LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Monday 17th September 2007

No, I'm Not in Brighton

In case any one was wondering (probably not - but you never know), I'm not in Brighton and will not be showing my face down there this week at the Lib Dem Conference. Although I still retain a strong interest in politics and Liberalism, I am taking a bit of a sabbattical and working on building up my training business and spending quality time with my lovely wife and daughter. Today was a rather special day as my little girl, Anna, started at Primary School. Qun and I really enjoyed taking her to and from school today and she looked ...

Unlocking Democracy

James Graham, whose Quaequam Blog! won the overall Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year, has a day job with Unlock Democracy - a campaigning group with which I have a lot of sympathy. James interviewed me on what local e-democracy means for Liberal Democrats and you can view it, if you really want to, here.

Ming the mightier

Again i say I didn’t vote for Ming - however, I have warmed to him lately - respect him and like his SUBSTANCE We seem as a party to be refreshing the parts other parties are not. Liberalism for the 21st century. My only qualms is that we are not tackling the following subjects hard enough: 1. Property law - bringing buying and selling properties in line with Scottish law 2. Getting rid of Perpetual Yearly Rentcharges 3. Being more aggressive on Iraq - are we there to achieve `militia democracy` - what are the true numbers of deaths in ...

BBC notices our blogs

The BBC has reported the Lib Dem Blogs of the Year awards - greatest awaits us!

Ming as leader

I supported Ming Campbell for leader and made that clear in an interview I did for Sky News at the time. Today I was again interviewed, this time for the BBC News website and you can see what I said (well, sort of) here.

Don Cambpell correct silly speculation

Don Campbell issue apology to paparazzi today. "When today I referred to the emerging economic superpowers of China and Italy, I did of course intend to say Calabria and Sicily. That's what comes of spending all morning talking to Signor Foster about bloody tourism, rather than thinking about Family business." Signor Davey added: "Anyone can make a mistake, Don Campbell though is safely entrenched in our London Territories, tittle-tattle that he about to be sent to sticks in Jockland entirely idle speculation." Signor Cable also commented: "Further the Don did not intend to say that he wants the Family to ...

The Guardian wet themselves

The Lib Dem chief was centre stage doing a question-and-answer session with comedian Sandi Toksvig when the topic turned to prime minister's question time. Sir Menzies protested that everyone gets nervous before such events. Sandi disagreed. "Well, I must be a failure then," Sir Menzies retorted. This has caused the Guardian and other organs to require a clean set of underwear, they are so

What do to the local party chairs think?

Ming Campbell very kindly invited me and all the other local party chairs to a reception this evening, plied us with booze and nibbles, and gave us an opportunity to mingle and share best practice. Whilst many of us were at conference anyway, some chairs chose to come down specially for the reception. The news [...]

Yours Truly on BBC1 South East

Your's truly made a couple of brief appearances on the South East section of the Politics Show last Sunday. Click on the link here to see it all again. I'm sure that some people in the Party and beyond will be ecstatic to see that I am very much still alive and kicking politically. By the way, Jack Devine, you haven't got a clue what you are talking about. We've been way ahead of the other two parties for years on the use of the internet and modern communication techniques. That's why we've always punched above our financial weight in ...

Not In Brighton

Strictly speaking party Conferences are redundant and have been since the days of the telegraph let along the Internet. The reason that they endure is simple and very clear to me today as I sit in a Civic Hall office rather than sampling the sea air in Brighton. I have spent the day trying to help people with problems and make my area a bit better. Its an awful business and frequently very frustrating. Unfashionable though it is to say it its an honourable trade but as we all know one that is despised by the public. The reason I ...

Latest updates ...

Pleased to say that I have been advised that the potholes I had complained about on Perth Road at the Invergowrie Drive junction (following residents contacting me) were repaired last Friday.I had a complaint that part of the tiling at the pedestrian crossing (Blackness Avenue junction crossing east to west near Perth Road) was damaged. Have had the following feedback from the City Council:"The plates referred to by the member of the public are stick-down tactile paving tiles to indicate the presence the pedestrian crossing to those with visual impairment. We had checked out the displaced tile and did not ...

The Limits Of Sadness?

I promised myself that, having missed the live coverage of today's business by the remarkable feat of having something better to do, I wouldn't watch the repeats because that might constitute overdoing it. My resistance became even more fierce when I found that I was turning on to the nuclear power section of the environmental debate, which one might imagine would lead me into realms of

Yorkshire self-government back as Lib Dem policy

Delighted to see that the Liberal Democrats have not given upon the idea of regional government. Last year the party’s policy paper ‘Your Community, Your Choice’ was referred back by conference delegates because it totally trashed the longstanding Lib Dem concept of English regions having an element of self-government. Yorkshire delegates were particularly vociferous in their opposition to the paper in Brighton last year.The new policy paper (The Power to be Different - Local and Regional Governance Policy Paper) contains lines (53-56): The establishment of directly-elected regional government in those regions that want it, taking powers and functions from central ...

Ming v Bloggers - photos

Here are some photos from yesterday's interview of Ming by the five bloggers short-listed for "LibDem blog of the year". Ming meets Lib Dem Blogger of year, James Graham. From left: Ming, Jonathan Calder (back of), Mark Webster (moderator - obscured), James Graham. The back of Alex Wilcock's head is an addition to the previous photo.

EXCLUSIVE: why this blog is called Quaequam Blog!

I’ve spent all day being asked by journalists “why is your blog called Quaequam?” To start with, it isn’t. It’s called Quaequam Blog! - the blog and exclamation mark are important. Secondly, it has nothing to do with latin (I should hire Ros Taylor as my personal spin doctor - she always makes me sound so glamourous) - those Grammar school years were totally wasted, trust me. Frankly, I think I signpost the origins of “quaequam blog!” fairly explicitly on this blog these days. The clues are all these. Ultimately, the real reason I call this site Quaequam Blog! is ...

Liberal Democrats and the war against textiles

Apparently people attempting to enter the conference centre at Brighton with knitting needles are having them confiscated as they may be used as deadly weapons. It’s hard to see why this rule is being applied to needles but not to pens which would have a similar effect if you stuck one in someone’s eyeball. Just to make things even more surreal, the NHS stall are handing out pens made out to look like syringes. You would have thought that security would have rather more difficulty with syringes full of dubious-looking blue liquid, but there you go. Share This

The Brighton Conference Diaries - part three

Today began with a truly magnificent full Sussex breakfast, I heartily recommend it and Paskins Town House to anyone planning a trip to Brighton. Probably due to the breakfast slowing down my walking pace, I arrived late for the debate on the Zero Carbon Britain policy document. In my opinion this is one of the best policy documents we’ve put out in recent years but it’s also an eye-opener to quite how much needs to be done to combat climate change. There was an interesting debate as to whether the line dismissing nuclear power should be deleted. One of the ...

Clegg: how to make the voters notice the Lib Dems

Nick Clegg, the Lib Dems’ shadow home secretary (and touted alongside Chris Huhne as Ming Campbell’s most likely successor), was the subject of The Independent’s ‘You ask the questions’ feature today. You can read it in full here. Here’s one Q&A to entice you to read them all: Under Ming Campbell, the party has been slowly [...]

My question to Ming

This afternoon, I was privileged to be called to ask a question of our party's leader, Sir Ming Campbell, at the televised Question and Answer session in the Conference Hall. My question was along the lines that, as the EU and the UK share values based on fair play, competition and diversity, how can we convince the British public that the EU's values are their values? Ming's answer was an excellent, passionate re-affirmation of our strong Lib Dem belief in the values that underpin the EU. Sandii Toksvig chaired the session with great wit, including suggesting that the 25 words ...

Cheeky!

Only the Liberal Democrats would have a grouping called the Campaign for Gender Balance to take forward the cause of getting more women into Parliament. In actual fact it is a very worthy organisation that carries out training and mentoring for women and works with existing activists to identify potential female candidates. It was the Party's compromise solution to avoid introducing positive discrimination measures in candidate selection. Tonight there is a fundraising auction to raise money for this cause. I intend to go along. It is hosted by Lembit Öpik who is very committed to equal opportunities within the party. ...

Tax cuts for all

Apparently this is impossible. Why? Here are three reasons why not: 1) Government wastes money. A lot. 2) Government spends money on things it needn’t and shouldn’t. 3) Cutting taxes can in some instances increase tax revenue (the infamous Laffer curve - it does depend where on the curve you are, but it looks like we are to the right [...]

Is it only Monday !

After over-dosing on training this morning I headed back to the Holiday Inn where Phil Bennion was hosting a fringe event on 'The Future of Europe' MEP's, Andrew Duff and Graham Watson were joined by Sir Colin Budd. Key questions from the floor was the question of whether we should have a referendum on the Reform Treaty. I then headed off to the main hall to see Ming's question time, very well done I thought. I am now taking some time out of having to be places and have hidden myself away in a corner of a hotel lounge somewhere ...

a new season starts and a day out with people with learning difficulties

Despite the horror story that is England in this years Rugby World Cup it is great to see the improving standard in many other countries. As ever the All Blacks look awesome. However on Saturday Bath kicked off its new season with an impressive 29 - 15 4 try victory over Worcester. Five points is a good start. However I have never seen so much knock on in a game in my life. Luckily Worcester...

Sunday at the Conference

A beautiful sunny day on the first day of the conference. I started with a consultation on Housing. This is a real issue in Warwick & Leamington, yet like most parts of the country our housing issue is a lack of affordable housing and its knock on effects, other parts of the country have different problems which is why I believe local councils should have more power to decide the solutions rather than have them dictated from Westminster. I am also our West Midlands spokesperson for housing so this is an issue close to my heart. This was our opportunity ...

We salute you, Vince

Sometimes, you suspect, it must be a bit frustrating to be Vince Cable, the Lib Dems Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. For three years now, he has been highlighting the impact of Gordon Brown’s economic policies on consumer debt. Here (just one example) is what he said in March to the Lib Dems’ spring conference [...]

Climate Change deniers and skeptics

It seems to me there’s several groups lumped in as skeptics and deniers in the climate change debate (it is still a debate no matter what consensus has been declared). There are those who deny flat out that climate change is occurring. These are truly deniers. The evidence is that the climate changes and that it [...]

Full Council

The Full Council was busy - but then what can you expect when the number of meetings has been pared to a minimum. We had lots of business to cover including finally, after a journey of years, signing off on our Local Plan - just in time to immediately go to work on Local Development Frameworks - the new quicker version of local plans!!! The main arguement between the parties was whether to adopt...

Shut it, you slags

I’m in Brighton for party conference, finally with a chance to blog. Been very busy putting videos online, running training sessions and, last night, at the Blog of the Year Awards. Congratulations to all the winners, and hello to the bloggers I met for the first time. This morning, I had phone calls with a couple of people from the BBC about the awards, giving them background information about the awards, talking them through who won, and putting them in touch with Blogger of the Year James Graham. There’s a maxim when dealing with journalists: always assume you’re on the ...

Conference diary: Tuesday

Today we've been debating our plans to make Britain carbon neutral by 2050: Running time: 92 seconds

Baroso Wows the Brits

{news_barroso_3122.jpg} There was standing room only when the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Baroso, addressed the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton this afternoon. He declared that his vision of Europe’s future is very close to that of the consultation document discussed by the LibDems on Sunday. He particularly stressed the importance of the EU in the global response to climate change, underlining the environmental slant that has been given to the whole conference. As he said, ‘Europe is an indispensable level for finding global solutions.’ Mr Baroso called for a new industrial revolution, moving from a high-carbon present to a low-carbon ...

LGA - London and Taunton

Monday 10 Travelled upto London for my first meeting as part of the Local Government Association board on Culture etc. Its remit mirrors the Government Office and in the Liberal Democrats it is Don Foster who leads for us in this area. The main topic was a presentation from the Museums expressing concern following Bury's disposal of a Lowry painting to fill a budget deficit. Their...

It's not just Tories who should feel angry

I am shocked to read on James Graham's blog an account of the last general election, as told by Ming Campbell in an exclusive interview to the shortlisted five for "Lib Dem blog of the year" about the liaison at the highest levels between Labour and the Lib Dems at the last general election. The quotation that deals with this is ; "Interestingly, Ming pointed out that the then-elections chief Lord Razzall was in constant talks with Labour regarding our targeting strategy and how we might both target the Conservatives. Although I’m not surprised, I have to say it is ...

Its not the rich doing too well…

Ming says he’s about opportunity, he despairs about the lack of opportunity. That’s quite right, that is what I’m concerned with, I see too much damage caused by the lack of opportunity and the perceived lack of opportunity. Why then does he try to whip up envy and class divide by claiming the rich are doing [...]

Church allows "one of the (financial) killings of the century"

The Times reports: An historic collection of religious books whose sale for £36,000 was approved last year by a Church of England diocese has been sold on by a book dealer for more than £500,000. The Diocese of Truro sanctioned a deal in September 2006 to sell hundreds of old Bibles and manuscripts from its library to John Thornton in a move to clear shelf space. The decision to sell at such a

Ming's conference video - Monday

Ming talks in today’s webcast about the today’s debate on climate change at Liberal Democrat party conference and about the keynote speech by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Cleveland Pools and Don Foster

Thursday 6 Part of the political process is the re-selection of sitting MPs to fight the next general election. Don first won Bath in 1992 and has now defended the seat three times in the intervening years. Don Foster is an excellent MP for Bath and has served Bath, the party and the Country well. The vote was nearly unanimous with just one person voting against. There...

Hi-tech woes

I am treating myself to a dead swanky hotel this year in Brighton, not anything I think I shall be able to afford again any time soon. One of the reasons was to make sure I had proper internet access from my room, cutting out the necessity to haul my laptop into the conference centre, through endless security bag checks, to use the free wireless connection in the bar. Unfortunately, this afternoon when I sat down to use it I found things weren’t quite so straightforward. An hour later, it transpires that the room was recarpeted immediately before it was ...

Conference Video: James Graham, Lib Dem blogger of the year 2007

Last night, was the second annual Lib Dem blog of the year awards, as reported by Lib Dem Voice here, and BBC.co.uk here. This morning, I caught up with James Graham, whose feisty Quaequam Blog! was named Best Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year - here’s what he had to say:

A lively start in Brighton

It's only when you get back to the party conference that you remember quite how hectic they are! The bit that the public sees - the debates and speeches in the main hall - are just a small fraction of the activity that goes on. Between Sunday evening and the end of conference on Thursday lunchtime I'll have spoken at seven fringe meetings, made a speech in the main hall (this morning), done various interviews (today on News24, the World at One and later on 5Live), and will have had more than 20 meetings with shadow cabinet colleagues just in ...

Brighton Photo Diary, Day 1

Sorry, too busy to be erudite right now. Here, instead, are a couple of photos taken at last night’s conference rally, Human rights and civil liberties: home and abroad, where Ming made a good, passionate speech. (Even if no-one was too sure for a couple of seconds that he’d actually finished.) If you’ve ever wondered what the view of conference is like from the back of the hall, here it is:

No conference for me…

I’m not going to make conference this year, but to make up for that I seem to be blogging almost hyper-actively. A blessing perhaps since that my blog posts are easier to ignore than me rabbiting on at you in person ;) I have been watching some of the conference though and rather enjoyed Steve Webb’s [...]

Ming and the October general election story

Gordon Brown moved yesterday to end speculation about a snap general election... write Larry Elliott and Michael White in today's Guardian.Which is interesting, as the gossip around the Conference in Brighton is that Team Ming has been talking up the possibility of an October general election as a way of shoring up the leader's position.

Violence is falling globally in the long and the short term.

The Mail and Tories and Labour (is there much of a difference?) would have us believe that the world is descending into violence and we’re all doomed. The truth is that violence is falling as this 18 minute talk from Steven Pinker shows. Over the long term, human society is getting less and less violent. The reason [...]

Craig Murray in Brighton

Craig Murray spoke in Brighton last night at a fringe meeting organised by Liberator and the Lib Dem peace and security group. He arrived late and I had to leave early, but in between I heard enough to know that he is a courageous man and a very good speaker. You can read his blog. And one day you may be able to watch the movie. Meanwhile, you should buy his book.

Conference Video: Zero Carbon Britain - the activists’ view

The Lib Dem conference today backed proposals designed to make Britain a zero carbon country by 2050 - more on the party website here, and at The Guardian here. Our intrepid interviewer Richard Huzzey caught up with some Lib Dem conference delegates after the debate to ask them what they about it all. Here’s what [...]

You think I'd learn.

Last Wednesday, while delivering some leaflets in the by election, I was bitten by a dog. It got my middle finger on my right hand. It drew blood and a mini scream from me! Instead of going to get it checked out.. I stuck on a plaster and carried on. Next day the finger was swelling. The following day it looked like a huge sausage next to the other fingers. I couldn't bend it. I was a tad worried. Luckily for me, its OK and there's no damage done. But there could have been. And after the last incident, which ...

A terribly British crisis - cynicism and queueing

I've been somewhat disappointed by the reaction of the public and politicians to the Northern Rock crisis. Ros and I were walking towards the Conference Centre when we encountered a long queue trailing past a branch of Lloyds TSB from what turned out to be the local branch of the Northern Rock. We'd seen the pictures in the media, but not actually experienced it in the flesh. What was most

Lib Dem blog award winners

Congratualtions to James Graham for winning Blog of the Year. The full list of winners is over at Liberal Democrat Voice. So that's two years running that me and the elephant have been shortlisted but not won. What's that, Millennium? You want to sing a song with me? Here goes: Why am I always a bridesmaid, Never the blushing bride? Ding! Dong! Wedding bells Always ring for other gals. But one fine day – Please let it be soon – I shall wake up in the morning On my own honeymoon.

Photo Caption of the Day

From a leaflet promoting Colin Ross's campaign to get on the Lib Dem list for the West Midlands in the next European elections: EU experience: Colin shares his concerns with the Andorran foreign minister, Juli Triquell.

Tory Hypocrisy on Europe - Letter to 'Herald Express' 170907

Marcus Wood doesn't let inconvenient facts get in the way of his latest attempt at political point scoring through the pages of your paper. He accuses the Lib Dems of hypocrisy with regard to a potential referendum on the EU Reform Treaty. He fails to note that the Liberal Democrats went into the last general election promising a UK referendum on the EU constitutional proposals which collapsed in 2005 when Dutch and French voters rejected them. It is right that our people have a full debate about our future relationship with Europe as Sir Menzies Campbell has recognised by offering ...

Why housing policies make me angry

Yesterday I also spoke at the Shelter fringe meeting on housing. I started by highlighting one scandalous case from Hornsey and Wood Green: I went to visit in their own home a constituent with a housing problem. “Housing problem” doesn’t begin to describe the situation. Nice three bedroom flat – but the flat didn’t start until the first floor. And to get to the first floor you had to mount a narrow and long staircase. Now, the daughter – quadriplegic – had to be carried up and down that staircase. That was barely manageable when they moved in and she ...

How Georgio Armani let me down

So - last night was the Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards - bigger and better than even, as they say. Congratulations to all the highly deserved winners - and who better to tell you who they were than the winner of the blog of the year himself? Shame only about Georgio Armani, as you can read about in the speech I gave.

Sherbourne Court clean-up day success

Yesterday I attended the clean-up day at Sherbourne Court. I was there for about two and a half hours, picking up litter, organizing helpers and talking to local residents and Six Town Housing Staff. First of all let me say that it was a very well organized day, and thanks must go to the Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) and to Six Town Housing and the Council for organizing it so well. Thanks also to the Fire Service and Salvation Army for coming along. The firemen carried out safety checks on a number of flats, and the Salvation Army provided ...

Zero-Carbon Britain

Conference, also today, debated the Climate Change Policy Paper - Zero-Carbon Britain - Taking a Global Lead.

And the winner is…

Not me. I didn’t win “Blog of the Year from someone elected to public office” at the Lib Dem Blog of the Year wards at conference last night. The award went to Mary Reid, and she deserves it. She actually managed to win two awards, so well done to Mary. I wasn’t in Brighton to trash the place like a rejected rock-star, but our local prospective parliamentary candidate Vic D’Albert texted me to let me know the news, and after contemplating defecting to one of the other parties as a result of what is undoubtedly anti-northern and anti-male bias, I calmed ...

The joys of conference kleptomania!

Accompanied by the the leading lights of West Berkshire Kleptomaniacs Anonymous, I toured the exhibition stands at the conference yesterday. The TUC wins the prize for best freebies. It is so good that my recovering kleptomaniac friends returned to the stand several times. If you ask them (those lovely TUC bods) nicely (and by the way, one of my friends is a fully paid-up member of Unison, so

My Comment is Free article on Reinventing the State

I have an article on the Guardian's Comment is Free superblog this morning, reviewing Reinventing the State. They asked me to do it in 400 words. As its a 400-page book, that presented something of a challenge. At least the page features a nice picture of Market Harborough railway station. Unfortunately, I rather get in the way.

Neath Port Talbot health board

The AGM of the local health board will be held at 15:30 on 27th September at the Aberavon Beach Hotel. Citizens of Skewen may wish to attend, to ask the board why they went along with Bro Morgannwg's decision to sell off the Cefn Park Clinic (see earlier story and comments).

US Candidate selector:

Its been doing the rounds so I had a go (find it here). Like many LibDems the unheard of Democratic former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel came top, with 75.44% match and second is Ron Paul with a 74.56% match (the big difference there would be abortion I think - Ron Paul is anti-abortion, but believes it [...]

Brighton Belle

I spent some of the weekend at Brighton to hook up with old friends at the Lib Dem Conference- and the atmosphere is positive. I hope to return this evening, but I am extremely busy, so my plans perforce must remain flexible. I have been shortlisted in Aberdeen, so I will also need to be at the other end of the country for most of next week (but only after attending the England-Estonia match at Wembley). It is always good to to meet old friends from across the country, and I am also profoundly encouraged by the increasing sense of ...

Al Qaeda losing support

Despite what seems to be the best efforts of our government and the US government to increase hatred of the west, it seems that Al Qaeda’s support amongst muslims is falling. Perhaps this is what is behind the latest video (supposedly) from Osama Bin Laden complete with Marxist anti-capitalist rhetoric, he’s hoping to convert western leftists [...]

Liberal Democrats debate dentistry

At the Liberal Democrat conference this morning the party debated the issue of dentistry. Conference noted that NHS dentistry is now in crisis, with less than half of British adults registered with an NHS despite Labour's promise that everyone would have access to an NHS dentist by 2001.

conference round-up

or what I've been up to in Brighton so far... Well the room in the Grand is OK. The shower is a bit dribbly, the bed is comfortable, breakfast is more than ample, the croque monsier over priced for ham and cheese toastie. Saturday night was a gentle affair with a small crowd from the Brent by-election having their re-union anniversary dinner. Sunday the work began with tours of the exhibition by the various parliamentarians (and senior cllrs!). So by the end of the day I was more than ready for a nice Greek meal followed by the blog of ...

EXCLUSIVE: There might really be a Presidential contest next year!

Now I freely accept that, for this particular correspondent, the logo has a fairly obvious rationale. However, it has just taken on a whole new significance. Yes, Ros is running for the position of Party President next year, and I am incredibly proud to endorse her candidacy, for more than just the obvious reason. The Presidency is, for most members, a little understood role, being seen as the

Two discoveries

I've learned two things: 1. I'm actually half-decent at blogging. 2. I'm pretty useless at off-the-cuff public speaking! I refer, of course, to last night's Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards, where I scooped best new blog, won an honourable mention for my Chindamo article, and then, under the combined influence of surprise, delight, extreme nerves and two cans of Red Bull, gave an utterly shambolic and truly embarrassing acceptance speech. I'm sure the video will be online soon, and you can all have a jolly good laugh at it. I'll be curled up in the corner with my ...

Dead Ideology

In far away California lives a curious bearded young man, named Thomas M. Sipos, a Libertarian Party activist, who also publishes rather silly fantasy novels. His book Vampire Nation is apparently an enjoyable, if faintly xenophobic romp, based on the premise that world communism is a front for literal vampirism, headed in the late 1980s by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. Whilst I wouldn’t generally seek to lend credibility to such nonsence, I did notice this picture currently adorning the front page of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation…

Revealed: The inner workings of the British banking system

When the music stops...

Musings from Conference

Live from t’internet cafe in the West Bar of the Brighton Centre… The Zero-Carbon Britain debate is starting shortly, although there are huge queues outside the Centre for anyone with a bag. My top tip to any other delegates is to carry your big pile of papers instead of taking a bag. This satisfies the stewards [...]

A question of leadership

It is the question on everybody's lips but only the media and the bloggers are talking about it openly, what do we do with a problem like Ming? Here we have a leader who is fostering a Team Ming approach by encouraging young talented MPs to come forward and show what they can do, who has refocussed the party's organisation to the extent that we are even paying Conference stewards this year (it is the small things that matter), and who has directed a fundamental policy review that is putting the party at the radical edge of debate on taxation, ...

Limited Internet Access

My plans to have my laptop online in our flat whilst in Brighton has failed. Not only has everyone here got secure WiFi, but the datacable to make my phone a modem has now gone missing. Whilst I can do most stuff on my phone, writing and reading high graphic blog posts becomes rather tricky. So if anyone is in Brighton and has found a Sony Ericsson datacable or has one to lend, please let me know.

The Economic (& Political) Conseqences of the Crunch

As regular readers of this blog will know, I, like many Liberal Democrats, have been warning about the extreme imbalances in the global economy for some time. Vince Cable first talked about the problems more than two years ago. It does not give me much satisfaction to say "We told you so". The old fashioned run on the Northern Rock is not supposed to be happening- the Bank is reported as solvent and has the support of the full faith and credit of the Bank of England. Nevertheless with every hour that passes the depositor base is draining away and ...

Low food mile awayday.

Took the team for a well deserved awayday last week. We went to Whitstable for a day at the seaside. In what now looks like the last great day of the summer we had a gentle walk along the coast to Seasalter followed by a game of beach cricket and some toe paddling. The highlight of it all was a spectacular lunch at The Sportsman. Our eagle-eyed area manager, Rebecca Towers had spotted this place in one of the Sunday colour supplements and it really was superb. With locally caught Brill, Ray and Oysters on the menu we knew we ...

Jonny leaves no dry eyes

Jonny Wright makes his acceptance speechafter receiving the "Newcomer of the year"award at last night's LibDem Blog awards Many congratulations to Quaequam Blog (pronounced "James Graham") for winning the LibDem "Blogger of the Year" award. James has been consistently fair but incisive with his commentary. His posts have been perfectly written and argued, and based on an awesome knowledge and

Day 2448: Millennium Meets Sir Ming: the Interview

Saturday[*]: Off to conference, and as a SPECIAL PRIZE for being on the short-list for Liberal Democrat Diary of the Year (again!) my fellow diarists and I were invited to meet His Divine Imperial Supremacy, Ruler of the Universe (and environs), Grand Mugwump of the Muggles and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Mr the Merciless himself in person. So there I was, fluffy baby elephant and there he was, party leader. Gazing into those wise yet beady eyes, it is hard not to be INTIMIDATED… and yet, I thought Sir Mr the Merciless bore up very well. (Particularly since ...

The Brighton Conference Diaries - part two

It began with a windy stroll down Brighton seafront at 10am and ended with a windy stroll back at 1am. The first full day of Conference! I’d been told that Conference is a great opportunity to network, particularly with MPs and MEPs, in an informal setting that you can’t get elsewhere. Spot on. Lembit Opik provided some entertainment during a morning training session complete with jokes aplenty on English rugby and Romania. That training session - Gotcha! - was one of the better ones I’ve been on, with a real structured approach rather than the haphazard approach of some. In ...

Conference Blow Out

The journey up with our Parliamentary Candidate for St Austell & Newquay was always going to be lively, but not quite as lively as this! In the fast lane ... undisclosed speed ... BANG! Tyre blew out - fairly scary it has to be said, Steve managed not to panic and steered us onto the hardshoulder and then with skill that could have McLaren head hunting he got it all sorted. The three of us were slightly rattled and a steady pace was kept for the remaining distance. Cruel to take a picture - but couldn't resist!

Liberal Mafia is recruiting

I wake up in skip on construction site near beach this morning. This not uncommon occurrence at Family Gathering, only in this case it seem due to misunderstanding with Committee for Diary Control. Seem Signor Opik's handling my 'donation' to Hornsey Green intimidation fund go little awry, as photo below show. Happily I able to direct Committee to Opik hotel room in dodgy downtown Brighton fleshpots so they let me off with mild beating. Signor Opik seem likely due for second handgliding accident. Anyway with unwelcome attention, and fearsome enforcers like those above lurking in dark viuzzi, I think I ...

E X C L U S I V E (ish): Mingmeet - where’s the meat?

Sort of an exclusive here as I think I may be the first to write up my account of the interview with Ming that the finalists for the Blog of the Year held on Sunday morning. Jonathan Calder actually beat me to it by about 12 hours but at the time of writing hadn’t given his full account. Either way it’s another opportunity to shamelessly use “EXCLUSIVE” in another blog title and we all know how much you crazy kids love your exclusives. Okay. By dint of where I had seated myself, I found myself asking Ming the first question, ...

Post to Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur

I have the highest of respect for this hard working Assistant Commissioner who is a dedicated officer with a great deal of integrity. I have met with the Assistant Commissioner at various functions and have always known that he would be heading for the top! His recent portfolio includes looking after the security for the Olympics in 2012. However, recent comments made by Tarique raise some questions as to whether foreign police forces will be armed and on the streets of London during the run up to the Olympics and whilst it actually takes place. He seemed to confirm that ...

Ham Polo Club Bannister Bowl and Social Committee Cup Charity Event

The Mayor's Charity Picnic was a sunny afternoon watching polo in the grounds of Ham Polo Club in support of Charities : Momentum, Parkinson's Disease Society, Royal Kingston Rehab Centre, Lahore D.M , Mayor of Richmond Cllr Marc Cranfield-Adams and Cllr Shiraz Mirza.

I put horses heads in people's beds

Following tonight's star studded Lib Dem Blogger of the year awards I am now in our room in what is possibly England's worst hotel. I have had to stay here many times for Lib Dem conference and training events, but can I say the rooms, the incredible heat, the after hours services and just about everything else about the Quality Hotel, Brighton is NOT quality. Moving on swiftly. James Graham has

Day 3 in the Quality Hotel

Another training session delivered - this time in the sub-tropical temperature of the Chestnut Room here in my base for conference The Quality Hotel (also known as The Irony). The air conditioning has apparently broken down which means we are training in very warm rooms over very noisy fans. Surprisingy the trainees did not fall asleep despite the heat and the best efforts of the trainers ;-) Today also included several more meetings with key seats and a useful meeting with Regional Executive members to do some early planning for the South East European election campaign. This evening I chatted ...

Ed predicts election

Ed Davey, who as well as being our very popular local MP is also Ming Campbell's Chief of Staff, is predicting a snap General Election on 25th October.

The United Nations and the European Union

UNA Birmingham presents The United Nations and the European Union a talk by Lord Hannay of Chiswick an Independent member of the House of Lords (since 2001), Chair of United Nations Association - UK and a member of the House of Lords EU Select Committee on Saturday 6th October 2007 from 2.30pm at Birmingham & Midland Institute in Birmingham

Monday 17th September 2007

Previous days:

Archives

Search for...

Adverts

Buttons

LibDem Blog Box

Contributors

Campaigns

From the BBC...

Backlinks...

From the Independent...

From Politics.co.uk...

From the Guardian...

Adverts