The Lithuanian tourism office (next door to the London embassy, in Gloucester Place) hosted a private screening of Ploshcha (The Square) by the Belarussian dissident film-maker Yury Khashchavatski this evening, in his presence. It is an extraordinarily powerful documentary about the democratic protest movement that developed in the run-up to last year’s presidential elections, which saw [...]
Today's House Points column from Liberal Democrat News. The best Speaker Bernard Weatherill, who died earlier this month, was the greatest Commons Speaker of modern times. George Thomas was the darling of the media, but his manner was unctuous and he was unwilling to stand up to Mrs Thatcher. Betty Boothroyd was impossible to dislike, if only because she reminded you of Mollie Sugden. The present speaker is less endearing, though he has been unfairly treated by snobbish Tory journalists. But Bernard Weatherill was the best of them all. Last Thursday MPs took time out to pay ...
The Croydonian has the full list.
I found a potential new home on Sunday evening in one of the many e-mails that I've been sent by estate agents in the last month, and so I rang the estate agent on Monday morning to make an appointment to view. Tuesday evening, and there I am, with my mother, to view the property, in the expectation that the estate agent will be there to show me around an empty home. No estate agent, but the
I was so annoyed that they even considered sending Harry to Iraq in the first place. It was a bit of a no brainer that he would attract the attention of insurgents and put not just to himself, but those whom he served with, in even greater danger. If I were the mother of a soldier, which I suspect I will never be, given Anna's propensity against violence and the killing of even animals to eat, I would have been furious if my beloved child had been put in an even more dangerous situation by the unhappy accident of ...
I am extremely proud that my party has stood firm against David MacLean's Bill on Freedom of Information. Unfortunately, even their expert applications of Parliamentary procedure (David Heath mentioning buckets left in corridors as a health and safety hazard made me laugh out loud) were not enough to win the day today. It looks like this reactionary measure might become law as Labour and the Tories have made a bit of an unholy alliance in its support. I can only hope for a big enough public outcry to make them think better of their support for this ...
No sooner did I get back to London than I was deep in the heady social whirl that is the life of a Regional Secretary. Having spent the day in the office, Friday evening was spent in a rather odd bar/performance art venue under the arches at London Bridge station, celebrating the last day of Steven Gauge's thirties. Considering I had flown in from Melbourne in the morning, I was still remarkably
I don't often watch Neighbours these days, but I used to be a bit of an addict. Who can forget the days of Scott, Charlene, Daphne, Des, Henry, Bronwyn, Madge and Harold? I'm quite sad to see that it's leaving the BBC. I'm not about to argue for £300 million to be spent from the public purse to retain it, but I'm sure it compares favourably to the extortionate daylight robbery football tv rights have become. I can't find what the BBC paid for its football rights, but I do know that Sky paid more ...
I like zoos - a lot. So, having already visited the Melbourne Zoo on a previous trip, I set off on the two hour trip to Healesville, deep in the Yarra Valley, to visit the Healesville Sanctuary, apparently the best place to see native species in Victoria. It was a pleasant train ride to Lilydale, at the end of one of Melbourne’s commuter lines, where I connected with a bus. The bus set off
I do enjoy opportunities to find out more about the places I visit, so I set off for Melbourne’s City Museum, located in the Old Treasury Building at the Paris end of Collins Street. Melbourne has a fascinating history, and was at one point in the 1880’s, the wealthiest city on Earth, due to the discoveries of gold in the surrounding area. However, the best part was the video on the history of
I am absolutely thrilled to bits for Angela Constance. I fell pregnant unexpectedly as I was focussed on an approaching election campaign (in my case the 1999 Euro election), and there's no greater feeling in the world. I have to admire her for getting through the recent election so serenely - I felt so sick during my pregnancy and the tiredness was something else. I wish Angela and her husband all the very best. I hope they enjoy this special time - the last for just them - and enjoy the adjustment to parenthood. It's ...
The reason I'm still in London on a Friday is to oppose the Private Members' Bill that seeks to exempt MPs and Peers from Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. Tory MP David MacLean's bill returns for de...
My little brother Paul has sent me some pics of his new digs. Breeze blocks and mosquito netting are all the rage in Basra. Stay safe Paul
Rudy Giuliani has been leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination for several months now with a clear lead in all the national polls. The RCP rolling average has him leading McCain by 5.8% , well outside the margin of error. But the markets don't agree. The latest prices from the Iowa Exchange (below) has him falling behind John McCain into third place, they both still trail
What I did forget to mention was the email work received this week - asking if I still worked at Loreto, he did his Duke of Edinburgh's Award with me twenty years ago .... I assume he's been on 'friends reunited', so I replied .... it's wonderful how technology enables people to trace each other! I await a reply. It will be interesting to find out what he's been up. We last spoke as he left for
A reminder that bids close at noon tomorrow for our current Hooting Yard auction, a chance to get your hands on a criminally rare copy of Smooching With Istvan. Put your furniture, earthenware pots, saucepans and what have you in hock, count your cash, and make your bid!
The BBC Six O'clock news highlighted that the sorry state of affairs in the House of Commons today exempting MP's from laws that the government impose on everyone else had the support of Labour and Tory front benches. I note one Labour MP described the move as "squalid" whilst Gordon Brown has already opened himself up to calls of being a hypocrite just a day after saying he wanted to restore the people's trust in parliament. Quite frankly any MP who supported this grubby bill should hang their head in shame.
Over the last couple of months I spent more time than usual out of Jersey - most of it in Bristol and I was shocked by the number of beggers, Big Issue sellars and people generally stopping you on the street. If it isn’t someone asking for money to get in a hostel, someone playing a [...]
Home for the weekend - quickly tidied round, made a cup of tea, decided to update blog ..... avoiding my marking - I really hate this time of year. Students that have done nothing but make promises for months or made excuses about leaving work on buses, at the vet when Danny the dog was being put down, left under a table at the pub (under age drinking?), on pen drives that have gone missing, Mum
PLEASE NOTE: If you don’t understand/get the following blog post then you’re probably one of those extrovert types that is always encouraging me and people like me to ‘get out more’. My response - stay in more! I’m a fairly introverted person, as I’m sure are most geeks. I prefer to be alone and really do [...] 
MacNumpty has labouriously researched the new Labour and Conservative shadow-cabinets at Holyrood, for which I’m very greatful, as it saves me doing it. Notably, Jack McConnell has opted to place all his potential successors (Alexander, Kerr, Curran) close at hand, the easier to keep an eye on them. His last reshuffle? Seems likely.
As I mentioned yesterday, the first ever council elections to be held under the Single Transferable Vote method were a success, as the Electoral Commission have said in their report. And I’m pleased to say that I was awakened this morning by my radio alarm to hear that Liberal Democrats have launched motions at [...]
More from Peter Black.
..well said, David Heath MP. My wife was using the computer for a little while and our digibox telly was on the blink so I resorted to Ceefax for the first time in several years. It was a bit like going back to writing on a slate with a stone. But Ceefax informed me of the outrageous bill going through Parliament to exempt MPs and Lords from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA was
The Conservatives already had an iron grip on South Staffordshire Council, on May 3rd they increased that grip by winning an additional 7 seats - 1 from the Independents and 6 from Labour. The sole Liberal Democrat Councillor - Jim Gosling - was re-elected.
Commenting on today’s debate on the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, Simon Hughes MP said: “This has been a shameful day for the House of Commons - MPs should set an example of open government, not apply it to everybody but ourselves. “David Maclean’s Bill and the [...]
I have just sat through the annual council meeting in Gateshead. We have just appointed the new mayor and deputy. Contrary to my blog entry last nigh, Gateshead Labour group have gone against tradition and appointed as mayor a member who has been around for quite some time, rather than having only recently been elected. And what's more, the new mayor, David Lynn, was mayor only 2 years ago.And
Three days at home looking after a convalescing wife has dulled the senses, so my blogging has lapsed. However, I know how much my regular reader needs their dose of Polemic. So here’s another spanner to throw into the works. A couple of weeks ago the Economist published a useful round-up of recent studies into school choice. “Choice” is fast becoming a dirty word in the UK, tainted with the vile odour of Tony Blair. That is a shame, and also a misunderstanding. The so-called “Choice Agenda” pursued by the current government is a classic New Labour fudge: ...
We had a special meeting of the Garston police Key Individuals Group yesterday. Because of the stabbing in Garston Under the Bridge last Sunday, the police felt it would be useful to give an update of the investigation and how its going. Most of what they said is pretty confidential, so difficult to blog about. We did discuss also though the need for reassurance for the community, and the fact that people are quite rightly thinking about what we should all do to make sure this doesn't happen again.
A meeting last night with MEP Chris Davies who is speaking to groups on European issues, and trying to debunk some of the prevailing Euro myths at the same time. And no, there never was a European law to stop us buying bananas, or to make shopkeepers wrap cucumbers in plastic. I take everything I read in the tabloids about Europe with a huge pinch of salt. But the thing is, there is rarely any proper coverage. Someone said that the EU (the commission, the council of ministers etc) was very secretive. In fact a ... 
So Julien Parrott who as an Independent candidate triumphed over both the Tories and myself in the local elections is to be the Co-ordinator of the council's Overview and Scrutiny Board. I just wonder as to how this will work out. The one independent is to be put there by Tory votes is to scrutinise the Tory mayor and cabinet ! As if happens, despite it being spun already in the local paper, this matter has not actually been voted on by council members. Yes, I know the Tories are in the majority, but surely they could wait until ...
On Tuesday I noted the revelation that court cells cost £1600 a night, just a whisper more expensive than a deluxe suite at the Ritz. But it turns out I was duped. Humble apologies. The £120,000 the Home Office has paid out for court cell accommodation wasn’t for the whole of this year, it was for just [...]
I was phoned yesterday by a journalist. This happens to me about once every three years, so I ringed the day in red on my calendar and gave myself one extra lump of sugar in my tea. Any road up, she wanted to know whether there were rumblings in the ranks about Ming's leadership. To cut a long story short, 20 minutes later I think I convinced her that there are no serious rumblings. I do
For those of you who are keen to stick hostile comments on this blog about the Welsh Liberal Democrats getting into bed with the Tories, it might be worth reflecting on some even stranger alliances. In Stockton-on-Tees Labour and the Tories have gone into coalition after the Council went No Overall Control at the election, with Tory leader Ken Lupton taking over from long serving Labour leader Bob Gibson. The Liberal Democrats and local independent groupings covering Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick will form the opposition after refusing to serve in a rainbow coalition. In Derby Labour and the ...
This weekend is the Great Manchester Run, which I am running for the George House Trust, a Manchester-based charity for people living with HIV. If you would like to sponsor me, please visit www.justgiving.com/richardbaum. I haven’t run a 10k race since Accrington in November, in the aftermath of which I was so proud of my achievement that I forgot to keep the training up. With the campaign and
Liberal England has pointed out the farcical situation in North Devon where the Tories made a big deal about their majority of one on the council and their gains in the local elections. Despite their success, four Tories failed to turn up to the Annual meeting of the council, resulting in an all party executive being elected. Tory voters in Devon will have ponder what the point is in electing Tories and giving them a majority if they don't even turn up for meetings.
Congratulations to Shropshire's Wrekin View Naturist Club.
At least Gordon's coronation avoids the ridiculous situation where the unions end up with a critical choice in who will be the next Prime Minister. Now that Brown has no competition for the leadership a nation (OK, a tiny proportion) will turn its eyes to the Deputy leadership selection race. This looks like it might shape up to be the proxy for the national debate on Labour's future that the leadership race should have been. And the debate might - if it somehow catches fire, and Cruddas is surely best placed to deliver that - become more interesting ...
I once read a story, I can’t remember where, about a dyspeptic tugboat captain who wore sinister black gloves and struck fear into his crew. I remember that his name was Captain Bagshaw, or Shawbag, and that his tugboat was ancient and rusty and rotten. I think I read the story in a newspaper, which [...]
...or anything Video wall actually. Here's mine below, which is also in my right-hand sidebar. It takes about ten seconds to load completely. But it's worth it! It's set to "Liberal Democrats", menzies, "chris huhne", "nick clegg", "simon hughes" on the search terms. Get great free widgets at Widgetbox! To get such a video wall for your blog go to Widgetbox. You could set it up for anything you
From BBC News: The Electoral Reform Society has hailed Scotland’s council election as a resounding success. The organisation has suggested that there were “major inadequacies” in the vote for the Scottish Parliament, which saw more than 140,000 rejected ballots. However, a report from the society will say that the single transferable vote (STV) system used in the council [...]
I found time to install Feisty Fawn, the latest incarnation of the most excellent GNU/Linux distribution Ubuntu, yesterday and am impressed with the results. The install process is getting easier and easier. You pop in a Live CD, start your PC from this and double-click an icon on the desktop to install it to your hard [...]
Or rather, a picture in a career. Phil Willis’s career has been occasionally colourful! I will give, oh I don’t know, a shake of the hand to the first person (not pictured in the photograph) to come up with a plausible explanation for what Sarah Ludford is doing with that shark and what Phil Willis is doing [...]
Former Liberal Democrat MP for Ludlow, Matthew Green is stepping down as Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Ludlow to concentrate on his planning consultancy business Green Planning Solutions LLP. Matthew Green said “When I started my planning consultancy in 2005, I could not have anticipated the growth of the business. Although I am in the process [...]
In keeping with my theme of the week, the misshapen nation of Norway and it’s ruddy faced and maddeningly reasonable citizens, this Friday’s pop comes from the riot-filled (yet empty) streets of Bergen. Through historical accident, the liberal party in Norway is called Venstre, which means ‘left’. Its youth wing, Unge Venstre has quite a snappy website, which apparently is worth more than LDYS’ total annual budget. This is Misread by Kings of Convenience, which I think is really great. I think you will too!
First, as has been reported all over the Lib Dem blogosphere, Oxford is to have two Conservative cllrs - formerly Lib Dems. Two councillors do constitute a group, though who’ll be leader and who’ll be deputy, who can say? “The pair said they did not quit the council and call a by-election because of the cost [...]
Paul Wolfowitz is to quite as head of the World Bank. This is a major blow for George Bush and his neo-Con friends.
I share the astonishment expressed by other bloggers about the treatment of the Mayor of Salford in 2005. What utterly flabbergasts me is this: Paul Gilroy, QC, for Trafford council, said that the mayor had the option of expressing milk then allowing someone else to feed her son. Only a man with considerable separation from the child-rearing process could make such a remark. When I recall all
My abiding memory of Phil Willis, who is to stand down at the next Election is of it being 2130 on the day of the Leeds Central By Election in June 1999. These were the Prelapsarian days of New Labour. No War, ID Cards or Tuition Fees. As was made very clear by the national party's attitude to the campaign many in the the Lib Dems still saw Labour as a progressive ally ( Ashdown was still Leader). The idea of fighting them at all let alone in there heart land didn't really fit well with the "Project". And ...
So the story of the mass defections from Oxford's Independent Group to the Tories has broken. As attentive readers of this blog could have read about this back at the start of last month, this can hardly count as new news. Except for that fact that the predictions were for at least three Tory councillors -- but they've only mustered two. Clearly, the silver-tongued smooching of the latest Camerooney failed to persuade those other councillors who were the objects of his attention. Amazingly, those other councillors decided that the idea of moving from a small group to an even ...
Another Council that the Conservatives gained from No Overall Control, the Liberal Democrats lost five seats, the Residents fared even worse losing ten Councillors. Again we have lost good Councillors on this authority.
I was quite speechless after reading this article outlining the appalling treatment of the Mayor of Trafford. Imagine writing to an elected official telling them they shouldn't wear the mayoral chain when looking after their child - like who would? And that their child shouldn't travel in the official car. No wonder there are so few women in politics.
If you were passing the City Square yesterday, you could not help notice the appearance of a 30ft inflatable monkey (see right).Six of these have appeared round Scotland to officially launch the Six Cities Design Festival I have referred to in previous blog entries. You can see the news item about this from Dundee on stv news last night by clicking the headline above.Was interviewed yesterday by Nick Henderson of Roars Not Whispers - a joint project between the Scottish Youth Parliament and Oxfam in Scotland. The project is a youth led initiative focusing on social justice issues which are ...
I don't think any West End resident will be exactly weeping at the demise of the ugly former Homebase building on Riverside Drive, but many have commented that much more could have been made of the site than the building of 200+ flats.
Spent today 80 miles and more from here with Ed Maxfield in Lincolnshire touring a gas fired power station at Sutton Bridge and speaking to a migrant workers chaplain based in Boston. The Sutton Bridge power station, on the River Nene and the far boundary of the East Midlands, was interesting, and I wish I [...]
What do you do if you want to know more about energy policy? Well, arrange a visit to a power station of course. Today, I spent a fascinating couple of hours being shown around Sutton Bridge power station on the banks of the River Nene in south Lincolnshire (together with Alex Foster and three Lib [...]
Now I know the cloth eared political hacks don't give a damn. But I have just bought the EP by Little Sid (guitar player Stuart is my daughter's boyfriend). But they ARE great. I am not selling out my credibility (remember that before I switched to full-time politics I pushed faders up and down on a mixing desk in studios for a living!) BUY IT!!! NOW!!!
It is hard to see where the general agreement Mike German was so hopeful of, in his statement to "Waterfront" tonight, is going to come from. We and Plaid agree that Wales should have more powers, that there should be a fair voting system at all levels of government, and that council tax should go. The Conservatives are against the latter two and speak with many voices on the first. The rediscovery by the Conservatives (in opposition, be it noted) of their belief in the freedom of the individual and of devolving power to town halls brings them into ...
I was sad to see that Harrogate MP Phil Willis is to stand down at the next election. He gave us all one of the high points of the 1997 election in thrashing Norman Lamont and has been an absolute star in the past as our party's education spokesman. As a teacher it was always immensely gratifying to have work colleagues come up to me and say such positive things about a Lib Dem MP after they had heard him speak. I'm sure after a lifetime of teaching and being an MP he has earned is ...
Despite my reservations the joint meeting of the Assembly Group and the National Executive Committee agreed to suspend talks with Labour and instead pursue a tripartite coalition with the Tories and Plaid Cymru. We now face a weekend of intensive talks followed by a report back to another joint meeting on Tuesday night. If the Executive, the Assembly Group and the negotiating team all agree independently to proceed then any deal will be taken to a Special Party Conference on Saturday. I just caught the end of Waterfront as I came home where I learnt for the ...
Wednesday: You put the Young Prince in… You pull the Young Prince out… You send him back to barracks and you mess us all about… You do the Harry Cokey and get egg upon your face… That's what it's all ahh…bout! Hey! Be FAIR: it's DANGEROUS out there!
Tuesday: Mr Balloon has decided that he no longer supports the idea of rich kids getting a head start by being sent to Grammar Schools. Eton and Harrow are quite sufficient, thank you.
My friend Jade Farrington posted a link to this test that she had taken and so I thought I should try it too to see what sort of a thinker I am.
Monday: So, Daddy and I were SLIGHTLY STARTLED to hear some bloke called Mr David Rifkin on the The Today Programme decrying an attempted European COUP against America. Had we missed something rather URGENT in the headlines? Should we be considering taking to the SHELTERS? But then it turned out that he was in fact talking about whether his FRIEND Mr Woof Paulowitz would get FIRED. Daddy told me to look up the word HYPERBOLE! That is right: Mr Rifkin is an American who is overpaid, over here and WAY WAY OVER THE TOP! ... | < | May 2007 | > | ||||
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