11:54 pm
All governments lose touch with reality eventually. Remember Mrs Thatcher's "We are a grandmother"? The words of Lord Levy's lawyer - speaking on behalf of one of Blair's inner circle - suggest that this one is now in orbit around a very distant planet. "Lord Levy remains deeply, deeply disappointed that the police decided that they should use their powers of arrest for the meeting. "Lord Levy has always been ready and willing to co-operate and to meet the police at any time of their choosing. "He has always been only too willing, also, to provide the police with ...
11:02 pm
and nearly time (4am) for Wiliam and I to go away for the weekend. Lovely.
10:38 pm
All Liberal Democrats should read David Heath's speech summing up yesterday's Commons debate on the UK-US extradition treaty. He lays bare the Tories' complacency in earlier debates and the government's... well, let's be charitable and call it stupidity rather than deceit. Other highlights came from Dominic Grieve: I have seen the political briefing provided to the Solicitor-General, which starts with the heading: “Not allowing crime to escape over borders versus supporting the PR campaign of multi-millionaires charged in relation to the biggest fraud in US corporate history.” At the end, it says: “The Lib Dems have ...
10:19 pm
The latest sleaze scandal to hit Southwark Labour appears to be the revelation that their representative on the Southwark Race and Equalities Council (SREC) hasn't shown up to a single meeting in the last year. Councillor Situ, who is tireless in his own self-promotion on diversity and equality issues, it appears can't be bothered when it actually comes to doing the work. Or as a representative of SREC puts it in today's Southwark News "As far as we are aware [Cllr Situ] has never attended any of the committee meetings here at SREC." As a result of ...
10:16 pm
The Assembly's House Committee met this morning to consider the Assembly Parliamentary Service's budget for next year. In many ways this was the most difficult budget we have ever had to set. Not only do we need to include significant new pressures such as the costs of separating the Assembly from the Government, IT set-up costs and new financial systems for example, but we also need to ensure that whatever Committee structure is agreed on once the Government of Wales Bill becomes law is serviced properly, and that we beef up the legal and research support for members so that ...
10:14 pm
In 1973 I rather liked Alvin Stardust. Those were the days when Luxemburg was the station you listened to under the bedclothes when you were meant to be going to sleep. And Stardust's first single - "My Coo-Ca-Choo" - was played on Luxemburg for weeks before the BBC picked it up and it became a hit. But what would anyone in 1973 have made of a prediction that one day the arrest of Alvin Stardust's manager would lead to excited talk of the government falling? I had the same thought a couple of years ago when, walking through London, I ...
8:28 pm
On Tuesday, I awoke to discover one side of my face had swollen up. My first thought was that I might have a dental abscess but felt no pain in my mouth and went to work as usual. Called NHS24 in the afternoon and their nurse recommended ibuprofen to take down the swelling but suggested that [...]
8:26 pm
I've added Gravatar to LibDemBlogs for the moment. I've used the email addresses which people requested to be added to the site to generate the gravatar. If you don't already have a Gravatar visit their site www.gravatar.com and register. If you do and it doesn't appear, let me know which email address you think I should be using. If it does appear and you don't want it let me know and I'll work out what to do. Note if it slows down LibDemBlogs or it just doesn't look that good I may turn it off.
8:10 pm
Went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest at the weekend. Pretty enjoyable, but a bit baffling in places if you’ve not seen the first film - or, as in my case, you’ve seen the first film but forgotten much of it in the three years since. The CGI was so good in most [...]
6:06 pm
Down to Brighton for the funeral of a wonderful woman who was, all too briefly, a friend. She had herself decided how the funeral would run, and so it was,typically, a celebration. I shed a few tears at some beautiful moments, but what really got to me was that in the coffin at the front [...]
5:29 pm
Today the Government issued a tender document via the Official Journal of the European Union asking for offers for private organisations to take responsibility for making decisions in the NHS. Lib Dem MP John Hemming has called for Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, to explain why she is tendering out decision-making in the Health Service. "For some time", he said, "the
4:46 pm
In the emergency House of Commons debate on the NatWest 3, called by the Liberal Democrats, Mike O'Brien insisted on calling the trio the Enron 3. As O'Brien is the Solicitor General one would hope he is aware that he might prejudice the trial of three British citizens by doing this. And if he didn't, several MPs pointed this out until he dropped the phrase, conceding they were innocent until
2:51 pm
BBC NEWS Politics 'Horror' at Prescott as acting PM There is an irony here, Prescott can be trusted with Two Jag's but not two wars. John Prescott: Traditionally stands in for Tony BlairOne of the UK's best known former Army commanders in Iraq says he is "filled with horror" at the prospect of John Prescott running Britain this summer.Mr Prescott usually takes the reins when Tony Blair is abroad on holiday but Colonel Tim Collins says he should not be left in charge of two wars.
2:21 pm
The issue I wish to address today is how Britain’s place in the world, is intimately linked, with how we uphold our democratic values here at home. Foreign policy should not be about either permanent friends or permanent interests. Instead it should be based on and conducted against the backdrop of permanent values. How we act as a nation domestically to tackle threats that have international reach, such as terrorism, has a decisive impact on how we are perceived abroad. This can support or undermine our attempts to influence others. By example, consider how Guantanamo Bay and Abu Graib have ...
2:10 pm
Via Adam Teladia*, comes this: "The Liberal Democrats are allowing you to have your say about the analysis and recommendations of the POWER inquiry. The results of the Power Inquiry were welcomed by politicians of all the major political parties when the commission published them in February 2006 however the Liberal Democrats would now like to know what others think of them. Taking Power is open
2:04 pm
Oil Prices Q:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what oil price his Department predicts for each of the next 10 years. (John Hemming) A:The Treasury does not make detailed predictions of future prices. In projecting the public finances, the Treasury adopts an oil price assumption based on the average of independent forecasts, which is set out in PBR and Budget documents. This assumption was
1:17 pm
Serious trouble in the Middle East as Israel gets bogged down in Lebanon. A lame duck President in Washington is unable to assert his will following allegations of unconstitutional activity. In Britain an unpopular government faces a string of by-election losses. And Sir Clive Sinclair brings out a dangerous and unlikely form of transport. How much 2006 seems to have in common with 1985!
12:47 pm
My little boys are taking their afternoon nap (phew) and I finally have a chance to catch up with things ... btw, pile of washing update: half way through! Arrangements have been finalised for the North Cornwall Lib Dem fund-raising event I am doing here in Bodmin ... it's all looking good and I am just waiting for a couple of photo's so that I can do the tickets and a little mini-website for it... I am hoping to sell a hundred tickets (is that unrealistic?) so have set the date for the 1st October ... hopefully sell some at ...
12:41 pm
The BBC has announced that Cameron has delayed leaving the EPP until 2009. Astute readers will recall that this was the only firm promise Cameron made during his leadership campaign. Last year it moved arch-eurosceptic MEP Daniel Hannan to eulogise about Cameron on his blog, urging Conservative Party Members to support Cameron because: There is a clear division between the candidates on this question. David Cameron would remove us from the EPP grouping immediately; David Davis would leave the decision to MEPs, a majority of whom favour the status quo. With Cameron, we’ll be out of the EPP ...
12:04 pm
It has long been apparent that the various u-turns in the Home Office have been raising serious questions about the competence of this Labour Government. The fiasco over ID cards and the foreign prisioners affair are two particular examples. However, we now need to add to that catalogue the abandonment of plans to merge the four Welsh police forces. This was the policy that was thought so important that the Secretary of State for Wales took it upon himself to pre-empt the consultation and announce it as a done deal. He was then forced to watch as the whole ...
11:54 am
Headline in this weeks Port Talbot Guardian: "Website pervert slipped through the net".
11:40 am
I’m not exactly as ecstatic as Guido is over Lord Levy’s “perp walk” - relishing in political scandal as Mr Fawkes does is part of the problem (feel free to call me self-righteous in the comments section). But I will defend the police’s decision to arrest Levy, which Labour politicos are lining up today to [...]
10:45 am
Neil Coulbeck, the RBS banker found dead after apparently being hounded by the FBI was found dead just up the road from where I live. To make things worse, his son was a classmate of mine at school, and someone I remember as being a really nice person. Its things like this which bring home the mess that this (and governments in general) can so easily cause. I suppose its all okay, its all in
10:40 am
There was an interesting exchange following Prime Minister's Questions. A Conservative MP had asked a question of a minister, and the minister had failed to answer the question. The Conservative MP asked the Speaker what could be done to get the Minister to answer the question: Points of Order 12.31 pm Anne Main (St. Albans) (Con): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Last week, I raised a point of
9:23 am
We have looked at this issue before, but today is rumoured to be the day that Cameron breaks his word. So let's just remember how firm a pledge it was. Here's what his office told a eurosceptic councillor in December David Cameron’s office replied already: Thank you so much for copying your email to William Hague to David Cameron - he’s asked me to thank you and to say that he appreciated what you had to say enormously. David Cameron has made clear that it is his firm policy that the Conservative Party under his leadership will not remain ...
9:21 am
Tonight’s Avengers on BBC4 (7.10, or 11.30 tomorrow night) is a particularly fine one, though feeling a little bittersweet today. After those remarkable titles and theme, it kicks straight into high gear with one of the most memorably bizarre ‘teaser’ scenes, as funereal and then eerie music accompanies something very strange happening at a grave. Watch out in particular for an outstanding way to take tea on a train with eccentric philanthropist Sir Horace Winslip, part of an extended exploration of his country house (much of it to that ‘mysterious’ music again). Oh, and Mrs Peel’s dressed as a nurse. ...
9:11 am
Our great cathedrals are run not by Bishops, as many imagine, but by their Deans. So given the historic and cultural significance of St Paul's Cathedral, the person in charge has to have very special qualities. Yesterday evening I was honoured to represent Kingston at the farewell service for the highly respected Very Rev'd Dr John Moses as Dean of St Paul's. It was one of those...
9:01 am
MPs on all sides made a clear protest against the extradition of the NatWest 3 yesterday in an emergency debate secured by the Liberal Democrats. The 3 men face extradition today as a result of a unilaterally signed treaty with the US (which hasn't been ratified by the US Senate) which allows extradition of UK citizens to the US without any evidence being provided to judges.
8:59 am
I didn’t realise, largely because I don’t care that much, that the “mince head” who ‘Daz’ Cameron’s PPS (‘Dez’ Swayne) referred to in these amusing leaked emails, was Bill Wiggin MP. “Mince head” seems like a fair description for the man, though I was led to believe his nickname among other MPs was “Bungalow Bill”… because he hasn’t got anything up top.
8:51 am
The case of the three Natwest bankers. There is no way that we should be allowing the USA to demand the extradition of our citizens when we are not afforded the same courtesy from them. Innocent until proven guilty. I shall be writing my letter later today. I would urge you to also support Nick Clegg's campaign - read on ... "UK citizens can be extradited to the US without the United States having to make a clear "prima facie" case that they committed a crime. Yet we need to meet a much higher level of proof if we ...
8:49 am
One of the Labour Party’s favourite pieces of hypocrisy is to pose as the class warriors they once were, hoping to claw back some of their deeply disgruntled core voters. This was on view yesterday in the Nat West Three debate, as the government ignored that pesky ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing to smear the Lib Dems and Tories as defenders of, woooh, scary nasty rich people. Two problems with this pose: doing over bankers with alleged millions to suck up to a Texas billionaire President isn’t backing the little guy; and the unfortunate timing of wealthy Lord Levy’s arrest. ...
8:32 am
I have resisted writing much about the Home Office and its apparent inability to do, well, anything. However yesterday's news of Lord Levy's arrest, the collapse of the police mergers, the possible end to ID Cards and the debacle over the 'Natwest 3' extradition to the USA almost means I cannot not comment. This of course follows months of bad news from the Home Office. Although Lord Levy's arrest is nothing to do with the Home Office, just good old fashioned sleaze and corruption, this along with the Home Office problems (and the ongoing rumble from Prescott) we may have ...
8:27 am
Naim Zidane, reported the Telegraph last week, is a 70 year old Palestinian who all his life has worked in a vineyard owned by the Italian priests at the West Bank Salesian monastery of Cremisan, near Beit Jala, not far from Bethlehem. They've been working together as a community for 120 years. But soon, it appears, the Israeli security barrier will drag this last West Bank vineyard into the Israeli side of the wall, just as they have ripped away the livelihoods of thousands of other West Bank Palestinians with the closing off of many olive groves over ...
5:48 am
It’s carnival time at our local primary school - Goodrich. I’m particularly pleased that this year’s carnival is to be an eco-carnival. The theme is recycling and looking after the environment. I’ve promised to pull something on my bike - though I am not yet sure what! There will be floats, a procession through the streets, [...]
5:38 am
The very day that I put up my post on the East Dulwich urban/suburban debate I received the following from Tessa Jowell’s office. Now I would never seek to misrepresent the views of Tessa or any other Labour representative. But if she and Labour locally really disagree with Livingstone’s policy, then why did they campaign during [...]
12:05 am
Conservative Campaigner for Worplesdon, Dennis Paul, appears to be mincing not only his words, but the words of others on his blog. Dennis Paul, Version 1 Dennis Paul, Version 2 In his most recent blog article, which he has changed several times, he attacks campaigners for doing their job - 'campaigning' through their placement of letters in "the media" - more specifically, the Surrey Advertiser. He responds to two particular letters, in particular written by Tris McNulty, in response to Chris Ward's letter He firstly accuses them of attempting to politicise ...
Wednesday 12th July 2006,
Tuesday 11th July 2006,
Monday 10th July 2006,
Sunday 9th July 2006,
Saturday 8th July 2006,
Friday 7th July 2006
