Well, the polls have closed, the fight is over, now all parties await the result - and this is a race where all three main parties have a chance. Ealing Southall LibDem Campaign HQ Out knocking up and delivering today, to help drive up turnout (in my own meagre way) for the Liberal Democrats, and I was surprised by two things - the heavy police presence at polling stations and the number of
Nigel Rock was selected last night as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for neighbouring Kenilworth & Southam. Nigel is an experienced councillor on Stratford District. I shared a platform with Nigel some months ago for a question time event and I am confidant will be a real asset to the party in Kenilworth. As many of the issues we face in this part of Warwickshire affect both constituencies and our District Council covers part of Nigel's constituency I look forward to working with Nigel over the coming months.
I'm not going to be too critical of our by election team in Ealing Southall. We've generally done a great job managing to deliver and canvass every spot in the constituency which is an incredibly tough task in itself and an accomplishment for which we should be well awarded. However, on my rounds knocking up people today (I think I managed to get a couple of extra people out to vote) I met so many people who were frustrated at the ridiculous amount of election literature they had recieved. I heard from one guy that by the beginning of this ...
I don't normally watch More4 news, but this evening they carried an article suggesting that what with the apparent backpedalling on casinos, the reclassification debate about cannabis and the suggestions of small tax bribes for married couples both the Tories and Labour are entering a period of politics focussed on puritan ethics and, as Tim Worstall would say "bansturbation". Reading the runes of news stories it looks to me as if they may be preparing the ground to retreat on twenty-four hour drinking as well. So it seems to me that they are leaving open an opportunity for ...
BBC Newsnight and Labour blogger Chris Paul agree. 
I am off to bed in a moment, but I am hearing its very close in Ealing Southall between the Liberal Democrats and Labour, and we have second place in Sedgefield (to Labour). The results will appear, as if by magic, on the top right of the main screen once they have been declared.
I came across this whilst browsing for latest news on the two by-elections this evening. Following the alleged Tory leak of postal vote results yesterday, the Monster Raving Loony party have leaked the actual result of the Ealing Southall by-election just hours before the votes were actually counted. The Loony site announced a shock landslide to the Loonies who according to the site polled 99.9% of the vote. Undisclosed Labour sources were said to be disappointed with the result though played it down saying that it was often expected that ruling parties got a hammering in by-elections. ...
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An interesting post by Phil Hendren at his Dizzy Thinks blog, arguing ‘No one should be obligated to expose their identity’. It’s well worth reading, no matter that I am going to take it to task. Let’s demolish immediately the ‘aunt sally’ Phil implies: there are no proposals of which I know to force either bloggers, or those who comment on their blogs, to expose their identities. Tim O’Reilly’s
Last night Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats selected Nigel Rock as their Candidate for the next General Election. Nigel is a Councillor on Stratford Council (in Kenilworth and Southam constituency).
If the BBC report is true, it seems to me that Guido Fawkes will have no alternative but to resign.
Here’s what the BBC Online report says: The BBC understands that no-one is to face charges after the 16-month cash for honours investigation. Four people were arrested - including two of Tony Blair’s aides - during inquiries into whether honours were sold and whether a cover-up followed. In total, 136 people were interviewed - including former [...]
It is now 10pm and the polling stations have closed. It's all over bar the counting. I am attending in the press gallery at Sedgefield count to support our 2 MPs who wil be here - Alan Beith and Phil Willis.The first ballot box has arrived.---Sent via BlackBerry
And I’ve absolutely no idea what the night will bring. Feel free to make your guesses below…
With the by-election ballot boxes closed I can turn my attention to the local media. There's a slightly dotty story in today's Southwark News where former Labour Mayor Vicky Naish and current Labour Councillor 'I'm a victim' Bates are claiming "discrimination". The source of their ire is not a matter of civil liberties, racism, or even homophobia, no it's whether or not Labour members are being invited to all the civic functions they are entitled to attend. Events such as a champagne breakfast to mark the passing of the Tour de France. This is rather odd. These same ...
It's got to be said that Pristina is boiling for more than one reason. Firstly, it is about 40C here during the daytime which I don't mind so much and only wish we could enjoy something like that in Folkestone where the temperature struggles to get much above 20C for most of the time at the moment. Where DID that hot summer we were promised go? The second reason relates to difficulties with the Russians. All the talk amongst the Kosovars is about difficulties with Putin (does that sound familiar?). He's not quite doing a ...
For quite a few weeks now, my technologically-savvy father has been writing an excellent blog about his experiences with Windows Vista. If you haven't yet tried this bug-infested, memory-munching excuse for an operating system, then you are very lucky. It came installed on our new desktop PC, which, despite being more powerful than the old one by a factor of 10, ran at about half the speed. That is, until we upgraded it back to Windows XP. My dad has set an amusing challenge on his techie blog, and I thought I'd share it with the political blogging community. ...
“#…birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it…#” …and so, it appears, do Home Secretaries, Ministers of State for Policing and more members of the Cabinet than one could shake a stick at. The Leader of the Opposition has been coy, which is tantamount to admission. And I’m sure there have been a few red faces (and red eyes) in the past of Liberal Democrats. Where Cannabis is concerned, it seems that everybody’s done it. So why are they all so keen to ban it? Is Parliament full of people with addled minds, ...
Liberal Democrats on Redcar & Cleveland Council today took the Ruling Labour group to task over the failure to provide a Post Office at the new Roseberry Shopping Centre in Redcar. At today’s meeting Liberal Democrat Councillor Glynis Abbott asked the Labour council chiefs whether they could assure local residents that a Post Office will be provided. They were unable to do this but said that they hoped it would happen. Councillor Abbott said: “Local residents are very worried that they might not now get a Post Office in the shopping centre. As recently as June ...
Liberal Democrats on Redcar & Cleveland Council today attacked the Council’s Labour leadership for suspending a scheme which gives free home insulation to residents most in need. The scheme, introduced when the Lib Dem-led Coalition ran the Council, provided free cavity wall insulation to householders aged over 60 or those with children under five. But now the Council, under Labour, has suspended the scheme. Redcar Lib Dem Councillor Chris Abbott, said: “This is an excellent scheme which deserves to continue. It provides warmer homes for those who most need it, cuts fuel bills and reduces carbon ...
Shock news arrives by email. Conservatives collapse to odds of 1000 to 1 in Sedgefield! JW reporting live from a secret location somewhere in Newton Aycliffe, so secret, I can find the bleeding way out of here!---Sent via BlackBerry
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There’s no question that the United States provides great political theatre. Yesterday, in a bid to embarrass Republicans blocking their demand for a deadline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, Senate democrats held a rare all-night session. Beds and sheets were brought in for senators, with democratic aides handing out bags with toothpaste and toiletries (emblazoned with ‘stop the war’). They have a majority in favour of a firm deadline, but not the 60 votes required to hold a vote on the issue, and are turning up the pressure on more republicans to join them. If republican's refuse, the democrats will happily ...
Well only one, really - our new grandson born yesterday. And he's beautiful, according to his other grandfather who lives near enough to pop in to say hello to him yesterday. We're so looking forward to meeting the newest member of our family in a day or two.
OK they are not raising the ante- just four British diplomats unjustifiably expelled as a straight tit for tat. Meanwhile the rest of the EU has slowly stirred themselves to mutter a bit against Russia. If there is any further problem, one would hope that a "common foreign policy" position might emerge that was a bit more proactive. Britain, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania now all have significant grievances with the Putinists, others too are increasingly annoyed- will Russia now calm down, if faced with a United front? That is up to the Kremlin- but patience with Russia ... 
Spliff -> Psychosis -> Delusions QED. I sincerely apologize for ever doubting it. Clearly there are some in whom cannabis creates delusions that they can sort the world out. The ability to talk bollocks late into the night is important for politicians too though.UPDATE: The BBC has been mulling over whether such revelations actually matter. They (and others ) seem to be implying that so long as people got up to such hijinx before they became "respectable politicians" what they got up to is probably of no issue now. But actually, on an issue ...
The Liberal Democrat peer Eric Avebury owns Silbury Hill.
A sober assessment of the current situation from former Lib Dem leader, Lord Paddy Ashdown, in today’s Guardian. Here’s how it starts: In July 2006, Britain’s highly respected commander of international forces in Afghanistan, General David Richards, issued a stark warning: “Afghanistan is a good and winnable war but, at the pace we are proceeding, we [...]
Like most mayors, you may reason. But she is talking after a brawl is alleged to have broken out after the last meeting of the town's council. Incidentally, the Shropshire Star report of that incident is now a lot more detailed than when I first linked to it.
In Ealing Southall the Conservatives have been crowing about the Labour councillors who have defected to them from Labour. No one has mentioned those councillors resigning to fight by-elections because they have changed party. Oddly enough, the Tories take a different view when someone defects from the Conservative Party. Nick Yates was elected as a Tory councillor for Brighouse on Calderdale Council. He resigned the Conservative whip several months ago to become an Independent, and yesterday it was announced that he was joining the Liberal Democrats. How did his former colleagues react? You guessed it. The ...
It seems it is not only CentreForum that disapproves of long summer holidays for poor children. Conor Clarke was at it in the Guardian this morning: But summer vacation isn't just harmful; it's deeply unfair. That's because it affects economically disadvantaged students the most. Wealthy kids already start school with boatloads of educational advantages - like parents that can help them with homework, pay for private instruction or shuttle them off to a variety of wonderful and edifying after-school activities. Poor students don't, and at no point is this difference more stark - and at no point do its consequences ...
Lionel Zetter lists some of the winners from last night's ceremony: Backbencher of the Year - David Taylor;Opposition Politician of the Year - Ian Paisley;Minister of the Year - Ian Paisley;Peer of the Year - Lord Ramsbotham;International Statesman - Al Gore;Political Commentator - Nick Robinson;*Parliamentarian of the Year - Lord (Geoffrey) Howe.* Commiserations to Iain Dale, who was nominated in this category. One day a blogger will win it.
I am presently doing battle with the Council for a couple of residents regarding blue bin provision. Every household in the Borough was due to receive one thanks to the Lib Dem budget amendment last year. Of course there are a few exceptions like flats, but I have a couple of house-dwellers without their bins due to a variety of interesting excuses from the Council. These include "the wagons
The Liberal Democrat Group on Southwark Council have chosen Surrey Docks Councillor Paul Noblet as their nominee to cover the work of the Executive Member for Environment when Cllr Lisa Rajan, the post holder, takes maternity leave for six months from September. Cllr Noblet will officially be known as the Deputy Executive Member and will not take individual decisions or have a vote in the Executive Committee. He will receive a lower allowance than a full Executive Member.The procedure for appointing a deputy executive member was agreed by Southwark Council Assembly last month and is designed to cover the long ...
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform: Oil Q: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the Government plan to review their estimate of when global oil supply will peak following the recent Medium Term Oil Market report published by the International Energy Agency; and if he will make a statement on global oil supplies. A:Although the
Duchy of Lancaster: Departments: Ministerial Red Boxes Q:To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many ministerial red boxes his Department bought in each of the last five years; what the cost of each was; who the suppliers were; and what tendering process was used in selecting them. A:Red boxes are used by successive Ministers over a number of years. The specific information
My comment about the lack of discipline of Boris Johnson seems to have annoyed a regular Conservative reader- the anonymous Lepidus- who is going to need a much broader sense of humour if the Conservatives actually adopt this ambitious but essentially rather clownish and oafish man as their candidate for Mayor of London. Since his comment was rather offensive, I have felt free to delete it and to switch on moderation for a few days. Apart from My blog=my rules, the fact that Lepidus seems to believe that Boris might be found in bed with a camel would certainly ...
Well, Iain Dale was right- the by-election in Ealing has been extremely dirty. Quite frankly though- the dirt has very largely come from one side. The Conservatives have been so desperate to chalk up a success that the have stooped to some very low tactics indeed. The mysterious "leaking" of the postal vote last night- apart from being illegal- was part of a consistent pattern- false postings being made on Lib Dem sites coming from the computers of the Conservative campaign itself, and even the naked opportunism of the Tory candidate, so recent a convert from Labour. Whatever ...
As the stand off between the UK and Russia continues, the Russians seem determined to continue to show overt aggression. The scrambling of RAF Tornadoes (not for the first time in recent weeks) to deal with a Russian incursion into UK airspace comes only hours after the expulsion of a Russian suspected of attempting a plot to kill the tycoon Boris Berezhovsky. The irritation factor in Whitehall is substantial- and should the Russians respond in kind to the expulsion of their diplomats, the UK will get extremely grumpy indeed. What we have seen so far, may pale ...
…and anyone who suggests different is a fibber.
OK, this is petty. But what is up with the Border and Immigration Agency’s website? Is the banner section a logo? Is the white line supposed to be representing Britain’s border? If so - why are there two big gaps in it? Are they trying to tell us something about the state of our border control? I wonder [...]
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD): The Minister will be aware that the many thousands of parents who are victims of malpractice in the family courts are prevented by law from making representations about the effectiveness of the Human Rights Act. Does he have any proposals to make it possible for such people to make representations about malpractice to Members of Parliament? Mr. Straw: I
Weston’s free weekly the Weston and Worle News has launched a new website. It’s great to see the paper investing in new media. It’ll be interesting to see if the improved web service leads to more interactivity from readers. I work in publishing for a small Weston based firm and translating print media to the web is [...]
"Only a fool bets against Chris Rennard," said a Labour MP campaigning in Ealing yesterday. Well I'm not betting against my boss, and have £600 to pocket if we pull it off today. But it is neck and neck, get yourself down here!
I'm angry about news of the County Council's proposed cuts in evening services on the 1 and 5 buses in Winchester. Both form part of the so called "Quality Bus Partnership", with the 5 service being the main bus route to Badger Farm and (during evenings) Oliver's Battery. The 6A service to Abbotts Barton will lose its subsidy too. Tory proposals will cut the 5 service on Sunday evenings, with no
Well done to Jacqui Smith for having the honesty to admit that she took cannabis more than 25 years ago whilst at university in Oxford. As David Cameron said, every politician has the right to have a past, but I think Jacqui Smith has been completely right to avoid the Cameron line of maintaining a complete silence. Politicians can come over too often as preachy and holier than thou and for a politician to hold their hands up and say "I was wrong", is refreshing. I am sure that people would hold MP's in higher esteem if they ...
Grant Shapps MP, the Tory by-election campaign manager in Ealing Southall, gained some level of infamy last week when he was caught red-handed pretending to be a Lib Dem member posting comments to YouTube. Mr Shapps’ weak excuse - that his account password was set to ‘1234’, and hacked by opposition parties - was widely derided. So [...]
I know I said I was suspending blogging for today, but this is important and I am just having a breather after delivering three big bundles of tabloids in Ealing Common starting at 4am. The newly born son of the Norfolk Blogger is in the neo-natal intensive care unit of their local hospital, where he has been for nine days (as Nich mentioned in a comment here). I am sure this bit of the
Sunday: Daddy and Daddy had their annual Doctor Who marathon party today (following their annual marathon tidy up yesterday) and lots of my friends came. We had yummy food, including fishy-shaped "Shakespeare Cod", New New York Bagels with crab paste, and Future-kinder Surprise Eggs. Not to mention three kinds of cake! I spent most of the day on the back of my sofa, reading Mr Simon's notes for his Doctor Who book over his shoulder – though I have promised him that I will not tell my daddies ANYTHING except the joke about the pirates' names! ...
It is a big day politically with by-elections in both Sedgefield and Ealing Southall. It is also the first test of the Brown premiership. I have blogged previously on the bizarre controversies that have arisen during the Southall election and also the usual Labour thuggishness in Sedgefield. Typically, fate deals one last card with allegations of possible electoral offences following the publication on a Daily Telegraph blog of voting calculations based on the postal votes. Meanwhile talks continue on who will sit in the new Welsh Assembly Cabinet, with an announcement expected later today. The only ...
One delivery round down, many to go here in Ealing. Number of illegally flyposted Labour posters spotted during the one delivery round: 19. This includes two sites where the illegal flyposting has clearly been twice cleared and has been done for the third time. Now, remind me. Which is the party that loves talking so tough about anti-social behaviour? [...]
After my last post about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Gavin Whenman sent me an email to say that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has been cancelled. | < | July 2007 | > | ||||
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