitress - started working as a Political Development Officer - ...
The Dulwich Pool reopens this Friday 24 September 6.30am with adult swimming lanes. Last week I popped in to take a pre opening peek with my ward colleagues Cllr Rosie Shimell and Cllr Jonathan Mitchell. it looked fab. [IMG: pict0082.JPG] It was 2005 and Cllr Richard Thomas and I were discussing with East Dulwich residents what did the area need. Renovating Dulwich Leasure Centre including its pool became one of our key 2006 manifesto pledges. It's taken five months longer for phase 1 and will have taken 10 month for phase 2 (the gym) than we promised but I'm still ...
As I write, the Liberal Democrat conference is continuing in Liverpool. Having returned to London, I thought I would share my views on the conference and the party. I was there from Sunday to Tuesday. I wasn't in the conference hall to watch Nick Clegg's speech but by all accounts the television screen did not diminish its sense of purpose and sobriety. I was there for my employer and so spent less time talking to delegates and more time with policymakers and business people. From what I heard and could see, the mood was upbeat. The delegates appeared energised and ...
In a stunt worthy of the glory days of the Liberal Assembly, someone from Water Aid has been attempting to attend events around the MDG Summit dressed as a giant poo. Sadly, not everyone thinks this is a good idea. The costume was banned from the Stand Up rally at Lincoln Plaza. Now it has been banned from the UN Week Digital Media Lounge. A victory for taste and decency, you may say. But this stunt was designed to publicise a terrible problem. Kate Norgrove from WaterAid says: "A giant poo may seem like an odd way to get a ...
There's some debate over exactly what was said at last night's event, which I shall clarify below. However, first I'd like to pay tribute to the excellent work by Adrian Trett, the Chair of the LibDem LGBT organisation. For those who haven't already heard, the marriage equality motion passed at Federal Conference today, making the Liberal Democrats the first party in government to back equal marriage as a matter of policy. In the short time I've known Adrian, there is only one obvious flaw I have discovered: He's far too hesitant to take the credit for all the hard work ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we're currently publishing the full results. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Lib Dem conference will be debating an emergency motion on Trident, which states that: "The exclusion of Trident from the Strategic Defence and Security Review is now untenable; it should be included and receive the scrutiny which strategic, political and financial circumstances demand." Our members' survey asked identical questions to those posed ...
Eden Mulliner, Romford stalwart of Havering Liberal Democrats, was a larger-than-life character in every sense. Her physical presence was imposing, accentuated by striking looks which she attributed to Cherokee roots on her paternal side. She was a teacher by vocation — notably in adult education, building the self-confidence and abilities of people who were often coping with ...
[IMG: nick-is-right] Catching up on a few things I missed over the last couple of days of conference. Here is an interesting article from Frazer Nelson (Spectator) that I urge you to have a look at. In his piece (yesterday) he wrote... ...." If Nick Clegg was a weak-willed, crowd-pleasing charlatan the the front page of yesterday's Independent would not have read "Clegg: there is no future for the Lib Dems as a left party". Turning up to a Lib Dem conference and saying there's no point in being a party of lefty protesters is like William Shatner telling delegates ...
That's the Channel 4 News headline tonight, and it seems a fair reflection of Nick Clegg's interview with Jon Snow this evening: As I tried to explain in my speech yesterday, some of the misgivings expressed in the conference hall I genuinely think slightly misunderstand what the government policy is going to do. I think there is a misunderstanding bluntly between what the free schools proposal is alleged to be trying to do and what it will actually do. It won't be taking resources and people and attention away from other schools... and crucially, as I stressed in my speech ...
"Coalition,Cuts and Conservatives" was, when I looked it up ahead of conference, reckoned to be the 5th most popular fringe at conference. And popular it certainly was. Apologies to the hundreds that were turned away as 'ealth and safety forced us to close the doors. We had a hairy moment or two in the preceding half hour..not least the fact that conference registration "opening hours" (or closing hours to be more precise) meant that one of our speakers - Lembit Opik - could not actually not get in to conference! Yes, the steward knew who Lembit was (even my mum ...
I have long said that the Liberal Democrats are greener than the Green Party. Today, Chris Huhne showed us why. The Green New Deal This is the plan, it's where it's at. This is what Lib Dems were suggesting in the run up to the election, and it's going to rock your world. Literally; guys are going to come into your house and insulate it for free, and then a couple of years later, your energy bill will fall. Not just if you have cavity walls, not just if you live in a city, not just anything. Every home in ...
Over at The Independent, Lib Dem MP for Newquay & St Austell Stephen Gilbert explains his support for equal LGBT rights, which took another step forward today with the Lib Dem conference support for equal marriage. Here's an excerpt: ... despite the repeal of Section 28, the equalisation of the age of consent, same-sex adoption and civil partnerships; homophobia still rears its ugly head in playgrounds, workplaces and even in the home. It's unacceptable. It's an individual's right to live their lives as they see fit, without discrimination, with personal privacy, with equal rights in front of the law. That's ...
It is very encouraging to see a couple of major coalition policies being reviewed and potentially modified towards the Liberal Democrat point of view. First we had news that the Trident replacement decision is likely to be shelved until 2015, opening up the possibility of kicking the "like for like" replacement policy into the long grass. This follows the very welcome decision by George Osborne to include the Trident replacement in the ordinary MOD budget, thereby making it more likely that it could be "squeezed out" by cost constraints. Today there is news that the temporary immigration cap is likely ...
Last winter, when snow fell in unusual large amounts in mid-Suffolk, my village was lucky enough to be gritted. At least, the main road through the village was gritted and remained pretty passable. However, for those of us who live on The Lane, the village's only other significant street, the road surface was like an ice rink, treacherous underfoot, and decidedly tough to drive on. And so, as a Parish Council, we decided to seek help from the County. Today, I'm told that the County Council have decided to provide us with some grit piles (apparently, these are not some ...
There's a tendency after party leaders' speeches — and this applies across the political divide — to term them "uplifting", "inspirational", or "his best yet". Partly it's unavoidable: the media wants an insta-reaction. Any senior or grassroots Lib Dem sounding less-than-orgasmic will find their words spreading virally like wildfire, as the media picks up on the slightest note of dissent. I stand by what I wrote yesterday about Nick's speech to conference. But there were a couple of things I deliberately held back until the news media had moved on. When I called it "sober", this was of course a ...
A couple of press links for issues I have been involved with. A good piece in Holyrood Magazine this morning. This is Scotland's answer to the House Magazine. They really take local government seriously I am delighted to say. Also there was the announcement of some further regeneration at Wauchope and Dumbiedykes. Here is the story from the Edinburgh Evening News.
Tue 21st
17:45
Richard Grayson and me debate the Coalition on Radio 4 Westminster Hour - listen again
I was a guest, together with Richard Grayson (vice-chair of the Lib Dem federal policy committee), on BBC Radio 4′s The Westminster Hour on Sunday evening. In the highly unlikely event that you missed listening to it live, gathered with your nearest and dearest around the wireless, then the following link should take you directly there: (Also available here.) Richard is a serious Coalition-sceptic... both someone who has a serious analysis of the Lib Dems from a social liberal (liberal-left, if you must) — his Compass publication, The Liberal Democrat Journey to a Lib/Con Coalition, is a must-read — and ...
Far away across the grey eternity of the North Atlantic, my fellow Liberal Democrats are preparing to enjoy this evening's Glee Club. As ever, we at Liberator have produced a new songbook for the occasion, complete with an introduction from Rutland's most popular fictional peer. You can find last year's introduction and links to Lord B's earlier essays in this genre elsewhere on this blog. Bonkers HallRutlandTel: Rutland 7 Perhaps because, happily, slavery was abolished in both during the middle decades the nineteenth century, there has always existed a natural sympathy between the people of the Mississippi Delta and those ...
Thanks to my obsessive book-blogging and cross-referencing, I can reveal that these are the top ten books on LibraryThing by popularity which I have given two or fewer stars out of five: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Twilight by Stefenie Meyer Angels and Demons by Dan Brown Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice There are very few other books ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we're currently publishing the full results. With the election for party president in the offing, Lib Dem Voice asked our sample of party members: What do you think the main role of the President should be? Here's what you told us: 16% – To become a known face in the media representing the Lib Dem position on the TV and radio. ...
The BBC report that the referendum on whether the Welsh assembly should gain more powers seems almost certain to be on Thursday, 3 March next year. They say that this is the preferred date put forward by the Welsh Assembly Government to Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan. She is expected to agree that voters will go to the polls on that day for the third Welsh devolution referendum in 32 years, after 1979 and 1997. The Welsh Government says it is awaiting Mrs Gillan's formal response. Update: Commenting on the announcement, Kirsty Williams AM said: "The UK Government has acted swiftly ...
The Lib Dem Conference has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The mood amongst delegates has been positive and determined. Positive about the opportunities to put Lib Dem principles into action, and determined to sort out the mess Labour left the country in within the 5 year term of this parliament. My previous post covered the decisive action being taken to sort out the economic crisis and I don't want to cover that ground again, except to point out a statistic that Nick Clegg raised in his excellent speech yesterday. In answer to those who claim that the current government is ...
Yesterday we reported the Telegraph's list of numbers 26 to 50 in their annual list of 'influential Lib Dems', as devised by Iain Dale, Brian Brivati "with the help of a panel of senior Lib Dems". Today we find out who they placed top of the pile... The least surprising news is that Nick Clegg reclaims his place as the Number 1 most influential Lib Dem. Indeed it shows the limit of such lists that last year he was mischievously relegated to the runners-up spot, behind Vince Cable — of course no one could have predicted 'Cleggmania' at that stage, ...
So, Stonewall have come out at (of all places) the LGBT fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference, and said they're against same-sex marriage because it will be "too expensive" when suddenly queer people start claiming pensions. [IMG: [livejournal.com profile] ] zoeimogen, who was actually there, has written in more detail about it, and how he went on to shame LGBT people wanting to marry when there is homophobic murder to fight. With Stonewall's routine ignorance of bisexuality, it might be fair to wonder why they exist at all, if they're anti-equality and ignore a third of their remit as ...
This is the text of the speech I made in the 'Equal Marriage' debate at Liberal Democrat conference. It may not be word for word as I delivered it, but it's pretty much there. Last weekend Matthew and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. We did so in the traditional manner for a Liberal Democrat ...
An excellent speech today from (Lord) Tom McNally: What was so sad about the last Labour Government was that it slipped far too easily in to authoritarian behaviour and authoritarian measures. Labour created thousands of new offences and used a steady stream of criminal justice and anti-terrorism laws to ratchet up the powers of the state and to diminish the rights of the citizen. This coalition comes into office to reverse that tidal flow of laws and restrictions on individual liberty. Which is why my department, the Ministry of Justice, will now check each new criminal offence. And if we ...
There are some questions you are not meant to ask at events like this. I was at the Mashable/92Y Social Good Summit yesterday. It was all very inspiring, but also very corporate - in a touchy feely, social media sort of way. They even asked for question to the speakers to be sent in by Twitter. All was going well until one such question arrived. When was the US going to open its markets to poor farmers in the Third World. Complete consternation. Eventually the speaker recovered himself. "I think we should focus on all the positive things..." I was ...
Discussion in the Lib Dem Voice office during Chris Huhne's speech to conference was mainly about Malta but also on Chris Huhne's choice of which words to emphasise in his sentences. As you can see from the list of emphasised words I noted during the end part of his speech, they have a pleasing haiku-like quality about them: Are You Win Spring Term Gloom Achievement Not An Fixed Biggest Renaissance New Green Coalition Country Like This We Believes This We Culmination Day Come Values
Chris Huhne, currently giving his speech to conference: I say again there will be no subsidy to nuclear, for a very clear reason: it is a mature technology, not an infant needing nurture. Every person in my department has a very clear motivation to ensure that the full costs of nuclear - present and future - are fully taken into account. More than half our budget - £1.7bn a year - goes on the clean-up costs of old nuclear facilities. Britain had artificially cheap nuclear electricity for decades. While I was on holiday in Wales, I met a camper in ...
I found myself having heretical thoughts in the Global Campaign for Education meeting yesterday. Is there too much schooling around these days? Not in the Third World, I hasten to add: the Campaign's call for all children to receive at least primary education is obviously right. There were all sorts of impressive figures bandied about - every extra year of education adds 10 per cent to a child's eventual income. No, I was thinking of the West, where schooling lasts for ever and increasing numbers of youngsters seem disaffected from it. I have heard tales from people who have taught ...
crossposted at Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland That campaign was marred by the interference of outside bodies including the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) and others. MPAC and others campaigned in favour of the Liberal Democrat. Phil Woolas MP in email published in Saddleworth News The above quotation comes from the embattled Labour Member of ...
As I heard Andrew Mitchell, the British development secretary (more about him later), say yesterday, this Millennium Development Goals summit resembles an upmarket political conference. My first event of yesterday was organised by the Global Campaign for Education at a hotel near the United Nations Building. Among the speakers were Queen Rania of Jordan and a notably relaxed Gordon Brown. Clearly, not being prime minister does wonders for your state of mind. There were lots of speakers and limited time, so it was a very soundbitey event. Rather than try to report it in full I shall just send you ...
Just a quick reminder that LDV welcomes contributions from all, and none more so than during conference. Our team is trying to provide a variety of different perspectives of how the conference works, but it is an enormous endeavour, and we welcome pieces from our readers with your experiences of conferences. Have you been to an interesting fringe you'd like to review? Do you have a different view of what happened in the main hall from how we recorded it here? You need no experience to submit a piece to the Voice, and neither do you need to have your ...
Tue 21st
14:46
Tim Farron: "Our ministers are selling the coalition, someone has to sell what the Lib Dems are for"
Whilst I was at conference, I got the chance to talk at greater length with Tim Farron, MP for Westmoreland and Lonsdale and a candidate for the Presidency of the Liberal Democrats. Tim is also someone I have campaigned alongside for many years as we entered the Party at about the same time. Here is what he had to say for himself. The Presidency has changed massively because we are in power and have the Deputy Prime Minister running the country. We need someone who can get out there, inspire people and sell our message. We need to counter the ...
Sarah Teather made an excellent point at an RSA/Social Investment Business fringe event earlier today: the Big Society was our idea. For years and years, Lib Dems have fought over-centralisation and campaigned for more local solutions. While Margaret Thatcher and many others in her party were arguing that there's no such thing as a society ...
I'm really delighted that my fellow Liberal Democrats earlier today passed the Equal Marriage in the UK motion at conference. However, sitting here watching it both me and Mícheál were struck by the anti speeches. Now we know our constitution says we shouldn't be enslaved by ignorance but there is a certain amount of reading what the motion actually says that seems to have been ignored. Point 2 of what conference calls for says (emphasis mine) To allow approved religious and humanist who wish to do so to legally solemnise and celebrate same-sex marriage and civil partnerships in places of ...
This morning the Lib Dems voted to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples and open the institution of marriage to gay couples. Conference was addressed by a broad spectrum of those directly affected by the issue and many supporters from the sideline. Amongst the speakers was former mayoral candidate Brian Paddick who spoke of his own experience of marriage. He was married in the UK to a woman in the early 1980s before his growing realisation of his own sexuality. Since falling in love with a Norwegian man in the 2000s he took advantage of the change of law in ...
That campaign was marred by the interference of outside bodies including the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) and others. MPAC and others campaigned in favour of the Liberal Democrat. Phil Woolas MP in email published in Saddleworth News The above quotation comes from the embattled Labour Member of Parliament for Oldham East & Saddleworth in ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was informed in writing twice by S4C that it would be unlawful to force the broadcaster to take a cut of £2m in its funding this year. Despite this his department continue to insist that the cut was agreed by the S4C Authority: Mr Thomas, a former Heritage Minister, said: "These letters were not released by the DCMS voluntarily. We had to threaten to take the department to the Information Commissioner before they reluctantly passed them to us. "The letters show that on two occasions S4C's chairman made it clear ...
I was on Radio Tay News this afternoon regarding the council budget and the so-called "Changing for the Future" Board - click 'play' to listen.
Thosse very nice people over at Wales Home have posted a profile of me. I am sure I will come to terms with it soon.
Back in May, I raised the need for dropped kerbing in the Peddie Street area. I was concerned to learn recently from an elderly resident in the area that she had a fall from her motorised scooter at the Annfield Street/Peddie Street junction, where there is currently no dropped kerbing. The City Council has now informed me : "This area around Peddie Street and Annfield Street has been included in the area already identified and a works order has been issued to Tayside Contracts undertake dropped kerb work here. We have strived to provide access at most important junctions in ...
So defeated Oxford West & Abingdon MP and left-liberal firebrand Evan Harris doesn't like the coalition and worries about the message it sends to his preferred allies on the old left of Labour. Or so says in his article for The Guardian. What's new? Evan has shown disquiet about non-lefto-neo-revisionist-libero-economism by the party leadership for much of his career. He is about as likely to embrace a broad centre-ground positioning for the Liberal Democrats as Bob Crowe welcoming a restructuring plan on the London Underground. He isn't, though, a thoughtless polemicist, and much of what he says is balanced and ...
Nick Clegg's speech to the Lib Dem conference was probably his best to date. But more importantly he didn't duck the issues and he didn't ignore the concerns of members and public anxiety over cuts. Crucially he also reminded people inside the auditorium and across Britain, how we have got to where we are now. How the Banks got us into this mess, and must pay and be held responsible. How the Labour Government made things worse and must not be allowed to airbush their failings. We must never forget the damage they have done to Britain. And, how the ...
We've been in government now for just over 4 months. In a way, we've got used to this very quickly. As a party and as members we've had to get ourselves into this new mindset and we have done so. So much so in fact, that, and particularly to newer members who know little else, we almost take the fact that we're in this position with a pinch of salt and just get on with it. But, taking a step back, yesterday was actually an incredibly historic day for our party. Monday 21st September 2010 was the day that Nick ...
Earlier today the Liberal Democrats discussed Equal Marriages at their Conference.
I reported in detail on the new plans for refuse and recycling collections in Stockport a week or tw back. This is the official information from Stockport Council - there will be a lot more, of course. During October, all suitable households will be given a small food waste caddy and a roll of 150 compostable liners for collecting all types of food waste for recycling. The new food waste collection service will start in November. The food waste collected in the caddy will be put into the garden waste bin and collected weekly. Households who do not have a ...
Tue 21st
12:25
2015 - The Challenge. Should Clegg lead the Liberal Democrats into the next General Election?
Although I am by no means an eager fan of the coalition government's programme, in fact I find some of the measures taken nauseating; I do remain of the belief that entering into government with the Conservative Party was the right thing to do (albeit due to the lack of options available to the party at the time, heaven forbid an unfettered Tory government). In the long term, however, I do have some reservations about how the Liberal Democrats proceed into the next general election. Presumably (well, I sincerely hope), the reason that we have heard so much about how ...
Just about now if things are going to schedule item number F35 Equal Marriage in the United Kingdom is being debated at Liberal Democrat conference. Here, slightly modified, is the speech that I am not able to present for a second time (the first at Scottish because I moved the transgender amendment, now because I am absent). Conference, it is with great delight that I am able to dust of this speech that I didn't make at Scottish Conference this Spring, on this very matter. Especially because lines 4-5 and 29-31 look very happily familiar to the Transgender amendment I ...
Just a matter of days ago there seemed to be no way for Andy Coulson, David Cameron's Director of Communications, to save his job. The growing clamour and drip-feed of testimony to his involvement in the News Of The World phone-hacking scandal was, a very short time ago, threatening to suck the life out of ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we'll be publishing the full results of our survey in the next couple of days. A fortnight ago, in a surprise announcement, Baroness (Ros) Scott said she would not seek a second term as Lib Dem party president, the only party post other than the Leader directly elected by Lib Dem members. Ever since there has been much speculation about who ...
Liberal Democrat Conference today discussed how the Government could ensure fairness in a time of austerity.
'Bureaucracy' has shaped the organisation of the public sector and organisational change has been seen as an important part of the solution to a whole range of problems, including poverty, unemployment, housing, health, and education etc. That is not to say that efforts had not been made previously to address some of these problems, but ...
The Lib Dem conference continues. Naturally lots of people have been focusing on what Nick Clegg had to say, but amidst the coalition chatter there were a couple more interesting things debated in the last 24 hours. A motion was passed on "green taxes," which were a big thing we campaigned on in the election campaign and which we're now advocating in government. The motion called for a shift in the tax burden onto the polluter to promote energy efficiency and investment in renewable energy. It also called for controls to be put in place so that changes to the ...
Those who want to follow the proceedings of the Liberal Democrat conference currently being shown on BBC-Parliament can do that through
Politicos Top Trumps Specials – conference 2010 – are here. The chance to do top-trumpy battle with MPs well known and not so well known from across the political spectrum. And alongside the fairly cut-and-dried majority and years in parliament categories, there are three that may cause a little more disagreement amongst the onlookers, not to mention the all-important write-ups of each member. "Millionaire environmentalist" Zac Goldsmith may have the top fanciability – a storming 100 – but may be a little disappointed to be given a potential of just 3/10. Even Eric Pickles might find it hard to object ...
Ah, so it wasn't belated birthday wishes a couple of conference representatives had in mind yesterday, but rather a reference to the Telegraph's latest list of the most influential Liberal Democrats which has me at number 40 (up 2 on last year, but still below my previous dizzy heights in the 30s). The second half of the list is also now out and you can read it here.
Liberal Democrats today railed against the centralisation of the last Labour Government shifting power away from local communities.
I have taken a bit of time away from BBC Parliament and the delights of Liberal Democrat conference to spend Sunday & Monday in another modern seaside city, Dundee. I came home shattered last night so it wasn't really until this morning that I discovered thanks to a late night blog from Stephen that Stonewall director Ben Summerskill had stated opposition to equal marriage at a DELGA fringe at Conference. I know many of my friends have been increasingly annoyed with Stonewall in recent times. I was particularly disgusted with their lack of compassion for David Laws earlier this year. ...
I have been watching the Lib Dem conference, from the comfort of my living room and without the dilemma of which shoes to take. I've really enjoyed watching the debates (when BBC Parliament had sorted out its technical hitches), and realise that its only a taste of conference, as we bystanders miss out on fringe events, training opportunities and meeting people. From what I have seen and read on twitter and blogging, the mood of conference is ebullient and positive. It has reminded me why I like the party. The debates show that whilst we are in a coalition, we ...
Tue 21st
09:27
Good news for minor parties, unelected politicians and those who dislike election expense controls
Slipped in near the end of Nick Clegg's keynote speech to Liberal Democrat conference was the news that the first democratic elections to the House of Lords are pencilled in for 2015. Party sources have confirmed that the reference to Liberal Democrat candidates at the next general election fighting alongside candidates for a reformed Upper House means the draft Lords reform legislation due to be published early in 2011 is being planned on the basis of elections in 2015. [IMG: House of Lords. Photo: Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament] Minor party boost There are three ...
Sodbury in Bloom has won two awards at the South West In Bloom Award Ceremony. Not only did they gain a Silver Award, they were also awarded the very prestigious "Best Newcomer Award" - in all they gathered two plaques and a Bristol Blue Glass statuette. Although the group was only formed a few months before the judges arrived, they put in so much hard work and enthusiasm that the judges said that all the other groups should watch out for them in future. They certainly impressed the judges with their efforts and enthusiasm. Congratulations to all involved!
LibDemVoice are hosting four events at conference – fuller details are available here. As the week motors on, the evening planned for our Liberal Drinks / Tweetup night approaches. We'll be in the Baltic Fleet pub from 7.30pm onwards tonight having a friendly drink in a real ale pub and getting ready for Glee Club. If you'd like to come along, why not click here to let your twitter friends know.
On my way out of the leader's speech yesterday I got grabbed by a nice lady from the Financial Times. Wasn't expecting much to come of it because she was grabbing LOTS of people, but she picked me out to follow on from Tom Brake:Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, said the speech ticked all the boxes in that it "reminded any doubters the reasons why we went into the coalition" while also setting out the early wins the party had struck in shaping policy. "The mood here is positive." Jennie Rigg, a party member, said the leadership needed ...
Just a few brief observations on the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool: The expected media narrative of party splits and challenges to the leadership and the coalition was never going to happen. The party in a special conference in Birmingham just after the election had already agreed to support the Clegg leadership- even knowing that the coalition was going to be at times quite uncomfortable. In fact the ritual leadership defeat, this time on "free schools" was fairly half hearted and, given the government's significant failures of presentation, totally expected. In fact the conference has been marked more by sycophancy ...
I missed what was apparently the highlight of Conference yesterday. Not Nick Clegg's speech (which was IMO good, if perhaps understandably serious and businesslike), but Ben Summerskill of Stonewall's assertion, at the DELGA fringe meeting, that marriage equality for same- and different-sex marriages would cost £5 billion to implement, and therefore we shouldn't do it. (I wasn't at the fringe, so this isn't an eye-witness report, but apart from the Pink News article I had a long chat with a friend who had come directly from the fringe and told me exactly the same thing.) His reasons - that heterosexual ...
broadcast anniversaries 21st September 1968: broadcast of second episode of The Mind Robber. Jamie turns into someone else with the same name; team Tardis meet Lemuel Gulliver and end up being charged by a unicorn. 21st September 1986: broadcast of third episode of Time and the Rani. Yet more running around with the Doctor ending up plugged into the machine which will drain his brain.
Over at the Financial Times, Alex Barker has an entertaining compilation of the highs and lows, serious and tragic, of Lib Dem conferences down the years. My favourite two: 7. The White Witch denounces bad vibes around Simon Hughes This incident is still used to train budding Lib Dem conference chairs. At the end of a particularly long and tedious debate on commerce policy, the chair relucantly gave way to a point of order. "I am a witch," the lady told the stunned conference hall. She went on to explain she had detected "evil spirits particularly concentrated on Simon Hughes". ...
7.30 – 8.30 Meeting Mail on Sunday team Main session Equal Marriage / main auditorium 13.00 – 14.00 Liberal Youth Fringe / What's Youth Got to do with it: engaging the next generation / speaking 18.15 – 19.30 Liberty fringe: Common Values in Office / speaking
Another unpublished letter to the Guardian. I sincerely hope that both Phil's conclusions turn out to be wrong, but he poses two very real dangers. 19 September 2010 Dear Editor As a long standing member of the Lib Dems, a lot fell into place when I read the feature about Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in the Guardian (Friday 17 September). On moving into his office, we were told, he took down the portrait of John Maynard Keynes and replaced it with one of Gladstone. Gladstone was a great Liberal prime minister, but his slogan of 'peace, retrenchment ...
This is the text of Kirsty Williams' speech to Federal Conference yesterday: Friends, it's great to be in Liverpool . It is a city of enormous cultural diversity but Welsh communities can certainly lay claim to having helped build the city of Liverpool and its world-famous docks. And of course Liverpool has hosted four of our National Eisteddfodau. For me, the close ties between Liverpool and North Wales – ties that are not always replicated with Cardiff – are a reminder of the need to constantly look at ways of improving our democracy, of taking power closer to people. 2011 ...
It was against my better judgement when I agreed to review Tony Blair's A Journey for the High Leicestershire Radical, and my doubts were by no means assuaged when I finally plucked up the courage to open the thing. It was not long before I passed it over to the Well-Behaved Orphans to be turned into paper darts. (This will not, of course, prevent my reviewing it). One paragraph I did read caused me no little worry. In it, Blair reported that the animosity of his Chancellor was so great that it led him to have "a stiff whisky or ...
Today was the first day of the Millennium Development Goals summit. I have had all sorts of adventures and will devote some time to writing them up tomorrow morning.
Britain in 2010 is anxious, unsure about the future, but Britain in 2015 will be a different country. Strong, fair, free and full of hope again. A country we can be proud to hand on to our children. That is the goal we must keep firmly fixed in our minds. That is the prize. The ...
"Rogue states such as North Korea and Iran could use nuclear weapons to attack Britain's vital communications and electricity networks from space, a security conference heard." "In a stark warning, Dr Liam Fox (the Defence Secretary) warned countries that sought nuclear capabilities could attack Britain from the upper atmosphere" ... "Dr Fox also told the international conference on the vulnerability of electricity grids around the world to natural disaster and hostile attack, that an impending "solar flare" space storm could produce just as much damage to communication networks." While I appreciate the sentiment behind this message - Dr. Fox ...
