LibDem Blogs - Archived!

It seems that Lord Bonkers produced another diary while I was sampling the fleshpots of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is hard for me to keep up with the old boy these days. Anyway, you can find his latest diary here: These property taxes can be a terrible burden, as I have more cause than most to know, and we householders can be forgiven for making every effort to reduce their weight. When the council valuers comes to the Hall I generally have the West Wing hung with camouflage nets and have the fast-growing Rutland leylandii planted in front of ...

Not dead yet. When I were a lad, pub food was very simple. Crisps, salted peanuts, pork scratchings and, if you were lucky, Pukka Pies. They sat in a heated display unit on top of the bar all evening until the pie fillings reached a similar temperature to the centre of the sun. You will have gathered from the existence of a hyperlink to Pukka Pies that they are still in business. I thought

So... it turns out Paddy was an MI6 Agent in Geneva back in the seventies. Oh, that is too perfect. Here is the website where some douchebag has printed this dynamite fact, along with other highly confidential info, if you print any of it off, burn it in your garden later: http://cryptome.org/mi6-list3.htm

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has been named as an MI6 agent.This will come as no great surprise to anyone who was active in the old Liberal Party. It was widely rumoured when Ashdown was first elected as an MP in 1983.And you don't need much imagination to work out that a former special forces officer who joins the diplomatic service may be involved in intelligence.Come to think of it, this background was one of Ashdown's most appealing features. He certainly had more go than the Liberal leader of those days, David Steel.

Political Betting had a post yesterday basically on whether Charles Kennedy will still be Lib Dem Leader at the next general election, and if not, who his likely successor might be. I'm quite happy that CK stays our leader ; people who normally dislike politicians often melt when I mention his name. However I was pleased to see that the post attracted 214 comments - 50 more than a post the

The Scottish Socialist Party announced that Steven Nimmo will be statnding as their candidate in the Livingston by election. That makes three of the candidates from May returning to the fray. Charles Kennedy said, on his visit to Livingston today, "We are acutely conscious of, and share the sensitivities involved. It would not be correct in the current circumstances to be overplaying partisan

Away for a break to see my family. Such glorious weather. It was so peaceful but I did miss the news especially the foreign news. So strange to go to a place that doesn't even have Channel 5 reception. Seems like another world. Back home there's certainly juicy news from Scotland this week.Lord admits hotel arson attack LABOUR peer Mike Watson today pleaded guilty to setting fire to a pair of curtains and endangering the lives of guests at one of Edinburgh's top hotels. The 56-year-old MSP entered a plea bargain at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today after originally denying starting ...

The Guardian previews the top 50 highlights of what is left of 2005. But what is this at number six? 6. Welsh Assembly, Cardiff Ignore the savage bitchery surrounding Richard Rogers' building. The Welsh, according to all too many local politicians, wanted a national assembly for the price of an uncooked rarebit; instead, they will get an intelligent, impressive and no doubt globally admired building for a little more. Opens September. Never mind September, if it opens this year it will be an achievement! Still, nice to be noticed.

Having failed to spot a single notable in Westminster, I managed to spot two feisty female Parliamentarians today. Widdy was spotted reading a paper in the foyer of No. 1 Parliament Street and Glenda buying breakfast in Portcullis House. To mark the occasion, I have treated everyone to a still of la Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I. Edit: On the way I home I saw fatty Soames roaring out of the Palace in his beamer. What a day!

Yes it really is a wolf. It is relatively difficult to find a toy wolf. It does, however, illustrate the key conclusion of the story about the boy that called 'wolf'. At the end there was a wolf. It has been clear for some time that the supply of fossil fuels will peak. The real question is why the UK government does not provide its calculations. The UK relies on the IEA which relies on the

The link is to an article quoted in Newsletter 57 of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (and Gas) The point is that in many countries fuel has been subsidised (ie not taxed, but subsidised) and the subsidies are being withdrawn - unsurprisingly. From the article linked the following examples are cited:Last week the BBC reported that dozens were killed in fuel riots across Yemen when the

It's been a while (holidays and such) but back in the saddle now as I prepare for conference. I've been recorded as saying that the Tories seemed to have a death wish when they passed over Ken Clarke for their leadership. Within his own party, he is villified for his comparitively Euro-friendly outlook (although this seems to have cooled lately). But within the general population, he was always more electable than Hague, IDS or Howard. Will they get it right this time round or is Clarke past it now? I forsee enteresting exchanges between Clarke and Brown to look forward ...

Witchell caught in off-air spat on VJ Day interview - including edited transcript. (Via.)

Labour peer and Glasgow Cathcart MSP Mike Watson has pleaded guity the starting a fire at the Prestonfield House Hotel last year. He defence team have said he intends to resign from the Scottish Parliament prompting another by election, maybe this is why Labour have yet to move the writ they are hoping for a London bus effect of a number coming along at once minimising the effect As reported

by Jabez CleggFirst, I have a confession to make. The article Liberal Principles – Part 1 posted recently was not all my own work. Shocking to relate, but it was copied (with a couple of slight snips to remove indications of its provenance) from the Aims and Values of the Tory Reform Group. By so doing, I achieved my purpose - which was to see whether anyone would recognise from whence it came. That it was not obviously a Tory programme raises some questions. First, look at the nature of the programme itself. Notwithstanding some points about the ...

It was reported on the radio this morning that the loss of refinery capacity in the USA as a result of Hurricane Katrina, has meant that the price of petrol there has risen to an unprecedented three dollars per gallon. By my calculation this is the equivalent of £1.67. Given that a litre of petrol in my part of Britain is currently selling for around 90p then a gallon of petrol here would cost around £3.41 or $6.16, twice the price the Americans are paying. It is a shame that it took such a terrible tragedy for these economic and ...

One of the biggest questions to face the "Big Easy" is whether they should try to rebuild the city where it was. New Orleans is below water level and protected by the levees (dams). With clear evidence that weather is more volatile there has to be a judgement as to when next it will flood. If they are going to abandon the city for months the big question is whether it would be more efficient to build a "New New orleans" elsewhere (above sea level). There always is a question as to how much man should fight nature. ...

Not much to be cheerful about today, bearing in mind the news from Baghdad and the USA. Tonight I stumbled on a blog, Ramblin' with Roger. Roger's going to give a dollar to the American Red Cross for every person going to his blog before next Monday (they don't even have to read it, though he hopes they do!) . Have a look, and nudge his counter up by one. And if you have a counter, maybe follow