I voted for Tim Farron for Lib Dem Party President because first and foremost he is a campaigner and as a campaigner I wanted to vote for someone who is prepared to fight for what they believe in and not "go native" in government. I've known Tim for a few years now. I first met him in 2004 just before he was elected. I had only just started getting involved with the Party at that point and I found him down to be earth and friendly - happy to chat to ordinary members like me and listen to what we ...
In London yesterday I was astounded to bump into our own Dr Evan Harris. I had assumed that he perished when the locals, armed with pitchforks and flaming torches, finally succeeded in breaking into his laboratory in the surprisingly mountainous country between Oxford and Abingdon and flung his experiments into a passing mountain stream. While in rude health, he turns out to be at something of a loose end and I am pleased to be able to offer him work on the British mission to Mars - albeit as a trampoline coach. Earlier this week Autumn has come to Rutland ...
One reason for spending a couple of nights in Porthmadog was its proximity to Portmeirion. So the next morning I took the narrow gauge railway across the Cob and got off at the halt at Boston Lodge. From there Portmeirion is a short walk. All the book describe Clough Williams-Ellis's model village as "Italianate", but there is also a large element of English country house fantasy about it. This part springs from the same roots at Brideshead Revisited, and indeed Portmeirion also acted as a refuge for monumental architecture deemed surplus to requirements in post-war redevelopment. It may have arisen ...
I am not saying this is necessarily true, but it is being widely reported that Lembit Opik has signed up to take part in the next series of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. According to the Sun, his fellow contestants may include Sheryl Gascoigne, Gail Porter, Britt Ekland, Nigel Havers, Linford Christie and Stacey Solomon.
A new study has found that living under a flight path increases the risk of having a heart attack. The Swiss study discovered that people exposed to a daily average noise levels of at least 60 decibels are 30% more at risk of dying of a heart attack than those exposed to less that 45 decibels. Among those exposed to the higher decibel levels for 15 or more years, the risk was 50 per cent higher. Up to 200,000 people under the Heathrow flight paths experience noise averaging out at over 60 decibels.To read more about the report: Living under ...
Thank you to Yeshurun synagogue for inviting myself and others to their service this morning, in which we remembered those from the local Jewish community who gave their lives for King and Country in the First and Second World Wars. Pam King, Mark Hunter, Stockport council leader Dave Goddard, Chief Executive Eamonn Boylan, Rev Geoffrey Clarke from Trinity Church, Cheadle and a representative of the muslim community were among the visitors. Second, thank you to all those involved in putting on the bonfire and firework display at Cheadle Sports Club, Kingsway. I was very impressed with how quickly the queue ...
It's easy to feel a little bruised now that we're in Government. Before the election, all you had to cope with was that sense that you were being either patronised or ignored. Now, people blame you for stuff, as though it's your fault. Which, I suppose, it now is, depending upon what it is. However, across the country, life goes on for Liberal Democrats across the country, and it's Annual General Meeting season. And it was such an event which drew us to Brightlingsea, in Essex. Brighlingsea is not somewhere that people pass through on the way to somewhere else, ...
Congratulations to Adam Morris of the Edinburgh Evening News who has scooped the prestigious "Regional Health Feature of the Year" title from the Guild of Health Writers at a ceremony in London this week. Well deserved and well done!
Never let it be said that I'm letting the grass grow under my feet here in Paradise-sur-Gipping. Yes, it's time for another Focus leaflet for Stowupland ward, and with the bonus of a county-wide Emergency Focus, condemning the Conservatives on the County Council for their efforts to wreck the authority forever, I've been out, delivering some of the harder to reach corners, whilst Ros focuses on the easier, relatively dog-free bits. Her logic is that dogs don't phase me much, so I'm better off delivering delicious leaflets to them. And we've gotten off to a good start, with; walk 4 ...
The last time an election court heard a case similar to that which has just overturned Phil Woolas' election victory was in 1911 in Ireland (The 'North Louth' case). The following quote is from the judgement in that case, and ... Continue reading →
Sat 6th
20:33
#chelmsford #roundtable have just sent a few thousand £ of fireworks up, all for local ...
#chelmsford #roundtable have just sent a few thousand £ of fireworks up, all for local charities
Some of you are wondering why I've not blogged for a week or so. The reason is that I have actually written the same amount of stuff I'd normally write, but just not posted it here. I was asked about two weeks ago, by a writer whose work I enjoy, to contribute a story to ...
All, Just a quick reminder for your diaries - the November Shipston/Stour Community Forum is in Ettington on November 30th. You can get full details of the meeting - including free transport, here. I intend to bring up the closure of the part time one stop shop in Shipston - but there are also opportunities to talk to the Police and the County Council. See you there! Philip
'Yes to Fairer Votes' Campaign Press Release November 6th, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Countdown Begins With only six months until the referendum on the choice of electoral system next May, 'Yes to Fairer Votes' launched its public information campaign outside the Council House in Victoria Square, Birmingham today, Saturday 6th November. Campaigners from ...
LibDem MP, Jeremy Browne, got a right drubbing in last week's BBC Question Time - and that was from the impartial chair of the panel, David Dimbleby, never mind the audience barracking. Admittedly, the venue was in Sheffield where many young voters are disgusted at the Lib Dem's broken manifesto pledge on tuition fees, and a failure to understand the Sheffield Forgemasters' issue. The problem, as I see it, is that the electorate does not understand the nature of coalition, which is hardly surprising given the hostility of most of the media. The message, "but we didn't win the election, ...
As far as I'm aware an electoral agent is: `the person responsible in law for the proper managementof your election campaign. In particular, the election agent is responsible for all the financial aspects of your election. An election could be brought into question if yourelection agent does not perform their duties promptly and correctly.` That's ...
You will all be happy to know that Manchester Squash are launching a new and improved SQUASH AND RACKETBALL Programme at Chorlton Leisure centre this week (1/11/10). The new timetable is below and we welcome all players from complete beginners to advanced players and from all age ranges. We have a programme for all. The best news too is that the whole programme is FREE OF CHARGE until January 2011. The New timetable will be as follows: Monday- 7-8.30pm Community Night/Introduction to Squash (Adults) Tuesday- 4-5pm Littler Belters (10-16yrs old) Tuesday- 10.30-11.30- Racketball- Women only (any age) Friday- 6.30-7.30- Introduction ...
Welcome to the blogosphere to Keith McGrellis a fellow Liberal Democrat in Northern Ireland. I have known Keith for some years through the Northern Ireland political scene, and am very pleased that he has ventured out into the Northern Ireland blogosphere. This is a courageous first post and as another gay man living and working ...
I am just back home from the SDLP conference at the Ramada near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast today, with NI Campaign Manager Stephen Glenn. It was great to meet up with and receive positive comments and support from many SDLP elected representatives including: Margaret Ritchie MP Mark Durkan MP Alasdair McDonnell MP Dolores Kelly MLA Conall ...
Reading various news sites today, we'd be forgiven for thinking that every election result is in danger of having the courts overturn the results just because a disgruntled loser decides to challenge the outcome. The situation in Oldham East and Saddleworth shows that this could not be further from the truth. In a nutshell, there is usually a very good reason for most of election law, even the obscure bits. The thing about not putting any other marks on the paper? There to stop people being able to "prove" how they voted and thus collect their bribe. The issue about ...
Last year, my Voice colleague, Iain Roberts, reported the efforts of Lib Dem Cheadle MP Mark Hunter to 'Save the Cheque', due to be phased out by October 2018. Now his fellow Lib Dem MP David Ward (Bradford East) has joined the fray, this week introducing a 10 Minute Rule in the House of Commons to introduce a bill to save the cheque. You ca read the full text of his Commons speech here, and a brief excerpt here: What have the Federation of Small Businesses, Age Concern, Help the Aged, Unite, Which?, Royal National Institute of Blind People, the ...
I don't, I'm sure, need to tell you that I'm a fan of social media. I've been tweeting since 2009, blogging since 2006 and using video since 2008. I have also used Facebook extensively to consult and campaign on issues ranging from recycling to rented housing. Last Winter social media came into its own during the period of severe weather we faced, when in the absence of a corporate policy opposition councillors helped spread the word online to residents via the #rdg hashtag. But what's most excited me recently is the fact that Reading Borough Council has finally joined the ...
Well, well well. Back in September last year I blogged about construction firms partnered with the council who broke the law to force up the costs of their work to Salford tax payers: Back then I argued that the council should cut ties with those firms - one of whom was G&J Seddon. Salford council ...
This morning we were knocking on doors around Christchurch Road. It was really nice to talk to residents and identify issues of concern we could assist them with. Issues that came up on the doorstep today included: People cycling on pavements on Christchurch Road - we are campaigning for more safe cycle routes around the ward to make life easier for cyclists and pedestrians Car crime on Cintra Close - I've written to Thames Valley Police to request more patrols from the Neighbourhood Team We also collected a number of signatures as part of our campaign to improve road safety and parking problems on Cintra Avenue and Warwick Road. You can also print ...
After a delay for asbestos to be removed, the Swan Inn has now disappeared from Yate Shopping Centre car park. This is all that's left: 70 extra parking spaces should be available by next weekend - more details in the Gazette. In the meantime, there's the world's least helpful pedestrian diversion: Sorry, couldn't resist that...
Some Community dates for your diary Friends of Stockwood Open Spaces (FoSOS) AGM is on Monday 8th November 7.30pm at the Free Church Ladman Road. Membership of this organisation which promotes community involvement in Stockwood is £2.00. As this is the AGM the meeting will elect officers amongst other things. It's well worth joining this non-political group, if your keen to do things for your local environment. I've pencilled in 1.30pm Friday 12th November as the date for meeting at the bottom of Stuminster Close Stockwood to discuss a clean up of the area and the brook that runs along ...
Below you will find a list of the Lib Dem candidates currently standing for the London Assembly along with their online media. Candidate Webpage Twitter Facebook Email YouTube Flikr Jeremy Ambache Jeremy Website @Jeremy4London Facebook voice - voice.hat.libdemvoice.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one).
There will be a small exhibition on 17th November about the improvement plans for the Wulfstan Way local shopping centre. There will be photos and material samples for people to inspect and comment on. Council officers will be on hand to answer questions. 6.30-7.30 Queen Edith Chapel, Wulfstan Way
Listening to the radio today is getting very bad for my blood pressure. Is there anyone left in the leadership of the Liberal Democrats who actually understands Liberalism ? I waited in vain for a Liberal view on this question on Any Questions. Stupid of me to expect it from Michael Moore. Shami Chakrabarti gave it on Question Time on Thursday, not Jeremy Browne. Even the callers on Any
Its been an interesting week in terms of announcements for green issues this week. Firstly, Chris Huhne announced the introduction of a Green Deal which: "is the Government's new and radical way of making energy efficiency available to all, whether people own or rent their property."With this in mind, I'm linking to the Sheffield City Council free insulation scheme which is now being extended to East Ecclesfield Ward, and then to Beauchief & Greenhill ward. Details of the scheme are outlined in the link. This week also saw a Channel 4 documentary "What the Green movement got wrong" I didn't ...
I've seen a couple of people doing this: go thorugh the list of UNESCO world heritage sites and note the ones you have been to. I count 83, so only 828 more to go... rather shamefully, there are two in Brussels (this and these) and one in Antwerp that I have not seen. It's just as well that so many old capital cities are on the list or my tally would be considerably lower... AustriaHistoric Centre of the City of SalzburgPalace and Gardens of SchönbrunnCity of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss EggenbergHistoric Centre of ViennaAzerbaijanWalled City of Baku with ...
If the Woolas judgment is the first election result since 1911 to be overturned on the grounds of corrupt practice, then presumably the last one was the case of C.F.G. Masterman, whose victory at West Ham North in the December 1910 general election was overturned by an election court in June 1911. In Masterman's case, the verdict turned on irregularities in the declaration of election expenses by his agent, including submitting a return over the permitted spending limit and failing to declare the cost of leaflets donated to the campaign, by the Free Trade Union and others. Remarkably, the counsel ...
On Monday, there is a meeting at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to do with Trans-related aspects of the Equalities Act 2010 and I shall be there. It's more a chance I think for them to tell us about the act and us ask questions rather than try to influence future policy, but I am told we'll be able to "raise issues and concerns". If anyone has any points they'd like me to raise, please let me know either by commenting below or via E-Mail – contact details are on my "About/Contact" page. Feel free to use a pseudonym ...
I wrote a while back that I was likely to vote for Tim Farron in the election of the next President of the Lib Dems. Having perused the candidates' election leaflets, I see no reason to change my mind. Indeed, the two elections are so similar - straight out of the ALDC school of QuarkXPress - that it's rather easy to compare and contrast and to see that Tim basically has the harder edge. For example, take the "3 reasons to vote for me" given by each candidate: Susan Kramer Tim Farron 1) Susan will work to keep our party ...
You don't usually raise an eyebrow when Lib Dems stand up for civil liberties - it's what we do, it's what we are. We even know that there are liberal-minded Tories (you, stop sniggering...) with whom the greatest common ground we share is on defending the freedoms, rights and liberties we enjoy; just look at the civil liberties paragraphs in the Coalition agreement. It is right, however, to raise an eyebrow - possibly both - at the widely anticipated rebellion over whether to retain or rescind control orders for terrorist suspects; not just at the timing, coming so soon after ...
This morning, I had the pleasure of attending the coffee morning at the Pennycook Court sheltered housing, organised by the residents at both Pennyccok and Sinderins Courts and staff from Home Scotland. As always, it was extremely well-attended, the coffee and pancakes were excellent, a great range of stalls - and Tombola too!
Two grand traditions of British sf meet in this book, where the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond try to save the universe while dealing with the piratical Captain Cornelius and also with the Terraphiles, re-enactors of Old Earth culture who have rather garbled views of the activities of Edwardian England (it should be noted that both Doctor Who and a Dalek appear in the original Jerry Cornelius series). It's some way from being a standard Who novel, and rather closer to a normal Moorcock production if there is such a thing; having said which, the plot is relatively straightforward if ...
Tim Farron has made it clear that he will keep his pledge to vote against increasing tuition fees, despite no doubt pressure from the leadership and the whips to support Vince's terrible compromise. Susan Kramer, under no such pressure, made clear on the Week in Westminster this morning that she will support Vince. I nominated Susan because I have long believed that an MP should not represent
One of my local councillors, Lib Dem Greg Foxsmith, is campaigning to have two neighbouring green spaces joined up - Elthorne Park and Sunnyside Community Garden. They are currently separated by a road that gets very little traffic (but plenty of dumped rubbish). Due to the road round the corner having horrific potholes for many months, the 210 bus route was on diversion avoiding this road for a long time - and so showing how it isn't needed for public transport reasons either. So it's a campaign I like and I was happy to film Greg talking about his campaign: ...
Those of you who have been following my blog will know that my bone marrow transplant is imminent. Well, yesterday I got the call that my donor has passed her medical which is pretty much the final hurdle for go ahead. So on Monday, I will be checked in to start the process. I blogged on how daunting it has all been, and how much the support I am getting means to me in a previous post, Staring into the Abyss. I signed the consent forms yesterday, so had to go through the process again with the Consultant and discuss ...
On Thursday night I attended the launch opening of the Indi Bar in Wolverhampton - http://www.indibar.co.uk with Phil.
Like a lot of people who were around in British student politics in the mid-80s, I am unhealthily gleeful about the voiding of Phil Woolas' election in Oldham East and Saddleborough by an election court. (Edited to add: After starting to write this entry yesterday, I went out for dinner last night with someone who had dealt with Woolas in a different capacity many years later, and was equally delighted by the result.) I urge anyone who feels the slightest twinge of sympathy for him to read the full election judgement (BBC excerpt, official PDF). It's all very well to ...
Benedict Brogan on his Daily Telegraph blog raises the prospect of the Conservatives not contesting the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. I hope this is mere speculation (or, coming from the Telegraph, mischief-making), but the Lib Dem leadership should discourage any suggestion that the Conservatives should not contest the by-election. Otherwise, we start to move from the realms of coalition, which is a business agreement, to some form of electoral pact, which would compromise the Lib Dems' independence. The Lib Dem strategy in the by-election will no doubt be to harness the votes of both coalition parties against Labour, but ...
Can I just say that I am thoroughly enjoying the BBC news coverage at the moment? The news is being presented by thoroughly professional newsreaders and the quality of the news reporting is excellent. For example, the bloke who read the news at Ten O'Clock on BBC1 last night was excellent and the reporting of the Phil Woolas debacle was superb. Can we have this all the time? – That is, no-nonsense reporting of the news by straight-forward professionals without all the usual high-salaried egotistical preening?
broadcast anniversaries 6 November 1964: broadcast of "Horse of Destruction", fourth episode of the story we now call The Myth Makers; departure of Vicki and first appearance of Katarina. The Greeks emerge from the wooden horse, Troy is sacked and Steven is wounded as the Tardis departs. 6 November 1976: broadcast of second episode of The Deadly Assassin. The Doctor is put on trial, realises that the Master is behind the assassination, and enters the dream world of the Matrix. 6 November 2009: broadcast of second episode of The Eternity Trap (SJA). Sarah destroys Erasmus and his machine with the ...
My personal opinion that the judgement of Phil Woolas that he should lose his parliamentary seat, is more than justified and it would be fair if he repaid his salary since the last election and paid for the by-election. We are all used to dirty tricks, politicians claiming credit for things that go well and side stepping disasters, but it appears that Mr Woolas plumbed new depths, using vile untrue racially motivated accusations to win a tight election. Its good to see that Labour have seen fit to suspend Woolas from the Party, perhaps once Woolas has taken any legal ...
Coalition: esp. in Politics. An alliance for combined action of distinct parties, persons, or states, without permanent incorporation into one body. During the general election, if you asked my politics class who they would vote for if they could vote, the result was almost unanimously Liberal Democrat, with the occasional Conservative blip (but I'm fairly sure that those people merely said Conservative because they thought David Cameron was good looking. No comment.) Now? Now it's a different story. Take today, for example, discussing the peculiarities of the US political system. "I don't understand how two parties can rule a country," ...
Well, the Wikio rankings for November are out and the big news is that Tory blogger Iain Dale has been toppled from the top spot for the first time in about a million years. I don't think I can remember a time when he wasn't number 1. He now has to settle for 3rd as Liberal Conspiracy takes the top spot and Left Foot Forward scoots into second. Guido's drop isn't happening quite fast enough for me, as he only falls one place, to 4th. Looking through the rankings, many of the blogs with little green arrows next to them, ...
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (7) Liberal Democrat Voice Down 3 2 (26) Jack of Kent New 3 (51) Caron's Musings Down 14 4 (55) Craig Murray Up 6 5 (56) Liberal England Down 2 6 (63) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal Down 1 7 (64) Mark Pack Down 18 8 (72) Liberal Burblings Up 11 9 (77) Liberal Vision Down 19 10 (82) Miss S B Down 30 11 (84) Peter Black Down 12 12 (85) Nick Thornsby Down 11 13 (90) Andrew Reeves's Running Blog Down 4 14 ...
Watching former Labour Immigration Minister Phil Woolas announcing that he is seeking a judicial review, following the High Court decision to declare his election in May null and void because of his dirty tactics against his LibDem opponent, brought back many memories of the arrogant and often corrupt Labour politics of the Lancashire in which ...
I have received concerns from residents in the Tullideph area about the temporary crossing arrangements across City Road to the shops, during the current work to replace the traffic lights. Whilst replacing the lights with new (and better functioning) ones is to be welcomed, the temporary crossing is a concern as pedestrians have to cross in a more diagnonal route rather than straight across. This is a particular concern in relation to the area's many elderly folk many of whom take a little longer to get across. There are also concerns being raised about the amount of time per day ...
The Western Mail reveals that more than £2.5m has been spent on desks, chairs and other furnishings at the new Assembly Government offices in Llandudno Junction. They say that the figures, revealed in a written answer from Budget Minister Jane Hutt, also show £1.3m has been spent on IT and £1.4m on professional fees. A total of £2.1m was spent on what the Assembly Government called "loose furnishing". VAT on such spending is not recoverable, pushing the total cost to the taxpayer beyond £2.5m. The offices cost £20m, and aim to accomodate 500 civil servants, fewer than the 650 originally ...
There's a delightful video doing the rounds of an Augmented Reality game for the iPhone. What better use of technology than to simulate the destruction of TIE Fighters? While undoubtedly cool, what amuses me about this game is why it has taken the gaming world so long to catch up with Symbian! Way back in 2003, I got my hands on the Siemens SX1. It was the first non-Nokia handset to be running Symbian. As well as "modern" features like GPS, web browsing, and apps – it also came with a very interesting game. MozziesMozzies was an award winning Augmented ...
Aberavon MP, Hywel Francis is absolutely right when he says in this morning's Western Mail that campaigners for greater devolution need to do much more to make their case relevant to ordinary voters. We should not be fooled by the polls into believing that it is all done and dusted. In my experience support for a 'yes' vote is soft and a lot of work needs to be done in firming it up and motivating people to go out and vote. One way we can do that is to demonstrate how cutting out the Legislative Competence Order process will enable ...
Earlier this week, along with residents and colleagues who attended the Community Spirit residents' meeting in the West End Ward, I signed the "Save the Dee!" petition - an excellent initiative by the Evening Telegraph, already signed by 2 300 local people. The petition points out that the 25 point deduction imposed of Dundee FC by the Scottish Football League is excessive and should be overturned. You can download the petition for signing at http://tinyurl.com/savethedee. My LibDem colleague Allan Petrie, our parliamentary candidate for Dundee East has written to the Chief Executive of the Scottish Football League, arguing against their ...
A conscious echo of the very successful Neil Kinnock party political broadcast from 1987, this 1997 Liberal Democrat effort was good even if understandably not mould-breaking in the way of the 1987 one: Also available on YouTube here. (For my other posts on party political broadcasts, including move clips, see my Party Political Broadcasts page.)
With a by-election on the cards in Oldham East and Saddleworth and with Elwyn Watkins mostly likely the Lib Dem candidates, after all he brought us so close to winning the seat, it begs the questions what will he campaign on with regards to tuition fees.I take it, and I apologise as I have not had time to look this up, Elwyn signed the NUS pledge against raising tuition fees. But now with the
Phil Woolas has vowed to fight on to keep his parliamentary seat of Oldham East and Saddleworth, following the ruling on Friday that voids his General Election victory and bans him from standing as an MP for three years. He no right of appeal against the judges' decision, but wants to take it to judicial review, though on what grounds isn't clear. Mr Woolas would like us to think that the judgement is not only wrong but fundamentally damaging to political discourse – that it will allow politicians to get away with all sorts whilst their opponents cower, unwilling to ...
The link is to the story about the Oldham East and Saddleworth Election Court. This was a case about some last minute Labour leaflets making allegations that are clearly untrue.It is a common habit of the Labour Party to deliver a last minute negative leaflet on the Wednesday before the election day (normally Thursday). Hence it is good to have them warned that they are not allowed to make
A successful evening was had at the first Fairer Votes Belfast event at the North Down and Strangford Alliance Associations' Table Quiz at the CIYMS Clubhouse in East Belfast. We've signed up some volunteers. Although the Fairer Votes Belfast team didn't come first in the quiz, we didn't come last either. read the rest on ...
Stll deciding which way to vote in the contest for Lib Dem party president? As Mark Pack reminds us here, the deadline for returning your completed ballot paper is this coming Wednesday, 10th November. To help those party members, who (like me) are finding it very hard to decide, here are links to all the posts published on Lib Dem Voice (starting with the most recent) in which the stalls of the two candidates, Tim Farron and Susan Kramer, are explored... Kramer versus Farron: what sort of President does the party want? Susan Kramer answers 10 questions about her campaign ...
Four rays of Liberal sunshine have emanated from the coalition government in the past week: the decisions to share some defence capabilities with the French, to grant (some) prisoners the right to vote, to refer Murdoch's BSkyB bid to the media regulator, and the successful passage of the referendum on voting reform through its final stage in the Commons. Of course, not all of these are cause for unalloyed Liberal Democrat joy. On defence many of us would like to see more determined steps towards disarmament, but the decision to share with the French is is a step in the ...
You've probably read in the papers that the county council is intending to use a private firm to enforce parking regulations across the North of the county: Chester -le-Street, Stanley and Consett. This is what is meant by Civil Parking Enforcement. The move will extend outwards the system used in Durham City where almost 10,000 penalty notices were handed out last year. Parking reulations have not been enforced much across the county in recent years as traffic wardens have gone and the Police don't see it as their top priority. That will all change, and as long as it's done ...
Whenever I hear anyone talking about what they are going to do immediately after a press conference has finished, I always think that they have decided that the press conference is more important than the thing they really want to do. Phil Woolas announced that he would be taking his legal case further immediately after he had spoken to the press. You can also say anything you like about something that you are going to do - and then change your mind. The judge said that Mr Woolas had made statements that he knew to be untrue. Mr Woolas' defence ...
