LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Monday 19th March 2007

The smiling assassin?

Tonight was the last Full Council before both us and Labour have our annual internal elections - where we choose our leaders and other spokespeople. The Labour elections always throw up some interesting results, to say the least... Like this year's return to the Executive of the Labour councillor who last time oversaw a £15m overspend on their IT Tech Refresh project... By the way, his title is 'Executive Member for Organisational Development & Performance'. No, really. So we wait to see what our Labour colleagues throw at us this year and if they will keep on ...

How to do video campaigning 2

The first attack ad to really get people talking in the 08 presidential race seems to have arrived (hat tip to Political Wire). Unlike previous years this, at first sight, appears to be not the work of some highly paid consultant with a focus group, but a lone geek and their mactop with a grudge against Hilary Clinton. For those of you (like me) who aren't steeped in geek history its a mash

What if a British soldier had killed a US reporter ?

Four years on and ITV are so right to use this particular time to highlight the shocking disdain that the family of Terry Lloyd and his film crew have been shown by US authorities since they were killed by US forces. The BBC covers the story HERE. In the past I have received criticism from some Liberal Democrats by suggesting that the Americans have done anything wrong, even in the case of Lance Corporal Matty Hull, but the evidence is clear to see in this case. Chunks of video footage have even been deleted by the US with 15 ...

The Strange Belief in a Liberal England

Andreas Whittam-Smith ponders on the dangers of believing England to be a liberal place.

Brotton Library relocation - a real success story

Redcar and Cleveland Council's Libraries Service has a real success story to tell with the relocation of Brotton Library to Freebrough Specialist Engineering College at Brotton. Book borrowing is up by 23%, with 2,762 issues in February, compared with 2,229 last year, and, encouragingly, junior issues have jumped by 68%, with 1,061 in February, compared to 706 for the same period last year. The number of active borrowers has also increased, up 16% in the two months since the move from Brotton High Street in December, with 1,729 borrowers, compared to 1,496 borrowers. The Council's Cabinet Member ...

The time has come for quadruped rule

Nice slogan from the US - though I could take him out blindfolded with two legs in crutches and a lead weight attached to my tail: http://one.revver.com/watch/197614

Toby Flood's grandfathers

Serious political thinkers look away now: it's time for some more trivial connections. Toby Flood, England's new fly half, comes from a theatrical background. Both his grandfather's enjoyed long acting careers. His father's father Gerald Flood appeared in many cult shows of the 1960s and even made it into Dr Who in the 1980s. I remember him as Flashman's father - a character unknown to Thomas Hughes - in the BBC's flagellomaniac adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays from 1971. His mother's father was Albert Lieven a German actor who, according to the IMDB, "fled the Nazis during ...

The Amersham Martyrs

Sunday's Time Team made a brief reference to the Amersham Martyrs. These were Lollards who were put to death for their beliefs in the 15th and 16th centuries. You can read the full story in a RandomPottins posting from last May.

How to lose friends and alienate people

Gordon Brown does not seem to be getting much credit for some of the remarkable economic achievements in the past decade or so. The standard Tory strap lines on this are a) It was the Tories who set it all up anyway b) The wider structure and pattern of world trade has flattered service economies like the UK c) It's the wisdom of The Bank of England, not Brown, that has successfully navigated the shoals. There's a nugget of truth in each one of those things, but none of them entirely explain the whole phenomenon that has been the transformation ...

Are you just a number?

Those good people at no2id are encouraging people who are opposed to the drive to introduce ID cards to show the Government that they are not just another number to be logged and tracked in a database. They are building a montage of faces of ordinary people opposed to ID cards. In order to show the world the range of opposition to the database state. If you want to be involved simply text a

Bob Woolmer

Another of the sporting heroes of my youth has died. There is an obituary of Bob Woolmer on the BBC website: When news of his death first came through, I was with Michael Holding at the Melbourne Cricket Club here in Jamaica. The devastation written on the former West Indies bowler's face spoke volumes for the impact Woolmer made on the game and people he came into contact with.As Liberal Legend wrote yesterday, he first came to prominence as part of the successful Kent team of the late sixties and early 1970s. He first appeared for England in 1972, ...

Kashmir conference

Monday 19th March 2007 - With the vote taking place this week in the Foreign Affairs committee on the Kashmir report drafted by Emma Nicholson MEP I was fortunate to be invited to attend a conference over the weekend on the subject of “Jammu and Kashmir Dispute: Models for Resolution". Organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad and the Kashmir Institute of International Relations

Labour's "Get tough on knife crime" policy. Is it just counting the statistics differently ?

So John Reid has announced that in order to clamp down on knife crime, knife incidents will be counted differently from other crimes. I hope this is a serious attempt and not a repeat of Tory policies in the Thatcher and Major era. It reminds me that the Conservatives found a new way of dealing with violent crime in the mid 1990's, and that was to make sure that common assault was not counted a a violent crime and in the 1980's they dealt with unemployment by changing the way the statistics were counted until they found a way ...

Five Thoggers

Iain Dale has tagged me as a Thogger - or Thinking Blogger. Now I have to choose five other bloggers who often cause me to think about what they have written. They, in turn, have to nominate five more... Here are my five, avoiding people I know have already been tagged by someone else: Liberty AloneLiberal PolemicLove and LibertyOn An Overgrown PathQuaequam Blog!

Imagine the response if it had been an England footballer and not Andrew Flintoff

In 1996, two weeks before the Euro 96 football championships there was a furore after it was revealed that a group of England players had got drunk on a trip to Hong Kong. Remember, this was two weeks before the Championships started. So why is the response to Andrew Flintoff's drunken escapades so muted ? Yes, the tabloids have had a go at him, and rightly so, but I am so tired and fed up of people excusing Flintoff because "that's the way he is". If a highly paid footballer was doing what he did, and lets put it ...

Local papers for local people

The Oxford Mail can rarely compete with the Shropshire Star for bathos. But it has its own moments of splendour: 'Arsonists suspected of starting fire'(Hat-tip: m'colleague, Richard Huzzey.)

Life before mobiles

Remember life before mobiles? That's right, when we all used live much as we do now, but without them. Firstly there were bricks - occasionally seen in London. Then those chunky old Nokias - a personal favourite. Then they bought out those daft mobiles which had a spring loaded mouthpiece - just like on The Matrix! Own up if you had one, there's no harm in wanting to look like Keanu Reeves if you work in the computer industry. Finally most people seem to have settled on a pretty bog standard type, but did I mention that you get a ...

Hilton Lane junction petition received

You may remember that last week I wrote again about the campaign to improve safety at the Hilton Lane / Scholes Lane junction. On Saturday morning, Cllr Vic D’Albert (Lib Dem Cllr for Holyrood, and Chair of Prestwich Area Board) and I joined a number of local people to receive their petition to make the necessary improvements. Over 400 local people have signed the petition, which Cllr D’Albert

Prestwich Lib Dems to raise money at Great Manchester Run

Regular readers of the blog may remember my painful (yet moderately successful) attempts at running a few months ago (pictures available here and here). From a (literally) standing start, I trained up and managed to complete a couple of 10k road races in the Autumn. It got a bit cold after that, and now we have the campaign to take up my evenings, but I have agreed to do another 10k in May. It’ll

Islington Tories - even their Guacamole is Blue

Normally, the Islington Tribune is the Lib Dem bashing paper of choice, but the innate nuttiness of Islington’s Conservative-inclined inhabitants means that every so often they just can’t help making themselves look stupid. Firstly, there is dear old Boris, calling for “Sharia law for bike thieves“. We must assume that this is meant in jest, [...]

Focus Update - Lib Dems fight local Police cuts

The last St Mary’s Focus had a disturbing article in it about cuts in Police numbers in Manchester. It’s good to see that the issue has received much more coverage, both in major local papers and through Lib Dem pressure in Parliament, as you can see “Together We Can Cut Crime” policy. We would pay for these extra police, and pay to ensure that police forces nationwide are properly funded, by

Remove troops by end of October

Commenting on a survey showing that only 18% of Iraqis have confidence in US and coalition troops, Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell said: “This survey shows how military action against Iraq has practically brought the country and people to its knees. “It is clear that coalition troops are exacerbating the security situation and increasingly being seen as [...]

DWP error costs taxpayer 16 times more than ASW pensions compensation

Trust in Wales Ymddiried yng Nghymru Commenting on new figures from Ros Altman, former Government pensions adviser, on the real cost of compensating almost 1,000 ASW workers and over 100,000 others who have lost their pensions, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly candidate for the Vale of Clwyd, slammed the Government for scaremongering. Young said: “The Department of Work and Pensions wastes £700 million a year in overpaid benefits and pensions. That’s a massive 16 times more than it would cost to compensate ASW workers and over 100,000 others for their lost pensions. “Over the next 5 years, it would cost ...

Welsh Liberal Democrat expresses concern over Tir Gofal 'farce'

Trust in Wales Ymddiried yng Nghymru Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Rural Affairs Mick Bates AM and rural assembly candidate for the vale of clwyd Mark Young, have tabled a series of urgent questions to Assembly Minister Carwyn Jones following Tir Gofal Farmers Association claims that over 2000 applications remain unprocessed. The responsibility over Tir Gofal has passed from the Countryside Council for Wales to the Welsh Assembly Government and, according to Tir Gofal Farmers Association, this passage has been anything but smooth. Bates & Young said: "Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that support payments to farmers provide one of ...

Ten secret ways to improve your life?

Blogging, blogging, dieting, blogging, exercise, watching a soon to return BBC sci-fi series, beer, indie music, smiling, blogging, and cake. Lots of interesting discussion in the office today about how to write good blog headlines (sparked by Copyblogger). Key tips (beyond the obvious “Don’t sound dull”) seem to include engaging the reader by phrasing the post [...]

A message to the US intern on the diary column who has just rung Cowley Street

I think it best to interrupt my eating of a juicy bone from Fortnum and Masons to point out that my previous blog posting contained irony. This has been a public service announcement. Woof woof.

The Trap: Whatever happened to our dreams of freedom? (part 2)

Last night BBC 2 showed the second episode of Adam Curtis’s new series, The Trap: Whatever happened to our dreams of freedom? As I explained when I reviewed part 1, the general premise of the programmes is that over the past thirty years, trends in psychology and economics that viewed the people as a rational, selfish individuals interested only in personal gain have come to dominate public policy. Policy-makers have lost faith in the concept of public service and have instead applied market forces to public services in an attempt to give power to citizens (as consumers) and free ...

Blair's last grasp

Every time I speak to anyone working in Whitehall I hear the same thing: if a policy proposal or No. 10 diktat comes through then the civil servants receiving it ask themselves if Gordon Brown would like it, or want it to happen. If yes, it happens. If not, well there's always the slow tray... We're in a pre-dawn world where Blair clings on to the last shadows of his rein, desperate to safeguard his destiny, still personally persuasive to the last (and Labour will soon realise how much they'll miss him). But he's frantically pulling on levers of ...

New litter bin for Bearwood Road

Not exactly a solution to the litter problem, but you’ve got to start somewhere. A new litter bin has been ordered for the bus stops between St Marys Road and the Bear Tavern. This is a litter hotspot. Currently there is just a small bin attached to a pole, which regularly overflows onto the floor. This causes some of the [...]

labour exchange or flatpack hell

Unusually I had a weekend relatively free of commitments. So when Craig asked for some help building a wardrobe I didn't think twice. Little did I realise quite how big it was... Definitely a two man job. But we weren't helped by one crucial missing piece. The instructions were very visual, but most of the text led with german and the pieces, when labelled were in german as well. But with diagrams you need to be able to distinguish parts that look similar. So we weren't sure what was missing until we'd started to build it. Most is constructed and ...

Liberal Review shamed by the out-going Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Sir Alistair Graham has shamed Liberal Review.

Synod Members Bash their Bishops!

Ahh, you’ve got to laugh: Forty-two members of the General Synod of the Church of England have issued the challenge to their national leaders as the Government considers a fully elected second chamber, and whether the 26 bishops of the state church should keep their exclusive places on the coveted red benches. In a letter signed by [...]

Is this a wind up? Er..............no

In the public interest I have decided to post an email that is being sent to British experts, offering them senior posts in Iraq. I have found a specific example. Believe it if you can......The job offer email is worded like some kind of irritating advertising of the 'Congratulations ! Good news ! You have won a free laptop' type. A bad taste joke? No, it's a serious job offer from a big US consulting firm close to the Republican Party. It was sent to a friend of mine - who for obvious reasons will remain nameless. And it was ...

Why must I know Lord Levy’s middle name?

Catching up on some of the media coverage from whilst I was away, I’ve been reading the claims that some of the cash for peerages accusations being thrown at Labour’s fundraiser Lord Levy have been tinged by anti-Semitism. Now – there’s a whole heap of evidence that there is something very rotten at the heart of Labour over money and peerages, so I approached this story with a fair degree of

Three dull political parties ?

With Spring Conference 2007 Ming Campbell completed his first year leader of the Liberal Democrats. I'm sure many have commented on this already, but am I unreasonably out-of-kilter in feeling uninspired 12 months on ? Frankly the difference in policy terms [where the Tories have or have signalled them] between the three main parties I believe is leaving the electorate feeling as bored as I am. Frankly if I'm bored as someone traditionally politically active, then what of those less engaged ? Yes, maybe we have been more 'up front' and ideologically committed ...

Home Office Watch

I just got around to looking at this site. Home Office Watch is a Liberal Democrat site and is being run by the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Team. Latest quote from the site is as follows : Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what databases are controlled by his Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date. John Reid: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. as they go on to say So: ...

SNP - A Centre-left social democratic party ?

Hmm...the SNP like to portray themselves, especially in urban Scotland as a progressive alternative to Labour, but how does this fit their acceptance of a massive donation from Brian Souter, the chief of that predatory monopolist-minded 'Stagecoach' company ? Whilst Alex Salmond is a good media performer he has the problem of trying to keep on board both the independence fundamentalists and the pragmatists in his party. Likewise there is the contradiction of the moderate party portrayed in rural Scotland standing against the supposedly more left-leaning party challenging Labour in the central belt. And, people accuse the LD's ...

Dope-O-Nomics: Behind the Hash Supply Curve

More on the subject of super-skunk. To say cannabis has 'become' stronger, as if it were an act of fate, is like saying crisps have 'become' saltier or tabloid journalists have 'become' more cynical. Cannabis supply is a competitive industry and strength of cannabis is probably as much down to economics as anything else. After all, the strength of cannabis is basically down to the producer. So, for the aspiring dope-farmer, the question is: how concentrated do you want your product to be? Are we talking about the dope equivalent of Stella, or White Lightning, or wine, or ...

Lib Dems and Scotland

I may be missing something here but I don't really get the Lib Dems attachment to the union. Surely the Scottish Lib Denm position ought to be more fluid and not take such a rigid Unionist position. Surely it is a matter for the people of Scotland and we should be happy to reflect the will of the people and make their preferred constitutional settlement work, whatever that may be. Instinctively we are for powers being devolved to the lowest practicable level so outright opposition to independence doesn't seem apt. Mind you, being (very much) south of the border ...

British identity, french elections and those polls

Liberal-minded readers have several different topics to go at in today's papers.Julian Baggini has surveyed contemporary British opinion in his new book "Welcome to everytown". This has prompted Andreas Whittam-Smith to write a piece entitled "The danger of believing England is a liberal place". Mr Whittam-Smith says that the book has forced him to confront a number of his own assumptions about class and identity (surely though only Mr Whittam-Smith is surprised that he is resolutely upper-middle class)But it was when I read Mr Baggini's analysis of working-class beliefs that I began to see that I have grown up with ...

ID cards

Dear Khalid Mahmood MP, You may have seen in Daily Mail of 12th March 2007 that the Government is planning to sell access to our personal data once the ID cards scheme has been introduced. The story mentions that when ID cards are introduced, we will be expected to produce them in banks, shops, libraries, post offices. The Government will then charge these organisations to check we are who we say we are. It is bad enough that the government insists on gathering vast amounts of information from the British people, and charging us for the privilege. ...

The SNP: the choice of all trade union bashing evangelical homophobes

Do you think, when Alex Salmond explained that he was against the Union, Brian Souter thought he meant something else? I suspect the SNP have made a bad mistake here; they’ve just aligned themselves with one of the most toxic figures in British business today. The gloves can start to come off now. UPDATE: PinkNews coverage. [...]

Cameron v. the Conservatives?

It has long been rumoured that Cameron would force a showdown with some dinosaur of the right - as "evidence" that the party has changed. Now he seems to have a broader target for his ire - the Party as a whole.

The new Conservatives

Thanks to Lib Dem Voice for directing me to Tory Brian Jenner’s Ten Tips for the Local Elections. It’s put a smile on my face! Apparantly, the Conservatives are “beautiful people now” and must therefore meet in “pleasant cafes”. Conservatives should “say hi to the Lib Dems” as we are “rattled by the new Tories”. Firstly, those [...]

Cairo Bound

Not many people have heard of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. I am one of its Governors and it is our job to raise WFD's profile. ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-co...

Do you think Ming Campbell should stand for London Mayor?

With the deadline for applications fast approaching and the latest opinion polls showing the Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP significantly more popular in London than in the East Midlands, speculation is mounting amongst Liberal Democrats in London that there may be a dramatic last minute application from a Scotsman who has spent many years living and working in London, has recently won an all-member ballot in the Liberal Democrats, has just the right dress sense to fit in down Savile Row and as a former Olympic athlete is well placed to lead London in the run-up to ...

Nil, nil as I write

All is well with the world. Well my world that is. All is definitely not well with the rest of the world, but I've caught up with the work-load that built up while I was away in New York.&...

I don't believe it!

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales and my constituent, Peter Hain, has launched his campaign website today with the claim that he has more MPs openly supporting him than any other candidate. His website features a video interview with 'One Foot in the Grave' star, Richard Wilson. Mr Hain has also reputedly launched pages on My Space and Facebook, however when I went looking for him in the latter site all I could find was a rather bizarre tribute page featuring this photograph. Still, if he has become the subject of satire then he must have ...

Binnacle Of The Week

Here is this week’s binnacle:

Robbo scores second career goal

The match against Watford on Saturday was not the best quality. But another good win, undefeated in eight matches, can't complain. The match was of course notable for a goal scored by Spurs and England Number One Paul Robinson: And if you're wondering when Robbo scored his first goal, it was while he was playing for Leeds and it's a really nice header: The FA Cup quarter final replay is at White Hart Lane tonight. Unfortunately, I will be a couple of miles away in the Council Chamber in Wood Green (look for ...

30 years ago today.

From that: To this: So much for the concept of progress. For the record, I’m not actually 30 until 9.50 pm, this evening. Believe me, I’m going to eke this out for all it’s worth.

Sun up at 6.20am

I know spring is approaching. It's that time of the year when I get up at some uncivilised hour of the morning and it's daylight outside. It is of course still rather cold. Jack Frost had been out with his graffiti spray can during the night and had set to work on our car. Fortunately it didn't stop me from getting to Newcastle. I'm now on the train to London. And this afternoon I'm in Downing St

Monday 19th March 2007

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