LibDem Blogs - Archived!

As trailed last week, I've uploaded a new poll onto m'other gaff, posing the question: "Who is your favourite 'must-read' British political commentator?" My thanks to those who lobbied to get your favourites included - though in the end I pretty much ignored you all, and went with my own list: a real NuLabour piece of community consultation. But, fair's fair: I allowed only one entry per

On this blog I have been critical of Ming's speech and his approach to the leadership. I have hinted at what else he could do. There is another way to look at all this. As a third party, battling against an electoral system that doesn't favour you, the Lib Dems in recent years and Ming in his speech have done very well. The party has influenced the policies of the Government and the

It has been announced that Ming Campbell, Lib Dem leader, will visit Guatanamo Bay. We don't know what he will say when he gets there, he might not have to say anything, but we can be sure he isn't visiting the camp to see how the Americans do it so that the UK can copy this affront to human rights. By going to the Cuban "heart of darkness", just after the three suicides and the disgraceful, gut

Yes, it is my cat. Sorry about the format. I only had a pocket camera to hand.

Surgery again all morning until lunchtime - three in four days! Then back to the Three Compasses to meet Estelle, who campaigns for Kurdish rights and many other causes. Today we are discussing the coming review of the Terror Laws. I agree with much of what she says, including the idea that sabre-rattling is the order of the day by the Government so they can continue to support the War on Terror

On Saturday I posted in praise of an essay on the Spiked website which argues that the government's emphasis on combating antisocial behaviour is making ours a more lonely and fragmented society. This has been a live issue ever since then, with the leak of government plans for a "Don't moan - take action. It's your street too" campaign. Most commentary on this idea has been outraged. David Davis, for instance, is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: "It is brazen beyond belief for the Government to try to shift responsibility on to the shoulders of the ...

I was in Leeds for work today and on the way home explored the Dark Arches. These are the brick caverns through which the River Aire runs underneath the railway station. The city's website has a page giving directions, though the photographs do not really do the spectacle justice. After exploring the area you emerge at Granary Wharf - an area of trendy little shops and bars housed in railway arches.

Looking at the rules for the Conservative party London mayoral contest, I see that the campaign spending limit is £100,000. ...Well within the grasp of ordinary Londoners...not. But I see an opportunity. Young Goldenballs (if I might be so bold as to assume the bequest of that title to Zac Goldsmith, son of the original Goldenballs) can grasp this one. He has been keeping his powder dry up until

We already know that Ming's ratings have taken a downturn recently. Less well known is Cameron's fall southwards. Andrew Rawnsley yesterday wrote that David Cameron's "personal approval ratings are in steep decline". Here (below) in graphic form are his net approval ratings over the last six months according to You Gov and Ipsos. These numbers are reported at UK Polling report.

Apparently the torch is being snuffed out. Any suggestions for a replacement? The biking chameleon has already been suggested.

This is a brilliant opportunity. All Londoners will have the chance to make a donation to the Conservative party for the privilege of helping them to choose their candidate for the mayoral election! What a fantastic opportunity!

Location: Gun Barrels car park, junction of Bristol Road and Edgbaston Park Road WASTE will be wasted when a Rubbish Amnesty is staged in Selly Oak on Tuesday (June 13). In an effort to reduce fly-tipping and the risk of arson, local residents and students are being invited to take advantage of the clean-up opportunity – which will see two skips set up on the Gun Barrels pub car park for refuse

Back online after a few days in London, and back to what has been dubbed the Mingterview. Andy wanted to know how the Liberal Democrats could get our message across to Sun-reading council estate residents rather than focussing on the Islington liberati. This was the only point were Ming’s response was a little less than convincing. [...]

I still haven’t booked my hotel for Lib Dem conference in Brighton this year. Every time I fire up Google to try and find a suitable location, I get overwhelmed with a vast sense of desparation and put it off until some other time. They all seem much more expensive than the first time I went to [...]

John Reid's announcement that people should "stop moaning" about anti social behaviour and do something about it provides an interesting contrast to the campaign Labour put out only last month and their general approach. No party has done more to undermine the concept of "personal responsibility" in society than Labour. The whole ethos of the party, whether you think it socialist or social democrat is broadly that it's up to society and big government to take care of you and that you are either vulnerable, a victim or otherwise helpless to help yourself. Take their campaign in Southwark for ...

Political Hack has had a go at me because I'm white, and middle class! I'm not sure when being middle class became a crime in Tony Blair's vision of Britain....Although not denying being middle class, I'm unsure that the evidence in my candidates profile is wholly conclusive. Is attending the local state schools middle class? Is going to university middle class? Or is being Liberal Democrat the clincher?But those in glasshouses shouldn't play with stones. A study of the 3 previous deputy leaders of the Labour group has a distinct pattern to it: Ian Ward, Hugh McCallion, Stewart Stacey.Compared to ...

I was getting ready for an afternoon watching football yesterday when I saw Bristow Muldoon MSP for Livingston trying to defend his ammendments to the Borders Railway. For the record Mr Muldoon is convener of the Scottish Parliament's transport committee who had recommended the proposals without Mr Muldoon's ammendments after 3 years of consideration. His first ammendment is possibly one that is

Remember there was a 'youth dispersal' siren in the news a while back, the idea being that it broadcasts a very high pitch noise which only the yoof can here... According to The Register some enterprising young people have converted the sound to a ringtone which their teachers cannot here... Linked from that page is the sound and the ringtone can be found here. Anyway, the proof that I'm young is

Its no wonder England managed to get through 70l of water during Saturday's game if they were "drinking" it like Beckham. I wont comment on the game itself, just on the awful refereeing, and his unusual approach to the rules, and the fact he limited the times that players could take a splash of water onboard. England had a 12th man in the form of the crowd, while Paraguay had their 12th man in the referee... [The photo above is by the very excellent and award winning Dan Chung of the Guardian. For the LibDem readers of this blog, ...

Bath has one, and now so does Reading: A Knob Shop!

During this year I am still actively involved in e-democracy. Last week's edition of Local Government Chronicle carried an article of mine, which I'm repeating here. Citizens now expect to be able to google their elected representatives. Website management systems such as councillor.info, blogging platforms like ReadMyDay, even community online toolkits like Voice offer councillors...

Jean Charles de Menezes, Forest Gate and attacking Muslim Police Officers - do I need to write anymore? Sir Ian Blair, head of the Metropolitan Police must be sacked and must be sacked now.

Maybe we misheard. When the Home Office mooted the idea that 'people should stop moaning and take action themselves' they were not addressing the issue of anti-social behaviour at all. Instead they were issuing a rallying cry to Labour MPs over the Prime Minister.

The linked article extracts what the BBC journalists thought was the most important parts of Betty Boothroyd's interview on accountability. She also recognises that our system fails to hold the government to account. Basically to hold the government to account they need to answer questions. They don't answer questions that they find difficult. I would not be surprised if the Special Advisers

Ok I accept that pensions is a big issue and a big problem facing all of us. But this article in Saturdays Guardian worried me. We may need to raise the retirement age, we may need to contribute more and we may need to find ways of ensuring that everybody contributes to their future retirement fund and not just through the state pension provision. But the argument put forward by Christine Farnish, the chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds worried me. She argued that "employers should be able to cut retrospectively benefits built up by employees in ...

The level of personal animosity between opposing sides of the former Blaenau Gwent Labour Party revealed in this morning's Western Mail cannot be healthy for politics, for democracy, or for the people concerned. Just how deep the bitterness in the Independent camp is has been revealed in the decision by Peter Law's widow to publish details of a private conversation between the First Minister and her over whether he should attend her husband's funeral or not: Mrs Law, who is standing in the Assembly by-election caused by her husband's death, told the Western Mail, "When the email request ...

Check out this article about the entertaining hoax supposedly conducted McDonald’s Interactive Division at the UK Serious Games Conference.