Sunday 3rd September 2006

11:01 pm

Pantomime Villains

Gravatar The cricket season is over for me, I reckon. I can't see how I will manage to play or watch another game this year. The weather has seemed so autumnal of late that the rugby season felt overdue. It is always good to start the season with a win, and never more so than when you start the season against local rivals. So I enjoyed Saturday afternoon at Kingsholm. Gloucester beat Bath by just 5 points - but the margin between the teams felt a bit bigger than that. Gloucester had the better backs and a great line-out (until Mefin ...
Posted by Peter Pigeon on Pigeon Post

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11:00 pm

Milliband & Son

Gravatar David Osler has a good joke: Ralph Miliband devoted his life to making the theoretical case for the proposition that Labour has nothing to offer the working class. David Miliband has devoted his life to proving it.He also touches upon the younger Milliband's bizarre fear that people may mistake him for Pete Doherty. Thanks to The Virtual Stoa.
Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
10:42 pm

Wet Weekend

Gravatar Saturday morning and the post arrived - huge envelope from the Lib Dem Conference Office enclosing the Conference Agenda, Training Programme and Fringe Events for the Lib Dem Party Conference in Brighton. Sad person that I am I spent 2 hours (in bed) figuring out how I was going to spend 4 days at conference. I realised that I wasn't going to eat for the first 2 days as I had no free time! Anyway
Posted by Cllr. Andrew Garner on Andrew's Sedgley Blog
10:13 pm

Dropping Labour in Scotland

Gravatar Another sign that the political tide is now running against Labour? The Sunday Herald claims as an exclusive its report that: The Scottish Liberal Democrats are preparing to ditch Jack McConnell as First Minister by declining to enter a coalition with Labour after next year’s Holyrood election. LibDem leader Nicol Stephen wants to loosen ties with Labour by changing the party’s policy of automatically negotiating with the largest group in the Scottish parliament. Senior strategists say Nicol does not want to share office with a party “on the way down” and would prefer to keep his options open on ...
Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
10:06 pm

Human Interest

Gravatar I don't often watch much television, but this weekend I happened to catch the news two nights in succession and was struck by how much it has changed in just a few years.Above all, it is the domination of the human interest angle over all others in every news story that caught my attention. I think that it's this change which has indirectly lead to the accusations of bias at the BBC in it's reporting of events in the Middle East, as this trend has had a particularly marked effect on the way in which news, especially international news, is ...
Posted by James on Inner West
10:04 pm

Après Blair, le déluge?

Gravatar Mr Blair long since passed his political sell-by date. But it strikes me he has a point that his own party needs urgently to debate what it now stands for before he departs (stage right, naturally). In a sometimes thoughtful, and actually quite well-written, piece in today’s Sunday Times, former Blairite minister Alan Milburn comments: ... take the challenges that Peter Mandelson, one of new
Posted by Stephen Tall on A Liberal Goes A Long Way
9:43 pm

An alternative coalition?

Gravatar According to the Sunday Herald Scottish Liberal Democrats are seriously considering the prospect of forming a potential coalition with the SNP after next May's Scottish general election. Crucially The Sunday Herald also understands Stephen is less hostile than his predecessor to granting the SNP a referendum on independence. Wallace was opposed to entering coalition talks with a party committed
Posted by Bernie Hughes on agentmancuso
9:41 pm

This is why politicians lie, or how saving the NHS caused the Iraq war

Gravatar Money should be 'no object' for NHS, says public Morons. The public are particularly stupid when you take into account that they are the same public that told the Taxpayers Alliance that the second largest problem (after crime) facing the UK was excessive taxes. Nothing is "regardless of cost". If your own mother needed life-saving treatment, you might say that you would pay up "regardless of
Posted by LibertyCat on Forceful and Moderate
9:27 pm

Tax sentiment & sense.

Gravatar I'm completely in agreement with Liberal Legend's description of the reluctance by some to ditch our committment to a new 50% tax bracket as The Triumph of Sentiment Over Economic Good Sense. The long-term tax goal for Liberal Democrats has to be the shifting of the tax burden from earned wealth (income) to unearned wealth (land, inheritance). The endgame might still be a long way off, but
Posted by Bernie Hughes on agentmancuso
9:04 pm

Tim BritBlog's Worstall Roundup

Gravatar Come on in. It's not cold.
Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
9:03 pm

Journalists used to report news, y'know...

Gravatar When the media gets the bit between its teeth, perspective and accuracy are usually its first victims. And it’s easy to get riled if it’s your own party on the receiving end. So, for a change, I’m going to take to task the Indy on Sunday for its front page assault on New Labour's leader, 'Deluded': Extraordinary attack on Blair by Cabinet. In particular, this paragraph caught my eye: The fallout
Posted by Stephen Tall on A Liberal Goes A Long Way
8:51 pm

My Condolences to 120 Squadron

Gravatar I wish to express my condolences to those families in Kinloss and elsewhere who today have discovered the loss of their loved ones in Afghanistan. A terrible tragedy and a reminder of the daily risk that our armed forces take over there.
Posted by Liberal Legend on Liberal Legend
7:39 pm

Political Behaviour

Gravatar This week's BritBlog Roundup is out and it has a link to a thought-provoking article by Stephen Tall: "We need to cut our politicians some slack - recognising they should be free to live their lives in common with those they represent. In return, politicians need to get real - their job is not to act as miracle-workers, but to enable us to make the best of our own lives as we wish to live them.
Posted by Gavin Whenman on The Whiskey Priest
7:23 pm

Commeting on this blog

Gravatar Just to say that due to public demand (well the discussion that followed the mutual blogscratch with Iain Dale), I am opening up my blog to comments. It will be moderated and I will see how it goes.
Posted by Lynne on Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary
7:19 pm

Back to Old School: Horror of Fang Rock

Gravatar When I was a boy, this time of year meant two things – going back to school, and the return of Doctor Who to our screens to sweeten the pill. A bit of me can’t help but still expect the same, so I’ve been watching Horror of Fang Rock, a Doctor Who story that originally started broadcasting on September 3rd, 1977. It does exactly what the title suggests: a storm-tossed island; a spooky, solitary lighthouse; shipwrecked socialites suddenly stuck in And Then There Were None; Tom Baker versus a googly monster. It’s also the series’ story most about social class. ...
Posted by Alex Wilcock on Love and Liberty
DataFlame
7:17 pm

Flowers, veg, library and hospital

Gravatar {At local allotment's Annual Show} Busy, busy weekend. Saturday afternoon was the first of what is a very horticultural weekend with giving out the prizes at the Muswell Hill & District Horticultural Society Autumn Show. It was fantastic - such a lovely thing to go and do. A blaze of colour and fine blooms - and given the hottest July on record followed by the August downpours, I was amazed by the quality of the blooms. Not being an expert in these matters and certainly without a green finger to my name I can but be impressed as a spectator ...
Posted by Lynne on Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary
7:12 pm

Blog round-up

Gravatar Why not amble over to Tim Worstall's place and catch the latest round-up of the best of British blogging.
Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black AM
6:38 pm

The Battle of Man vs Machine (in the Bury rain)

Gravatar It rained and rained and rained again today, and despite getting soaked (as well as scared – see below) whilst leafleting, there was still time for me to dry off and then get soaked again running! My mum has recently taken up doing exercise as well, and has purchased a bicycle. She lives in Unsworth ward (Sunnybank) and has come up with a route that she cycles, taking in Sunnyank Road, Manchester
Posted by Richard Baum on Rick's St Mary's Diary
6:30 pm

Beware of the Leafleter!

Gravatar We leafleted in Holyrood ward today, where I joined Cllrs D’Albert, Andrew Garner and O’Hanlon on the Polefield Estate, distributing the new issue of Holyrood Focus. I have leafleted the estate a number of times before, but never realised until today the high canine population! A couple of months ago I was leafleting in Sedgley and was on the receiving end of a nasty nip from one of my dog
Posted by Richard Baum on Rick's St Mary's Diary
6:30 pm

Back to work

Gravatar It was back to work with a bang on Friday! Four hours of surgery (meeting residents face-to-face to discuss their issues) to remind me that the problems never go away and that people's lives are often dreadfully complicated - and usually even more complicated if benefits, housing or immigration are involved. I worry about the level of reliance some people put on someone else looking after them - but also about the life led waiting, often being humiliated and treated so rudely. It is dehumanising. I also think that sometimes matters as so overwhelming for the staff dealing with those ...
Posted by Lynne on Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary
6:02 pm

TV.com: Fall Schedule 2006

Gravatar TV.com have the Fall Schedule out, so I've been looking for when the shows I want are on. The ones I've found so far are: Mondays 10pm - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC, premieres September 18) Wednesdays 9pm - Lost (ABC, third season premieres October 4) Thursdays 8pm - My Name is Earl (NBC, second season premieres September 21) Thursdays 8pm - Smallville (CW, sixth season premieres September 28) Fridays 10pm - Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi, third season premieres October 6) Of course we'll also have Torchwood to look forward to on BBC3 too.
Posted on Hapless band of staff and regulars
4:19 pm

A week with the MSM as Blair blows up.

Gravatar For nearly two weeks really I have walked some fells and watched some cricket, and celebrated the arrival of the rugby season and hardly looked at a website. I got my news on poitics the way most people do -from a tatty tabloid (the Times) and from the television. What have I seen? First, the Blair return from his holidays to a concerted chorus of disapproval. The mass defection in Derby meant the Liberal Democrats were given some prominence in reports on this. Second, the Greg Hurst book serialised in the Times. I wonder if many non-anoraks will have ...
Posted on Liberal Review - Apollo
4:11 pm

Keeping the 50% Income Tax Rate - The Triumph of Sentiment Over Economic Good Sense?

Gravatar I've been somewhat worried to hear that some of the frontbench team have got themselves hung up on the idea that having a top rate of 50% for income tax is somehow a good idea. Surely the time has come for people to realise in the party that many people in the UK sense that the overall tax burden is too high? The tax proposals to be put forward to Conference are part of a balanced overall package in my honest opinion and to keep the 50% top rate would commit the party to increasing the overall burden of ...
Posted by Liberal Legend on Liberal Legend
3:37 pm

Seabraes Lane - damaged coping stones and pillars

Gravatar Had concerns from residents about the above - situated at the top end of Seabraes Lane on the boundary between the lane itself (leading to the SET Digital Media Park) and the adjacent property to the east, which I understand is owned by the University of Dundee. Have taken up with both the University and with Scottish Enterprise Tayside. The roadworks in Perth Road around Sinderins appears over & Turriff (the contractor) is heading further west along the street. Now bus stop is back in action, have asked the Council to get rid of the "bus stop out ...
Posted by Fraser Macpherson on Cllr Fraser Macpherson - Dundee City LibDem Councillor for the West End & City Centre
2:05 pm

Ferrets in a sack

Gravatar It certainly makes great entertainment as we watch the Labour party self destruct from within. According to the BBC piece here the rift within the Labour Party is deepening as Blair refuses to say when he will go and a number of MP's are openly talking about getting enough signatures to trigger a leadership election. I guess that view would be supported by Peter Black who writes here about the unrest amongst Labour Party MP's and AM's in Wales. Meanwhile Ed Balls has gone public in today's Observer and dismissed calls for a wide ranging policy debate before Blair departs. ...
Posted by Tony Ferguson on Ballots, Balls and Bikes
12:49 pm

Politics and Change

Gravatar One thing I find interesting as a subject for study are the mechanisms for achieving change in society. There are issues which are the subject of party political debate: such as the initial decision to go to war in Iraq, tuition fees and remain the subject of party political division. There are other issues such as stopping free lunches for volunteers on benefits, nuisance phone calls and
Posted by john on John Hemming's Web Log
12:10 pm

Day 2068: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Gravatar Friday The 27th of November 2008 is the date that OBSESSES Lord Blairimort. It is a THURSDAY. It is also the day on which Lord Blairimort will overtake Lady Thatcher as longest serving Prime Minister. And anyone who thinks he WANTS to retire a day earlier is a bigger fluffy toy than ME! Like her, he has REMODELLED his political party; only he's gone further to the RIGHT! Like her, he has won three successive elections; only he got bigger majorities on LESS SUPPORT! Like her, he has fought a war; only he has EXPLODED more people! ...
Posted by Millennium Dome on The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant
10:11 am

Another acronym

Gravatar The latest acronym to enter the English language is FASBOs or Foetal anti-Social Behaviour Orders. This is a direct reference to Tony Blair's latest assault on the alleged cause of crime, his belief that the state can identify potential yobs before they are born and intervene accordingly. The Sunday Express has labelled this initiative as an extension of the nanny state but, as many Liberal Democrat bloggers have already identified, it is far more sinister than that. Jonathan Calder on Liberal England has compared these calls for more intervention in the family with the eugenics movement at the start ...
Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black AM
9:25 am

Personal Flock Together RSS feeds

Gravatar There’s been an encouraging uptake of the personal RSS feed system that I’ve just installed - 37 different people so far. My feed is http://www.flocktogether.org.uk/userrss.php?id=mpntod for example. Just change the user name on the end (the bit in italics) to get your own personal feed. If you log in to the site, the RSS [...]
Posted by Flock Together on Flock Together blog

Previous days:

Saturday 2nd September 2006, Friday 1st September 2006, Thursday 31st August 2006, Wednesday 30th August 2006, Tuesday 29th August 2006, Monday 28th August 2006