If any of my Labour pals were still wondering why I despair at their party, this story makes it perfectly clear. When, oh when, will we have a government with the integrity to put their money where their mouths are rather than talking the talk and then being totally unable to walk the walk???? There are moments when I despair, this is one of them. 
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. Congratulations to the editorial staff for the following headline... What a Balls up One route to a high reputation in politics is not to be seen in public. In the days when no one knew what Peter Mandelson’s voice sounded like, he was a feared, Mephistophelean figure. Journalists believed he might materialise in their editor’s office and finish their careers at any moment. Then Mandelson got himself elected, became a minister and went on television. We discovered that he spoke like a 1950s newsreader. He became just another figure for Rory ...
A frosty evening and children from Castle Hill are singing carols around the tree in North Parade. The Mayor has already arrived and duly switched on the lights. Even Debra the Zebra is joining in the event. Earlier the Mayor had switched on the Christmas lights that greet drivers as they come into the Borough at Malden Rushett . And the lights are also now twinkling in Hook Parade as...
Apparently teachers can expect just a 2% pay rise for each of the next two years. Put in context next to the 5% pay raise over 30 months (which equates to a 2.1% pay rise), this means that teachers will have had more than four years of pay cuts (in real terms). It's certainly worth any political party reminding teachers of these facts the next time Labour are after votes from the teaching profession.
Last month, ahead of the state visit by the King of Saudi Arabia, Vince Cable said that he would be boycotting both the official banquet and audience at Buckingham Palace: "I have introduced three debates in Parliament this year expressing serious concerns over the Al-Yamamah contract and the corruption allegedly involved. I have, in my arguments, also been very critical of members of the Saudi 
And apparently living in Fenstanton. I refer to local journalist, Ian McKellar. Local Free Papers are rarely renowned for their high standards of journalism; and let's be fair, that's not what they are about. So, credit where credit is due. The aforesaid Mr McKellar has written an article for the Hunts Post, which has also appeared in other newspapers in the same group, which is breathtaking. Not only is it factually accurate, it's all in the right order, the facts are correct and a sympathetic approach is taken to the delicate task of being fair both to the ruling Tory ...
A wide range of previously uncommitted bloggers have called the Question Time a victory for Chris Huhne. 1) Bernard Salmon started undecided, marked the candidates on five categories, and found Chris ahead. 2) Undecided voter, blogger, Liberator writer and all-round good egg Jonathan Calder has called last night’s Question Time debate for Chris. 3) Norfolk Blogger Nich Starling thinks Chris edged it over Nick over the debate. Meanwhile, Huhnista Paul Walters has a full round-up of the blogging coverage of Question Time. My favourite endorsement of Chris’s victory comes from Linda Jack, who has conceded he did ‘OK’ in the ...
This week Dulwich Library opened its doors on Wednesday for the first in many years. The move follows a Liberal Democrat election pledge to extend library opening hours. The library will open from 9am to 8pm every Wednesday - so the library will be open seven days a week (66 hours instead of 55). Since the Government [...]
I suppose that by this stage I shouldn't be surprised by Labour ditching a manifesto commitment. Even so, you have to tip your hat to a party with the gumption to abandon something after a trial in which a third of residents used the service with 90% user satisfaction... Nevertheless, as trailed by Peter Black and Martin Tod earlier, the Home Office are abandoning the rollout of the 101 service
The government are quick to attack and blame teachers for the inability of people to learn things at school. However, I feel someone should hold their hands up and admit they taught David Miliband geography. You see, the Foreign Secretary wants the European Union (and I should stress the key word here is European) to expand beyond Europe. Get it ? I don't think I do. Whatever next. Will David Miliband be proposing that The Northern Hemisphere be expanded to include the Southern Hemisphere ? Perhaps England could become part of South America for football qualification purposes. Alternatively why not ...
I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but it's a heartfelt thank you. After Nich Starling talked so glowingly of me yesterday, I was a little bit down in the dumps. But Liberal Burblings is now due to have 700 hits today - I've had that before but often it's been bulked out by Google hits for stupid things like "Winner, Britain's Got Talent". Those 700 hits today are virtually all genuine
Well, I’m on the front page of our local newspaper today with a comment on a story I sort of set going. When my Development Control committee papers arrived a few days ago, I was surprised to see Old Market Square listed as one of the planning applications, so I thumbed through to see what it was. Turned out it was a planning application for a temporary ice-rink - one which they’ve already started building. In the normal run of things, you should check whether you need planning permission long before you start building anything. In the case of the ...
Our old broadband seems to have been finally cut off, so it looks like I’m going to be without for nearly a month whilst we wait for TalkTalk to set us up. I can get my phone to act as a modem (and if I’m luckly I can steal Heather’s which has HSPDA), but please be patient if you have any LibDemBlogs/LibDemVoice technical requirements.
Our frustration at a quarter of Question Time being spent on the hung parliament question was palpable. Yet at the same time I think there is understandable frustration that neither candidate gave a what would seem to a non-party observer to be a straight answer. This would be my 'straight' answer: It is most unlikely that we would end up in a coalition with either party after the election,
Following last night’s Question Time hustings, Evan Harris MP has come out for Chris Huhne: “I have known Chris Huhne for over 20 years as a political campaigner, journalist, businessman, MEP and leading party spokesman. He was SDP candidate in Oxford West and Abingdon in 1987 when his energetic campaign paved the way for my gaining the seat 10 years later. He has lost none of his energy, as he showed last night on Question Time. Both candidates are very effective communicators but I have been particularly struck by Chris Huhne’s commitment to ensuring that the Liberal Democrats remain a ... 
In the midst of the various selections that have been concluded recently, an election for five places on English Candidates Committee (ECC) has been taking place. A stellar list of candidates has, with various degrees of nervousness, been awaiting the outcome since polls closed on 2 November, and I have to admit, I really wasn't expecting to survive. So you can imagine my surprise when the
As a supporter of the Fawcett Society (along with Jo Christie-Smith if my memory serves me correctly) I was interested to read the following letter they have sent to both leadership candidates asking ...
Last night I heard that a young Turkish man was gunned down in Stoke Newington, North London. Etem Celebi, was 17 and lived on the Smalley Estate. It has shocked my son and his friends, as Etem went to the same school as my son, and knew him well. Etem was sitting outside his home celebrating his new job as a lifeguard with his friends, when 2 youths approached and asked them if they were from the estate. When they replied that they were, one of the youths pulled out a gun. Etem's friends ran for cover, but he was ...
After his successful debate performance on Question Time, Huhne’s “big mo” has grown further with two top parliamentary endorsements. Lord Navnit Dholakia (former Party President) and Dr. Evan Harris MP have decided to back Chris Huhne for Lib Dem leader. Chris has responded: This is fantastic news. Navnit is a much loved figure within the party and his advice on party organisation and the issues of diversity will be enormously helpful. Evan is a high profile campaigner on civil liberties and I am delighted that he has thrown his weight behind my campaign. To attract two such high-profile figures underlines ...
The Lib Dem blogosphere is going great guns with this leadership election and last night we had Question Time. Was this the point at which the election was decided? Propbably not, but it was for Clegg. Lots of people have scored it and all agree it was close - but is that down to the Lib Dem decency to not play the other down too much? Or perhaps a desperate desire for each persons blog to remain on the 'must read' list by not being too partisan for one or other candidate. Did Clegg answer the questions sharply, pointedly, with ...
Attended a meeting of residents at Menzieshill Parish Church on Wednesday night. It had been arranged between the Chair of West End Community Council and the developer (and their architects) in relation to the Wimberley Houses site, prior to a planning application being submitted. The architect had invited me as ward councillor and, having sought advice from the City Council, I was allowed to attend only in an "observer" capacity as a planning application may soon come forward and elected members of the City Council are subject to a Code of Conduct in relation to planning applications. Over 70 residents ...
West Midlands campaigner Colin Ross has been watching the candidates at hustings and on TV, and his declared his support for Chris Huhne on his popular eponymous website. Colin says: one of the deciding factors for me is how the two candidates have performed on television and also at the one hustings I have seen. Chris seems far more adept, confident and better at handling the media than Nick, maybe that is due to experience may be it is something else I am not sure but Nick comes across less well and seems, and it may be harsh to say, ...
1. Chris has picked up two more high-profile supporters in the Liberal Democrat leadership race - former Party President Navnit Dholakia and Oxford West & Abingdon MP Evan Harris. 2. Chris has also pretty much swept the board with previously undecided Lib Dem bloggers - five out of the five who have since blogged about the Question Time debate say that he came off best, as did three pro-Clegg bloggers - but there's not been any traffic the other way. (Full details in Stephen Tall's piece on Liberal Democrat Voice).
The post-match blog analysis on the Question Time leadership special has been pretty evenly split, with a tilt towards Chris Huhne having gained the edge overall. (Paul Walter linked through to the early reaction this morning; more have appeared since - check out the Lib Dem blog aggregator for the latest. And, if you haven’t watched [...]
1 pedestrian on the pavement killed in 8 years by a cyclist makes the news. But no mention of the 80 pedestrians on pavements killed by motorists per year. Reminds me of the the Day Today sketch where Coogan as a pool security guard goes "In 1990 no one died. In 1991 no one died. In 1992 no one died. In 1993 no one died. In 1994 someone died. In 1995 no one died."
Earlier today I got a few texts from Mr Ross, variously telling me he had come out, was sorry, and giving me permission to blog about him being deluded! Well, no, I don't think Colin is deluded in deciding to back Chris any more than I think Jo Hayes and other pals are. I just think they are wrong - I suppose that is stating the blinkin obvious, but if I thought they were right I would have joined them. The truth is we all care passionately about the future of our party. We got it wrong last time and ...
I should be getting one of these soon, electronic ink and ebooks are a technology I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. So I’m on the lookout for ebooks to read. At the moment there’s a few I have in mind. One must read will be Community Politics in Theory and Practice. mises.org has a [...]
I was in Tesco's earlier and had to do a double take when I saw this pic (or a very similar one) on the front of the FT! I seriously thought they were taking the proverbial and someone had done a mock up. The interesting thing is that Jilali is Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator, hmmmm, curiouser and curiouser!!!!
That’s what Nick Clegg’s done that Chris Huhne hasn’t in this campaign - Articles in Telegraph, Independent and now: http://www.newstatesman.com/200711150016 Well done Nick!
I was having dinner with an old friend last night and discussing political characters. He mentioned that there was a clip of former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, when he was interviewed by the press about some Quebecoise separatist terrorists who had kidnapped federal officials. My friend described it as something like a Cambridge supervision in the way that Trudeau turned around the question and explored the interviewer's own logic, before finishing with a flourish!
A warm response to Nick Cleggs tribute to the influence of his mother (part of his ‘five books’ posting over on LibDem Voice). Nick's family connections come from the same time and place as mine – the Europe of the great disasters of the last century - and this speaks to me. The Blue Dot speech by Carl Sagan is worth linking to in full … originally a commencement address for graduating students.. The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, ...
I watched Question Time, like all other political anoraks, and I've read some of the blogs on perceptions of who 'scored' higher than the other. Have to say it was quite tame. There were no earth shattering moments or revelations, but nonetheless, for us party members, riveting to watch! What really p**sed me off, was David Dimbleby launching straight off into an assault on Nick with quotes that may or may not have been made during the last leadership election. Who cares! The BBC flashed up text messages, many seemed like quotes from people from other parties (why are you ...
Great news for users of the Ring and Ride service today - there are going to be 19 new minibuses for this vital door-to-door service thanks to the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority. Bury’s two members of the GMPTA are both Lib Dems - Cllr Andrew Garner and me. We’re proud that from January next year, as well as making local trips, Bury’s Ring and Ride users will also be able to travel into neighbouring districts for the first time thanks to the new vehicles. 10 of the 19 new minibuses will replace older vehicles in Greater Manchester’s Ring & ...
I think I will be voting for Clegg, not because of anything he’s done, but because of the behaviour of many Huhne supporters and the Huhne campaign in general. This is unfortunate, but I don’t think that the message I’ve got from the Huhne camp is going to be conducive to a party which can most [...]
I’m really surprised by the news that the Home Office is planning to pull the funding on Hampshire’s 101 service from February. This is one of those endless Home Office initiatives that actually seemed to be working! As explained on the Government’s website: 101 is a 24-hour number provided by your police and local council to deal with community safety issues, including certain non-emergency crime, policing and anti-social behaviour. 101 is for: vandalism and graffiti; noise nuisance; threatening and abusive behaviour; abandoned vehicles; dumping and fly tipping; drunk and rowdy groups; drug related anti-social behaviour; and broken street lighting. Locally ...
There is a horrifying school of thought in some parts of the party. Its one which has more to do with Toryism than liberalism. It basically runs along the lines that poor people are thick, feckless and don’t have any aspirations, so we must force them to behave in a ‘good’ manner. I’ve had it said [...]
Last night I went to the exhibition 'Good Sister / Bad Sister' by Annemarie Wright at the ArtLounge in the Mailbox in Birmingham. Not only is Annemarie one of the most exciting artists I have seen in a very long time she is also a good friend of mine (so I am sure I am biased!) and I have a piece of her work in my home.
Liberal Democrat Voice has asked both leadership candidates to list the five books that have most influenced their political views, along with an explanation for their choice. Nick Clegg’s piece appeared earlier today. J S Mill - “On Liberty” This has to be top of any liberal’s list. Mill’s principle that we should be free unless inflicting [...]
The BBC reports: An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped. The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack. When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them. Time, I think, to remember the words of one Labour minister at the time of King Abdullah's recent visit: Foreign Office minister Kim Howells has called for Britain ...
Just back from an excellent meeting about Littleton Post Office in Littleton Village Hall - exceptionally well chaired - and very constructive. Around 200 people were there to question two senior post office managers about the plans to close Littleton Post Office. A wide range of very strong points were made challenging the assumptions behind the proposed closure - particularly the assumptions made by the Post Office about how easy it would be for people using public transport to get from Littleton to Stoney Lane, the assumptions about how easy it is to get there on foot and the assumptions ...
It's already been noted that there are lots of positive LibDem Voice reader comments about Chris Huhne's performance on Question Time last night. There are also lots of comments about the programme on Political Betting including another "live blog" blow-by-blow commentary. There are over 300 comments there but, from a scan, it does appear that the preponderance (well you think of a simpler word!
Last night’s Question Time was my first real opportunity to take notice of the leadership election campaign. We moved house a week ago, so during the last fortnight all spare time has been spent packing, moving and unpacking endless cardboard boxes. Debates about Trident replacements and alternatives, school vouchers etc. have passed me by. Before commenting on the debate, I should perhaps mention the political baggage that I carry in assessing the merits of the candidates. I want the Liberal Democrats to be a party of the libertarian centre-left, a contrast with the Conservatives and with Labour’s patrician, top-down instincts. ...
When Sir Ming announced his resignation it was quite clear that both Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne would be running, I had hoped there would be other candidates. I had hoped that, as I wanted to see a number of candidates offering different visions and directions for the party. I went as far to ask someone to stand (obviously they refused) and it did seem for a while that Steve Webb might stand. I had thought although either Nick or Chris would win it would have been very useful for someone else to stand and give us more choice.
There is a very regrettable trend to blame everything on global warming. This usually pays scant regard to science and has the added problem of making people skeptical of the real dangers of global warming. Recently, global warming has been blamed for changes in the Arctic, however, it looks like this may not be the case, [...]
This week saw the Annual General Meeting of Bury Lib Dems, which took place at Elton Liberal Club and saw me elected Secretary of the local party. It was lovely to meet up with members I don’t see very often, as well as the familiar faces who I see rather too often… The new Executive Committee of the party has a big job keeping the momentum going over the next twelve months, especially since I failed in my first secretarial duty of recording the minutes of the AGM by completely forgetting to record my predecessor’s annual report. Never mind… This ...
Have Plaid Cymru set up an official opposition within government? I only ask because I have just heard Helen Mary Jones described on the Radio Wales phone-in as the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services. Does Edwina Hart know? I think we should be told.
Very few people have been able to explain the principles of liberalism and free market economics as clearly as the late Milton Friedman. Here he explains how the world works and why (free market) capitalism’s mechanisms harness greed and produce better outcomes than any alternative:
I welcome the announcement that the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) MEPs are fully behind ambitious goals adopted by the European Parliament in yesterday’s resolution on the EU strategy for the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference. The EU has a vital role here that overshadows all grumbles about the drawbacks of membership. And I am relieved, but not surprised, that naïve economic liberal opposition to any market intervention, even to correct market failures in respect of environmental damage, has lost the argument. ALDE coordinator on the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change Lena Ek (Centerpartiet, Sweden) ...
Liberal Democrat Voice has asked both leadership candidates to list the five books that have most influenced their political views, along with an explanation for their choice. Chris Huhne’s piece will appear later today. I was lucky enough to grow up in a home filled with books. They’re a huge part of my life and shaped so [...]
So it's done, my magnum opus is completed, and how do I feel? Like I want to curl up in a ball and do nothing for a week! Never mind It's been a busy three months! But my diss is in and now I can actually go out to work, earn money and do more NUS stuff! This weekend, if I feel better, will be spent in Bangor then Belfast, and then London, with Wednesday and thursday being spent at work! So what do people do with days off? What am I going to do on sunday? watch telly? I ...
That's my position after watching Clegg vs Huhne on Question Time. Undecided because I still have no idea who I'm going to vote for. Happy in that I would be happy to see either of them in the top position. I was surprised at the hostility of many of the texts coming in to News24 after the show. Is it normally like that? A lot of people said how boring it was. My feeling up till now is that it's not boring, it's just symptomatic of the fact that the LibDems are a relatively united party with a great deal ...
Welcome news from Scotland in the LibDem leadership contest: a majority of the Liberal Democrat's MSPs - ten out of sixteen - are backing Chris Huhne. Here are some of their quotes from our MSPs about Chris: Mike Rumbles, Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine: "He is the only senior Liberal Democrat who seems to fully understand that devolution doesn't stop with Scotland and Wales but needs to be extended to England too." Robert Brown, Glasgow: "His belief in building power from the bottom up will go down particularly well in Scotland." Margaret Smith, Edinburgh West: "I believe Chris has the ideas ...
Things have taken a romantic turn over at Hoby’s Road to Nowhere, the excellent cartoon strip about MP’s researchers…
I am visiting the Cardiff 101 centre, which takes calls on low-level crime, in a few weeks time. This timing is fortuitous as it may well not be there a few months later. The Home Office has announced that it will be cutting funding to the scheme at the end of the financial year. Instead it will divert the money to public protection and national security. Residents using the call centre can report non-emergency crime, annoyance, anti-social behaviour, as well as problems such as fly-tipping and dumped vehicles. It has taken around 170,000 calls since 2006 and been praised by ...
Everyone else seems to be blogging about last nights Question Time so here’s my review. (more…)
The relentless bombardment of initiatives from Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price and the Party's Vice-President, Jill Evans MEP over the last few months has been difficult to keep up with. To be fair, no matter how much one disagrees with some or all of these proposals, we have to acknowledge that they are setting the news agenda. The question mark that hangs over this whole process however, has to be to what extent it is benefiting them. My guess is that the latest prouncement by Jill Evans will do them damage. No matter how much she is keeping to her ...
This is the E8 pattern, the most intricate shape known to mathematics. It is an eight-dimensional mathematical pattern with 248 points first found in 1887, but only fully understood by mathematicians this year after workings, that, if written out in small print, would cover an area "the size of Manhattan". E8 encapsulates the symmetries of a geometric object that is 57-dimensional and is itself is 248-dimensional. Garrett Lisi, a scientist who rather splendidly seems to spend most of his time surfing or snowboarding, reckons that the mathematics of particle physics conforms to the same pattern, and he predicts that a ...
I have posted this reply on Nich Starling's posting from yesterday (it is currently awaiting moderation there): "Thank you, Nich. One small point of clarification, if I may. You write: And to think Paul was one of those critical of me for attacking Ming's record as leader Not true. I strongly critiqued the things you said, but I was not critical of you "for attacking Ming". Indeed, in my
The BBC have now put up the comments made so far by the public about last night's Question Time. The remarks are.......interesting.
Richard Northcote set up this blog (and did a lot of other things for the liberal and independent-minded citizens of Resolven and the Neath constituency in general). At times he has seemed to be cramming 36 hours into a day, juggling a demanding day job (which involved regular long-distance travel) and service to the country in the Territorial Army with the secretaryship of Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats. Something had to give, and his selection for a course leading to possible promotion in the TA has forced the issue. Richie sees this as incompatible with continuing to be an activist ...
Lincolnshire CC, Heigington and Washingborough Con 877 (61.8; +14.5), Lab 206 (14.5; -26.9), LD Roy Harris 137 (9.7; +9.7), BNP 126 (8.9; +8.9), UKIP 52 (3.7; -7.6), Ind 21 (1.5; +1.5). Majority 671. Turnout 26.2%. Con hold. Last fought 2007
I am not a great fan of Polly Toynbee, but she has hit the nail on the head in the leadership election in her article in today's Guardian "The Lib Dems face a clear choice: get radical or fudge into eternal decline". She is an unreconstructed soggy - going from Labour to signing the Limehouse Declaration, voting against the merger of the Liberal Party and the SDP that formed the Lib Dems, then
It is surprising that the bold move to link up over a dozen North Wales business parks, from Wrexham to Anglesey, with a high-speed fibre optic trunk network has attracted little attention outside the Daily Post and the technical media. This is a real all-Wales decision, one which I trust the Rainbow Alliance would also have taken if it had come to power. If the new network is swiftly shown to attract new businesses and improve existing ones, as it should, one hopes that the network, or a similar facility, is extended to mid-Wales.
Remember those halcyon days of 2005 when Make Poverty History “forced” the G8 to finally take the problem of international debt and development seriously? Remember how keen both Prime Minister Blair and his then Chancellor Gordon Brown were on championing this issue? Strange then that as PM, Brown has been quietly letting those commitments drop: Exhibit A, from the Treasury’s own website: the 2004 Spending Review which stated: “Total UK official development assistance (ODA) … will have risen from 0.26 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) in 1997 to 0.47 per cent in 2007-08.” Exhibit B, also from the ...
Having arrived home post 1am this morning I have only just had an opportunity to read the reaction to QT last night. And having now watched it myself I have a number of observations of my own. I have to say I was a bit disappointed that we didn't really get to the heart of what divided the candidates. It is well known that I don't agree with Nick on Trident, but perhaps someone could explain to me why I should agree with Chris? His argument appears to be purely financial - don't replace Trident and use the savings on ...
Today’s papers were printed too late to include coverage of Chris’s Question Time triumph, but they do have three stories of interest to Lib Dem members: 1. The Indie gives good coverage to Chris’s education plan. 2. Chris has a majority of MSPs, says The Herald 3. Polly Toynbee, in The Guardian, says Chris’s commitment to PR as part of any coalition deal makes him the best choice for the Lib Dems.
Cleggites are saying one thing and Huhnites are saying something different. Is either looking at the bigger picture - that of the anti-lib dem bias at the BBC? I was left shouting at the screen as neither of the two candidates were really given the breathing time and air to come out to fully display their [...]
I had been looking forward to yesterdays Question Time. It had been build as a ‘head to head’ between two contenders, both fighting for the liberal democrat leadership belt. Sadly, in spite of all the pre-fight hype, it seems neither contender came to 'mix it up'. Instead we were treated to a demonstration on non-contact shadow boxing! What’s to be made of that performance? Who won and who lost? Judge Shaw scored the round 169 to 168 in favour of Huhne – his choice in tie finally swinging it in his favour! However, with only a couple of rounds to ...
I watched the Question Time leadership special last night already well in the Nick Clegg camp (despite his second best performance at the Bristol Hustings). So where does an hour of the BBC’s flagship politics programme leave me? Firstly, fed up with the BBC’s political coverage. David Dimbleby is just not suited to the job of presenter/chairman. Whoever selects the questions obviously hasn’t got much of a clue. And QT is followed by The Week - which thanks to Portillo and Abbots, is just a couple of unrepresentative has been talking heads boring us all to sleep. But I digress. ...
A special meeting of the full Council yesterday, to deal with an unexpected shortfall in funding for the Dracena Centre, Falmouth's new Youth Club. I don't generally pay much attention to what goes on outside Truro, but in my Young Peoples Champion role, I've been down there to meet youth workers, teachers, policeman, etc and they tell me there are real problems with young people, down there. Not many people who visit Falmouth for their holidays would realise that some of the poorest and most deprived wards in the country, are in Falmouth. They desperately need this Youth Club, which ...
So, if you preferred to watch The Mighty Boosh, or were just elsewhere last night and missed it, the Question Time debate between Chris and Nick Clegg can now be seen online on the BBC site.
The village beneath is an attempt to awaken and tease out and chronicle that sense of civic pride and involvement that still exists in Britain today. We do see examples of residual civic pride regularly here, in a Safer Neighbourhood Panel meeting, a discussion about the history of the Greville Estate, a protest meeting to stop development on a treasured local street or turn a park into a town green. But turnouts in local elections sometimes dip below a third here in London. In Germany and Sweden they stand at the 70 and 80 percent. Britain has become a country ...
Apparently Hillary firmly put and Barack and John Edwards back in their place after some heated personal exchanges in their televised debate in Las Vegas last night. But over on our side of the pond, the Lib Dem leadership Question Time special was much more civilised. I keep reading that it was the pivotal moment for the contest, as most Lib Dem members would not receive much direct contact from the candidates so would use it to decide their vote when it arrives in next week’s post. (more…)
I watched the last Question time leadership hustings in a rowdy committee room of the Dunfermline by-election Head Quarters. The electric atmosphere of my surroundings was sadly not matched by the televised debate and thankfully the seismic impact of Willie Rennie’s achievement in the small hours of the next morning ensured that political commentators jettisoned any coverage of that rather wooden spectacle in favour of the stupendous revival in our parties fortunes delivered by Dunfermline. Yesterday’s debate was like night and day in comparison and once again Nick emerged as the candidate, I believe, best equipped to replicate the Dunfermline ...
The second significant change in our home is that we’ve more or less stopped using supermarkets. We get our fruit, vegetable and pantry basics delivered once a week by Abel & Cole, the organic box distributor. The produce is local and seasonal. Nothing is air-freighted. The only packaging is a cardboard box which we send back and is reused. We top up the organic box from our local shop, Pomona. And that’s it. We really don’t use supermarkets. Is it more expensive? – well yes carrot for carrot it is probably a bit dearer than Tesco, but because we’re much ...
So I was in the bath last night, lying in silence because our bathroom radio is kaput. And then the bathroom light went out. And then with a 'plop' it actually fell out of the socket. I was lying in the bath, and in the dark. Into my head came the episode of Seinfeld in which George’s ex-girlfriend Marlene leaves a message on Jerry’s answerphone. In a southern drawl, she says: "Jerry, have you ever taken a bath in the dark? If I'm not talking into the soap right now, call me back."Anyway, I laughed for about thirty seconds and ...
A teenage Saudi girl who was raped fourteen times has been sentenced to 200 lashes. Her crime was to be in a strange man's car at the time the attack happened - violating Saudi laws against unrelated men and women associating. The sentence was increased on appeal, after the court found she had been trying to manipulate the media against them. the girl's lawyer is also in trouble with the Saudi legal profession. All of this makes me very angry about Labour sucking up to the Saudi regime, and very glad that Vince Cable boycotted the Saudi King's visit. Of ...
Gordon Brown's 'will he? won't he?' antics this autumn over possibly calling a general election highlighted the absurdity of letting the Prime Minister choose when to call an election. Yet why should the PM get to choose the election date? We all know how PMs have chosen the date – they choose a date when they think they have a decent chance of winning. Fixing part of an election system just so you can maximise your own chances of winning – isn’t that normally called fixing an election? Democracy after all is for all of us – it’s for the ...
Of course, the team here at The Voice would like to think we’re essential. But in the spirit of scientific enquiry, we’ve got out our slide rules and graph paper and been analysing various statistics. There are several different routes to take, but they all end up with us estimating that around 10-15% of people who [...]
Memo to the Clegg Campaign - can somebody please ensure that the hideous pink tie that Nick wore on Question Time last night suffers an unfortunate accident. I will confess to having tights that colour in the 80s, and just about got away with it because of my dark hair - but Nick's tie simply clashed with everything. It would actually have suited Chris Huhne better. I think Nick came across better - Chris was a bit ponderous and remote as he often is in a question and answer situation, where Nick came across as a real human being. Nick ...
Ok, this may not be the most exciting photograph on this blog, but it represents my first individual casework success. Back in July, at a coffee morning in the Havelock Centre, a resident of 9-12 George Short Close told me they had nowhere to store their black refuse sacks. It seems an old u-shaped brick shelter, behind which they used to store their sacks, was pulled down some years ago and
Burble Towers was up and running at 5.30am this morning due to early Friday swimming! I tried to get back to sleep but gave up in the end. The BBC's Question Time web site should have comments from the public (on last night's programme) later this morning. That'll be interesting. Tom Papworth has written a typically thoughtful and informed reflection on the programme. I am particularly
The Independent have picked up on Chris Huhne's proposal to give state schools the same funding as private ones. I first heard Chris make this pledge at the Bristol hustings and he repeated it on last night's Question Time. This commitment is absolutely right. It is also radical - astonishingly radical in fact, when you consider the spending implications. It also underlines the Liberal Democrats'
There were few surprises in tonight’s Question Time. A Liberal Democrat leadership special, it saw Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne answer questions from an audience that was half Lib Dem supporters and half not. Both started by praising the former leaders, Charles Kennedy and Sir Menzies Campbell, and both sought to fight for the middle ground, not of British politics, but of Liberal Democrat opinion. In fact, in one sense the night was a fascinating example of Median Voter Theory, with both trying to appear most like most Lib Dems, so as to attract the most votes. In this respect, ...
Over at my usual home, Lib Dem Voice, the posters have been reflecting on the Question Time debate… and it seems they liked Chris’s stuff. See a selection of their comments here, or picked out below. Interesting, considering that Nick has based his campaign around being ‘the great communicator’. I went in thinking Nick would win in, but ended up thinking Chris just pipped it - seemed like a potential leader and able to face up to Brown. Chris breaths confidence - the way he dominated Dimby by finishing his answers.Chris now - Nick in ten years is my conclusion. ...
I've deliberately written this without looking at any of the other blog comments, so apologies if I end up repeating anything! I've just finished watching the Question Time leadership debate. I have mixed feelings about it - Nick got off to a very shaky start under some heavily personal questioning, while Chris was confidently plugging away and seemed to be enjoy it more. Then it all changed after the half-hour mark - Nick gave a superbly passionate answer talking about his anger at the 14 year difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest wards in Sheffield. From then ...
After listening to World At One on the radio earlier I was genuinely terrified of how badly this could go if it turned into a mud-slinging fest. But, it was clean and I thank both of them for that. Dimbleby actually caused the most trouble, don’t you think? Who won? First half Chris, second half Nick. Chris was consistent throughout while Nick started fairly ho-hum and ended on a blazing finish. Chris’s peaks need to be higher, and he needs some kind of more ‘personal’ style. He’s permanently in ‘politician’ mode. Nick needs to use that ‘top gear’ more often. ...
Does it matter? I think it does, because Nick Clegg's unique selling proposition in this campaign is that he is the "Great Communicator". On the evidence of this evening's programme, Chris Huhne is at least as good a communicator.
Wednesday: Simple Sailor or Silly Sausage? ALMOST the most worrying thing about the case of Mr Lord Admiral West is that he is credited as a former head of the Intelligence Staff. It makes you worry for the security of our agents if "M" himself cannot stand up to a five-minute grilling from Mr Frown. I mean what are they going to do when Mr Goldfinger has them strapped to the table with the industrial laser pointed at their "handwash only" labels? Assuming Mr Frown DOESN'T have an industrial laser set up in Downing Street for this very purpose… But ...
Tuesday: Hooray for Brilliant Mr Brian! I have not been VERY good at keeping my OBJECTIVITY on this one, have I? So I doubt that anyone will be surprised to learn that I am JOLLY PLEASED to hear that Mr Brian won the contest to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Mayor of London. It was a stunning victory, with Mr Brian gaining 73% of first preference votes (that is ALMOST a shame, because the other two candidates were also VERY GOOD, but it does show that we pretty much all recognised THE MOST QUALIFIED LIBERAL for the job.) ... | < | November 2007 | > | ||||
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