LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Wednesday 28th February 2007

The Westminster House: this Sunday

It'll be a busy weekend coming up, with both the party's spring conference in Harrogate and then on Sunday evening - I'll be appearing again on The Westminster Hour: Radio 4, 10pm.

Mixed up muddled up world

It’s nearly time for Comic Relief and I’ve just finished watching some ‘worthy’ film by the brilliant Adrian Edmondson. He went to Africa (as usual) and did a few interesting things - including going to see the MP for the African town he was visiting. You think corruption is bad here - Ade took a few [...]

Josie Grove dies

Josie Grove, a remarkable sixteen-year-old from Corbridge, Northumberland, who gave up cancer treatment last December so that she could live out the rest of her life to the full, died this week: A courageous teenager who opted to give up gruelling cancer treatment has finally lost her fight for life. Josie Grove, a 16-year-old from Corbridge, Northumberland, [...]

Rewarding Care

Kingston Council aims to be a good employer, and it is great when the people who deliver the services are supported, encouraged and rewarded. Yesterday the Community Care Services department recognised the staff who had achieved a long list of qualifications, from NVQ Level 1 right up to degrees and postgraduate certificates. I know from my own experience how tough it is trying to...

I'm off to Harrogate

After spending lots of pennies on Scottish ice cream, I've had to economise on my travel arrangements a bit:

Confessions of Bridget’s Diary…

Just got home in time to watch Confessions of a Diary Secretary. It amused me enough to keep my attention for the full 90 minutes (which is more than the Cobblers normally do!) but I think the writer had been watching a tad too much Bridget Jones… all that was missing was a scrap inside [...]

Spare Bed at Harrogate............

...............women only need apply! Sorry, I do hate to be sexist about this, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. So, being as a pal I thought was coming with me has decided to leave it until Autumn conference - I do have space for anyone, of the female variety, who has left it too late to get a room. I am staying in a very nice little guest house dead opposite the conference centre, so very convenient. It also means I now have space in my car, so anyone needing a lift en route from Bedford let ...

Photos from Scotland

First it was some light eating: Then some more serious eating: Then it was time to check out my bed: Zzzzzz Zzzzzz:

Councillor freebies - Snouts in the trough ?

THIS report from the Norwich Evening News highlights the odd situation of Councillors on some councils receiving some astonishing perks. Let me stress, given the letter of the law, they have done nothing wrong, and receiving a gift on an official visit or attending a function or event that promotes the area is really not too bad. However, it leaves a real "snouts in the trough" feeling amongst the electorate that councillors get fancy foreign trips or free days out to watch football matches when council tax continues to rise. The council may not be paying for the freebies, ...

Purging the "mybloglog" scammers

For anyone who doesn't already subscribe to mybloglog, this may mean nothing at all, but I will go on anyway. Mybloglog allows you to see other registered mybloglog users who have visited your site, it gives some basic site statistics and provides a few widgets and extras, and it certainly brings in readers. Perhaps the nicest feature is the "my community" part which allows you to become part of a blog community so you can see who reads your blog and it allows you to remember some blogs you like too. However, this does get spoilt by scammers ...

Dictionary of Liberal Thought

This new book has been edited by Duncan Brack and Ed Randall and comes complete with a foreword by Paddy Ashdown. The project as a whole originates from the Liberal Democrat History Group and they are launching it at a Harrogate fringe meeting. Iain Sharpe suggests that it contains an evaluation of Lord Bonkers' thought by Karl Popper. Not quite, but it does include my entry on Sir Karl. My reward for contributing is the opportunity to purchase as copies at a discount. If, as Iain Sharpe believes, every home needs at least three copies, that could prove ...

Oaten in print

Jonathan Isaby has dug up a nice project of Mark Oaten’s - a book examining governing coalitions past, and future. Sounds like an interesting project. (Shame he was researching it in Portcullis House when he should’ve been representing his constituents.)

Mark Oaten to publish book on coalitions

The Little and Large blog on the Telegraph site has a new story this evening about the Member for Winchester: I hear that Mark Oaten - the MP for Winchester and one-time Lib Dem leadership hopeful - was spotted poring over polling data with Bob Worcester of Mori in Portcullis House the other day. Oaten's book may be uncomfortable reading for some Intrigued as to what he was up to, I have just called Oaten and discovered that he is working on a rather interesting project: a book about coalition governments past... and future. With a ...

Poisoned Chalice

I've just finished reading Cats Eye and The Poisonwood Bible. I thought of the latter especially in light of this article.

Conservative Theatre (Whipping it Up - New Ambasadors Theatre)

Following the glowing reviews for its run at the Bush Theatre I was looking forward to the West End transfer of Whipping it Up. Sadly the performance we saw last night fell flat. Steve Thompson's play is set in the Government Whips office a few days before Christmas 2009. The Tories have limped back into power under David Cameron with a majority of three, and the Whips, the old school

Involving fathers more

Interviewed by the TES (Times Educational Supplement) about Dads and Doughnuts. I told them about some of the schemes in America, with each school adapting the basic idea (getting fathers directly involved with their children rather than just working through mothers) to its needs - from breakfast clubs for dads and their kids through to getting fathers to read stories to their offspring.

Belvedere Incinerator - bad for Bexley, bad for London, bad for the planet

I don't know where I was when this was announced on Friday - but I have just picked up on the story that Judge Jeremy Sullivan refused a request from Bexley Council and Mayor Livingstone to grant a judicial review into the secretary of state's decision to grant planning permission to the £200 million Thameside Belvedere Incinerator. This monstrosity of a waste guzzler will burn 585,000 tonnes of

Mouths are for drinking, not just for ranting

Lib Dem bloggrr and conference virgin Alexander Kemp has raised the spectre of "bloggers drinks" at conference. "It would be nice to put a face to the rants, so to speak :o)" he comments. I've heard of worse suggestions (such as the Together We Can Cut Crime policy paper!). I shall probe my source and see what's planned.A site for political analysis and opinion of an avowedly liberal view. It's all about freedom.

A weekend in Harrogate

I’m off to Liberal Democrat Conference for the first time this weekend, so if any fellow Lib Dem bloggers are going to be there, look out for me so you can run away say hello.

The return of Tricky Al?

Amidst the talk of a possible return to Presidential politics by Al Gore, it’s interesting to note that there’s something of a parallel between him and Richard Nixon forty years ago. Both were sitting Vice-Presidents who lost a close - or stolen, depending on your point of view - Presidential election then left frontline politics [...]

Licence not sue

There is an article on Newsvine and in many other places about how the various record lables in the USA, represented by the RIAA are planning to offer the top piracy colleges a deal. The headline was ‘Music labels offer college piracy deal’ which got me interested because I thought, for once, the labels were being [...]

Tom Wise, East of England UKIP MEP in hot water ?

With thanks to Dizzy for this and UKIP watch, it appears that another UKIP MEP is in hot water. This time it is one of my own East of England MEP's, Tom Wise. Since the last Euro elections they have had problems with their MEP's. Kilroy left UKIP, founded a new party then left that one. Another UKIP MEP left the party, and now sits with a group of fascist parties in the European Parliament and now we have the problems with Tom Wise. How this will affect UKIP support in the East of England remains unsure. The local ...

Disablist UKIP - a horribly predictable and bigoted mess

Thanks to James for highlighting this - a Guardian story about how UKIP told a disabled man he wasn’t allowed to stand for a council position because his disability meant he was unable to leaflet. This is indicative of UKIP’s bigoted attitude and behaviour. I have no moral problem with comparing UKIP to the BNP [...]

Windy walks followed by lengthy absences

I am just about to go leafletting on the Hilton Lane / Butt Hill route, braving the showers and the winds. There is a fair chance that this will be the last blog for a few days, as tomorrow evening I am out with friends, and then on Friday I am off to Harrogate for the weekend for the Lib Dem Spring Conference. Ever since my quasi-Stalinist workplace IT people, with their virus paranoia and

Would anyone notice if they didn't have Sky One ?

Sky believe that Virgin Media should pay nearly double what they currently pay to show Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News. This is despite the fact that the viewing trend for these channels is down. Sky keep running advertising claiming that people won't be able to watch their favourite channels on Virgin if they don't pay what Sky are asking. Even Channel Five news (itself made by Sky) claimed tonight that people will not be able to watch their "favourite channels". So here is the question, would anyone really notice if they didn't have Sky One ? My ...

See you in Harrogate?

I’ve been super organised today and managed to have a good read through the agenda and so on for this weekend’s conference. I’m participating in a fringe on Saturday afternoon, but aside from this - anyone got any suggestions for a first-timer to attend? I quite like the look of the Humanist and Secuarist Group [...]

A Surfeit of HRH

The urge to meddle is human. We see something we disapprove of and think ‘That isn’t healthy; it should be stopped!’ And it’s true that, when someone opens their mouth and the resulting activity is something I find difficult to swallow, I might be tempted to tell them what to do with themselves. But no. However bad for the digestion Prince Charles is, he should be free to say what he likes. I just object to having it forced down our throats. Mr Windsor, who coincidentally markets his own supermarket-sold brand of expensive ‘organic’ food, now wants to ban McDonald’s. ...

Everton show why they are "the people's club"

Well done to Everton, reducing season ticket prices by 10% for early renewers. A number of other clubs have done the same too in recent weeks. I wonder which clubs will lead the "hall of shame" by continuing to raise ticket prices this year ?

Tesco petrol = engine problems

Read THIS story for more info. Sadly, despite me constant whinging about all things Tesco, my wife filled up with petrol at Tesco last Friday and she is convinced that her car is running "funny", and she commented about this last Saturday before the news about this broke. Oh dear !

Not so friendly

Odd thing this facebook lark. The other day, a dark horse from my past Peter ‘Conservative Commentary‘ Cuthbertson contacted me on it, requesting me to be listed as a ‘friend’. I obligingly did so, including some basic data about how we know each other (dating history, that sort of thing), only to find he has now [...]

30,000 viewing on YouTube

Last night the overall number of viewings of videos on my YouTube channel reached 30,000. My first video went up in late June and I am now getting about 350 viewings a day. There are 132 videos on the channel and admittedly the majority I shot whilst travelling abroad. Needless to say, they have more viewings than the political and local news ones I have put on the channel. Nevertheless, the

UKIP rejects disable candidate

UKIP has apparently rejected Jack Biggs as a local election candidate because he is disabled according to Sky News. UKIP Leader Nigel Farage is saying that they stopped him being a "priority" candidate has he couldn't knock on doors or deliver leaflets, but he's welcome to stand as a paper candidate. Nice eh!

The Conspiracy Continues

The vast establishment conspiracy against UKIP now includes 3 of their own MEPs and disabled people. I particularly loved this nice bit of spin: “The association’s definition of a full candidate is someone who knocks on every door or leaflets every single house. “Their definition of a paper candidate is someone who can’t do every house because it [...]

Freedom of Information ... No more

New government proposals will severely curtail the number of information requests answered under the Freedom of Information Act. The Campaign for Freedom of Information is concerned that "the proposed new fees regulations under the Act will allow authorities to refuse on cost grounds a high proportion of requests which are currently required to answer." At present, Authorities can refuse a request if the costs of dealing with it exceed the “appropriate limit”.6 This is £600 for government departments and £450 for other public authorities. In deciding whether the limit has been reached authorities can take into account the time they ...

Former Ministerial Incompetence

What happens when a former Health Minister and Home Office Minister get together? That’s right, they come up with a grandiose IT project that, um, doesn’t work. (or at least, I’ve been trying to look at it for the past hour with no joy apart from briefly seeing a picture of some prepubescent girl looking through binoculars) Seriously, [...]

UKIP 'rejects disabled candidate'

Sky News is reporting that UKIP has rejected a local election candidate - the candidate is saying he was rejected because he is disabled. UPDATE: A red-faced Nigel Farage is saying that they stopped him being a “priority” candidate as he couldn’t knock on doors or deliver leaflets, but he’s welcome to stand as a paper [...]

Blair, Ghandi, Blair, Ghandi…

Had to have a giggle at this from the Quaequam Blog!

The Guardian of our ideas

Our review of the papers normally takes in the most interesting stories from across the papers.However, occasionally there are days when one paper corners the market. For us today, it is The Guardian.Firstly they have the most interesting insights into the Charles Clarke/Alan Milburn leadership stirrings in the Labour party. Secondly they devote quite a lot of space to Brighton and Hove's implementation of an idea that CentreForum has championed in the past - a ballot or lottery system for allocating entry to the Council's schools. See 'Aiming Higher: a better future for England's schools' We should also reference a ...

Should it Stay or Should it go - you decide!

The Planning application directly below would get rid of the 1939 Old Telephone Exchange in Combe Road. The building has for some years been the home of the Swedenborgian Church. It has been empty since being used by Combe Down Primary School when the School's old 'temporary' classrooms were replaced by the new building. Let us know whether you think the Old Telephone Exchange should be saved or not.

Planning Applications

If officers are minded to recommend refusal of the Goldney House application I have asked for it to be brought to committee. In our view the application should enhance that area of the village and provide another attraction to get people into the Combe Down shops area. Cherry and I will go to Planning Committee and speak in favour of the application. Ward: Combe Down App Ref: 07/00500/FUL Parish: N/A Registered: 16th February 2007 Expiry Date: 13th April 2007 Location: New Church Combe Road Combe Down Bath BA2 5HY Grid Ref: (E)375692 - (N)162304 LB Grade: N/A ...

The Miliband Elephant

According to Nick Assinder on the BBC News website David Miliband is an elephant. I don't know whether Millenium is likely to comment, but I will. Reporting on Charles Clarke and Alan Milburn's launch of their new website, Assinder says; "As one of the journalists at the website launch put it - there is a very large elephant sitting right behind you, we all know it, why don't you just say it,

Time to blog me thinks

Crikey! Just noticed that my 3 month time limit is almost up. After that I will be removed from LibDemBlogs for the gross misconduct of not posting. Even marrying Ryan will not save me from this awful fate! There have been times this winter when I have found something remotely interesting to tell you all about but for whatever reason I didn't. Forgetting my blogger password didn't help. One thing I wrote down though (yes I prefer pen and paper, haven't progressed to the digital age yet) was during the snow. I misheard Radio ...

Brian ENO comes out against Trident

With the Liberal Democrats discussing Trident this coming Saturday I was interested to see that Brian Eno (musician, artist and producer) has come out against Trident. Brian think Trident is wrong for the following reasons:

Happy Birthday Kenneth Horne

Another centenary to celebrate. The other day it was W. H. Auden: now Harry on Crooked Timber points out that Kenneth Horne was born on this day in 1907. I wrote at length about the great radio comedian and his father - who was a Liberal MP - in an earlier posting.

The Witches of Bucharest

The story of the day is on Ananova: Romanian witches are carving out a lucrative new business - concocting spells to help locals get EU grants. Until now the country's witches have confined themselves to love potions and spells to get cows to produce more milk. But the EU expansion has seen funding for new projects flood into the country and now locals hoping to gain a slice of the action are turning to witches to boost their chances. Witch Florica, from Pitesti in southern Romania, said: "It's a new type of spell that we had to ...

Justin Hawkins

Justin Hawkins is the perfect candidate for British Eurovision glory - he has a great mix of massive camp, slight credibility, an incredibly unique voice and the sort of bulshy ego needed. He said “It’s every boys dream to represent his country at the highest level and this is the first hurdle”. If more people saw [...]

MP jail threat - solicitors reported - parents protest - campaign meeting

Birmingham MP and Chairman of Justice for Families, John Hemming MP, has been threatened with contempt of court proceedings by Enfield London Borough to gag him. If he were found guilty of contempt of court he could be imprisoned. He says that Enfield does not have a case and has reported two Solicitors at Enfield London Borough to the Law Society for breaking the Solicitors Rules by making

Another gaffe?

The US Ambassador was in the Assembly today with his wife. I am told that she was wearing a Burberry coat.

Blair is Gandhi in reverse

It’s occurred to me that Tony Blair is living one of Gandhi’s maxims out, but in reverse. First he won. Then people got angry with him. Now people are laughing at him. And then…? Share This

Mobiles blocked in cars?

Paul Newman has been campaigning for the last few years in Jersey to get people to stop using their mobile phones while driving, something you’d think wouldn’t be too difficult given Jersey was one of the first places in Europe to ban the use of mobiles while driving. He launched a major campaign with Jersey [...]

There is a light that keeps going out

The lights over Sarah Morris's desk in Campaigns Department keep mysteriously going out. So for Sarah (I know how much she loves Morrissey).

Massive response!

News comes to me from Henry Tinsley of Waging Peace and formerly of Green and Blacks chocolate of a letter received by him from AMT Coffee on the Kit Kat issue. They say that they're not selling any Nestle products in future. They say this is as a result of 'overwhelming customer demand'. I feel a "Massive Response" Focus leaflet coming on to hand out at their stalls :-)

Old Halob : A Biographical Note

Before winning fame – or perhaps notoriety – as the coach of fictional athlete Bobnit Tivol, the chain-smoking miseryguts we know and love as Old Halob led a purposeless and indigent existence. The familiar image of him, in that raincoat, grim and windswept and coughing up catarrh, standing at the side of a running track [...]

John Stevens comments on the amendments submitted by the Liberal Democrat Peace and Security Group to the main motion on Trident at the Spring Conference

There is much that pro Europeans can support in this. I believe that the inserts in para v,vi and vii are correct. Above all, the statement against our dependence on the United States is more forthright (and right) than my colleagues and I finally settled upon, in order to encourage some realism from our defence [...]

More on Trident

Stephen Tall has been receiving crank calls from Rory Bremner claiming to be Nick Harvey MP (that’s how political phone calls work these days isn’t it?)

The Gaffer

Rhodri Morgan's latest gaff is emblazoned across two pages of this morning's Western Mail. It transpires that he delivered a joke too far at the Wales Labour Party Conference dinner at the weekend: He made the joke about the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in the company of the Prime Minister, who has been trying to build bridges in Northern Ireland for a decade. Also present was Wales and Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, who has been leading the delicate efforts to restore the stalled peace process. Witnesses say that both the Prime Minister and Mr ...

International Liberal News

It looks like Abdoulaye Wade, leader of the Liberal International member party, The Senegalese Democratic Party has won another term in the presidential elections in Senegal. He has claimed victory after the first round, but not all opposing candidates have conceded. The elections have been pronounced free and transparent by independent observers. This offers a ray [...]

All the timings that matter from the budget "debate"

Yesterday was budget day in full council (as well as being my maiden platform speech). I use the term debate loosely in the title, as it turned into little more than a farcical display of tribal politics of the worst kind. The council leader rose to speak at 1730hrs. The deputy leader rose at 1805hrs. Then the opposition leader rose at 1822hrs. His first mention of budget was at 1852hrs. His first mention of his amendment was at about 1915hrs. He sat down at 1934hrs. That left about 26 minutes for all other contributions, and the summation. At the end ...

CNPS on the Radio

I’ve just come back from the studio of Radio Lincolnshire where I’m one of the main features of the Breakfast show. After getting readers of the Echo to help me out, I’ve now got the listeners of the local radio. You can listen again today once the show finishes via the stations website.

LDEG Trident amendment

Text of motion below, article to follow in a couple of hours: Amendment 1 Insert a new item (ix): “Notes that Britain’s current nuclear weapons system is dependent on the United States for technical and operational support and that dependency will remain if any replacement is based on the Trident missile system.” Delete Article [...]

Trident: a conversation with Nick Harvey

So I answer the phone, and it’s Nick Harvey, the Lib Dems’ defence spokesman. I guess that, rather like being famous for 15 minutes, it’s something that should happen to everybody at least once in their lifetime. His call isn’t out-of-the-blue, of course - we’d arranged to speak about the forthcoming Trident debate, which will be the hot topic for discussion at the Lib Dems’ Spring conference in

Day 2249: Mr Frown applies for Citizenship

Tuesday: Mr Frown has decided that he should VOLUNTEER to do some COMMUNITY SERVICE before he can be a citizen of Middle England. We all know that he is particularly PARANOID about being seen to be an ALIEN MIGRANT (well, Scottish, anyway), but this is still awfully generous of him. I hope that we will soon see him cleaning the graffiti off the back of the Treasury, or sweeping up the litter in Whitehall. Today is an especially good day to volunteer, as the Conservatories have just proposed a special police force to keep him out ...

Day 2248: MILLENNIUM'S MANIFESTO: Green Power – It's The Future

Monday: Mr Tristan asks – with some justification – that I make sure that my plan is for PROPER green power, not just power stations painted green! He is RIGHT. We should stop being all DOOM MONGERS too. We do not want people to be put off! The ability to take advantage of naturally renewed sources of energy shouldn't be a burden heaped upon us by the fear of climate change, but the most exciting new opportunity in a hundred years! We should seize this opportunity right now to get a head start on ...

Hurry! Hurry! while stocks last!

On Friday I am off to Harrogate for what promises to be a truly exciting event. I refer of course not to the Lib Dem conference itself, but the launch there of the publishing sensation of the year – the Dictionary of Liberal Thought, which is the latest venture into hard covers by the Liberal Democrat History Group. It is the definitive guide to the world’s greatest political philosophy. Modesty of course prevents me from mentioning that I have played a small role in its publication as part of the editorial group responsible for producing the book and also ...

Labour – don't cha love ‘em?

There has been another gap in this blog over the last couple of weeks. This has been largely due to my having to write and present a seminar at the Institute of Historical Research on the topic of ‘Herbert Gladstone and Liberal-Labour relations’ between 1892 and 1905. This was quite a formal affair that couldn’t be dashed off in a couple of hours. The core of my thesis is that contrary to the views of many Liberals of the ‘We was robbed’ school of thought, the promotion of Labour candidates by the Liberal party at this time was a ...

Greener homes

I've just spotted a piece the Ealing Times published yesterday tying in to the Sustainable Housing motion at the Lib Dem Spring Conference in Harrogate. A couple of minor logistical inaccuracies crept in - I'm going up on Thursday (tomorrow) to the conference which runs from Friday to Sunday and it is biannual rather than annual, but the points about the issue itself are right, which is what

Top tips from Sue!!

Just 'cos it made me laugh, so I thought I would share it with all of you. Here are some tips for Better Writing: 1. Always avoid alliteration. 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 3. Avoid clichés like the plague, they're old hat. 4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 5. Contractions aren't necessary. 6. Do not use a foreign word ...

That makes three of us…

I'm pleased to discover that I'm not the only person using SlideShowPro for political websites. I used SlideShowPro for the header at my selection website and also on TakingPower. However, according to SlideShowPro's creator, it's also being used by a couple of rather higher profile politicians on their websites: Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton!

61 and stunning!

A day in Wales

Today has been one of many I have spent recently in Cardiff. In a former career I spent a lot of time there, but I never cease to be amazed by the transformation of the (Lib Dem run) city in recent years. One thing strikes me looking through the campaigns of the various parties for May. Plaid fill their campaign material with mealy mouthed comments like "Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales believes

All that's missing is the cigar...

It's taken me more than two years, but I finally think that I've solved the problem of potentially tough committee meetings. Tonight saw the first meeting of the Regional Candidates Committee, with a long, technical agenda and a great deal to plan, organise and decide upon. We had been unable to hold the meeting in Cowley Street due to the unavailability of a room and, to be honest, I never

Wednesday 28th February 2007

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