LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Saturday 23rd February 2008

The tree savers grow up to community proactivety

Some idiot wants to cut down the trees on Aylesbury Road! Did that put your back up A similar case got my mother campaigning many years ago the Tel-Aviv city hall wanted to widen King George Street. I think I was about six or seven when she put a petition in my hand: Get as many signatures as you can. The truth is that I did not appreciate what it was all about and I was annoyed I could not stay at home and read. Those trees were planted almost together with the corner stone for Tel-Aviv and they are ...

Secrecy and May Balls

Why are specific details of May Balls (especially the identity of the artists that will be performing at them) kept under wraps until very near the time of the Ball Presumably it's intended to build suspense and excitement, but it might risk translating to: "We're not confident enough that you'd buy a ticket if you knew the details of our programme. So we're going to hide them from you and hope you assume that what's in store is better than the truth."

Mings behind-the-scenes account of CKs downfall

Ming Campbells autobiography is due out shortly you can pre-order it from Amazon here, and earn the Lib Dems some commission and is currently being serialised by the Daily Mail. No surprise that the first instalment should focus on Charles Kennedys battle with alcoholism and his forced resignation as leader in January 2006. [...]

A "politically motivated complaint"

Watching News 24 this evening alerted me to the absurd stupidity of people who work in politics who should know better. Commenting on the news that the speaker's aide has resigned, Lord Foulkes actually uttered the phrase "it's politically motivated" as the complaint was brought against him by a member of the BNP. What complaints, in politics, aren't

Inky fingers

I have just got back from the Blaydon constituency Lib Dem office having just printed 2 leaflets for a nearby local party and two for Blaydon constituency, one of which is for my own ward! Blessedly free of printing hitches so I am back earlier than expected, despite a queue for the machine. Cllr Chris Ord was there when I got to the office printing his own ward focus. Still, despite the hitch

Derby Defections Deja-Vu

News has broken of mass defections of local members from Labour to the Tories in Derby. 300 no less. Rings a bell Something similar to this happened in 2006. The earlier defections, this time to the Liberal Democrats, were rebutted by Labour who claimed that the large majority were never Party members and that the small number of actual party defectors were disgruntled losers in a local Council selection battle. It looks like something similar is happening. Whilst I feel sure that 300 is a gross exaggeration probably made by an embittered local politician any 'mass' defection is problematic. Can ...

Rapid Rhino and the Dickens Museum

Last night's "Evening Telegraph" and this morning's "Courier" covered the success of the City Council's new Rapid Rhino repairs system for potholes in the city's roads (click on headline to view the Tele's article). I have also been interviewed by Radio Tay on the subject. I certainly believe that, over time, this system will make a real difference to the quali ty of road surfaces in Dundee. On another matter entirely, I have become an avid viewer of Masterchef, an obvious programme for one so ungifted in any kitchen (can't co-ordinate boiling the kettle for a cup of tea and ...

Nick Clegg is dreaming of gardens in the sky

No, it's not a metaphor for his ambitions of doubling the number of Lib Dem MPs. He means it literally. A couple of days ago the Manchester Evening News reported: Mr Clegg said he supported a scheme in Chicago to build green roofs on all buildings where it was feasible and told the M.E.N. he wanted to see similar plans in Britain.I think if the people of Manchester or wherever were up for it, it should happen, he said. It doesnt provide all the solutions but it is a visible expression of using space in a way that saves money ...

Big cat sighted on Wenlock Edge

Be reassured: everyday life in Shropshire continues to astound. The Shropshire Star has the story: The mysterious black panther-type animal stalking residents in Shropshire has finally been spotted up close and personal. David Strefford, of Donnington, near Wroxeter, was confronted by the animal while hedge-trimming in Kenley, near Shrewsbury. The farmer got off his tractor to make an adjustment to the machine when a large black cat began bounding down the lane towards him.I just hope Lucy is safe.

Labour government restores corporal punishment

I have just watched a Channel 4 News report alleging that painful restraint techniques are being used to punish teenagers held in Secure Training Centres in the UK. The story is now on the programme's website and it is was also covered in today's issue of its e-mail bulletin Snowmail: The Techniques of "Restraint""The "restraint techniques" which staff in secure training centres use to subdue out-of-control inmates can, following a government rule change, now be used to punish those inmates.Restraint techniques are highly controversial. A teenager died under their application and another killed himself following their use. The Children's Commissioner ...

Opening up the Musandam Peninsula

When I first visited the Musandam peninsula in Oman, more than a decade ago, I arrived by sea, being decanted from a converted fishing trawler in the Straits of Hormuz onto a wooden dhow, which then sailed into a fjord, where some local men came out to meet us in a little boat. Many coastal [...]

Nah.. can't be bothered

Have a look at these quotes which I have pasted on. The Ward Councillors were consulted on 2 January 2008 but none have made any comments . Ward Councillors were consulted in May 2007 but none made any comments on the proposals These are two sections copied from papers about two separate issues in speke and garston on the city council executive board agenda later this month. We are talking about issues that will have an effect on people in both Speke and Garston. Yet this phrase - about consultation and no reply - is so common it makes me ...

Virtue triumphs.. but still starving

Shot out of the house early this morning - no tea, no breakfast - to get on with some delivering. The need to get the leaflets out before the meeting which was mentioned prominently twice meant more than a leisurely hour. I plodded on, getting hungrier and hungrier. Not a shop in sight, just doorstep after doorstep. And then, as I bent down to deliver yet another Focus I spotted it. A Mars bar - complete in its wrapper - lying on the step. Clearly someone had dropped it while unloading shopping. Salivating I pondered the ethics of picking it ...

Llandudno

It is only when I got here that I realised how much I miss Llandudno. I spent so many holidays here as a child that I feel that I know the town backwards. Yet it has changed and largely for the better. What has not changed is the marvellous sweep of the north shore as it nestles up towards the Great Orme. When I first started coming here there was no cable car and Alex Munro was running talent shows in the Happy Valley. I stepped outside Venue Cymru for a few minutes earlier on to admire it, but had ...

'300 Labour members set to defect to Derby Tories'

So reports the Derby Telegraph: Tories in Derby claim 300 Labour members in the city are to defect to their party tonight. They are confident the mass defection will take place and are bringing party chairman Caroline Spellman MP to the city to welcome them. It follows frustrations within the Asian community about the de-selection of popular Sinfin councillor Hardial Dhamrait. Asian community

Yet another blow for Cameron

Another poll has underlined the public's view that David Cameron has "played politics" with the Northern Rock crisis. The Times' Populus poll puts Brown/Darling four points ahead of Cameron/Osbourne in terms of trust to solve this year's economic problems. This follows similar findings for the Economist which I blogged about yesterday. Stephen Tall has blogged about the post-Northern Rock

Estate Clean up great success

Many thank to the residents and helpers we had a good clear up of the Redland Park Estate and Carr's woodland today. Special thanks go to Joe and Richard for giving up their valuable time to give us a hand. The Pictures below show just some of the Rubbish that was hauled out of Carr's Woodland and the litter that was picked up in Redland Park. We hope that this...

Euthanasia is it inevitable

At the 2004 Spring Conference, Liberal Democrats voted in favour of doctors being able to help terminally ill people end their lives to avoid unbearable suffering. Four years on, has anything actually changed It doesn't look as though it has. This is the story of Kelly Taylor, a 30-year-old terminally ill woman from Bristol. Please watch the video then tell me; Should euthanasia be made legal If you have an opinion on this subject I'd like to hear it. If you can't be bothered to leave a comment, there's also a poll - see the left side bar of my ...

Suicide and social media

The recent suicides of young people in Wales are a tricky topic to write about. It feels almost an infringement on the rights of the families and friends of the young people. I don't mean this as a criticism of the media. They were bound to report the fact that something was going on. Whether the press helped make it worse is beyond my ken. The families certainly think so. The mainstream media has been blaming social media. There have been claims, refuted by the police, that all the young people who have taken their lives had used one of ...

She sells sanctuary

I haven't had a musical interlude on here for a while. Grace and I are off to see The Cult tonight. So enjoy...

Another Iain Dale copycat blog

Following the shameless Iain Dale copycatting from yesterday, here's another - a list of my TV appearances. There were a few TV cameras present during our meeting with the President yesterdaym but we thought no more about it. Then, when we were out in Maputo for dinner last night there was a TV in the corner of the restaurant. One of my dinner companions suddenly pointed at the TV and said 'That's us!'. And indeed there we were, meeting with the President. I don't know what passes for a standard item on Mozambiquan TV News, but we were on for ...

Style Metropolitan Borough Council

John Harris is the latest political commentator to explore this weeks Westminster buzzphrase, the Jam generation, in todays Guardian. For those who havent been reading or listening to Anne McElvoy, the Jam generation are the middle-aged politicos who may or may not have heard a Jam song on the radio at some point in in their spotty youths. The Jam aren't very interesting; musically or lyrically. They had about five decent songs, and made a good fist of Heatwave, but theyre unremarkable. Not sure why McElvoy picked on them, rather than Stiff Little Fingers or the Clash - clearly a ...

Bush is the only person keeping the 'General with no name' in power

It is with considerable satisfaction that I read that the stuffing has been knocked out of Pervez Musharraf. He is in a 'sulk'. He is "isolated" and "exposed". He has retreated into a "mental bunker". His "aura is fading". He is "obviously not in power". He no longer has "fire in his belly". A supporter says he might not have the stomach for a "Custer's last stand" against an impeachment motion.

Simon Hoggart's remarkable feat of endurance

Simon Hoggart's diary often features references to his atheism. Today he notes that last weekend he sat through not one, not two, but three Evensongs at Salisbury Cathedral. He deserves a medal. There are many devout Christians who would draw the line at sitting through three Choral Evensongs over one weekend. For those who aren't familiar with the routine (I used to be in the choir at a church

Kandol snatches a late goal to secure a draw against the Alex

Leeds United: Ankergren, Kenton, Richardson, Michalik, Marques, Sheehan, Prutton, Howson, Sweeney, Kandol, Flo. Subs: Lucas, Huntington, Johnson, Carole, Elding. Crewe Alexandra: Williams, Abbey, Baudet, O'Donnell, Boyle, Lunt, Gary Roberts, Schumacher, Gary Roberts, Maynard, Moore. Subs: Cox, O'Connor, Pope, Lowe, McCready. Referee: Mike Pike. An electric start by United with two chances on target in the first three minutes. After 59 seconds Tore Andre Flo fired in from 20 yards but the ball sailed over the bar. A shot by Alan Sheehan from 12 yards was blocked by Crewe's Daniel O'Donnell two minutes later. As the game settled down the Whites ...

Kitty!

Yesterday evening we got a cat. He’s not ours to keep, but we’re fostering him for the Hounslow Animal Welfare Society. His name’s Milford and he’s a 2-3 year old male black and white cat whose missing his tail. He is very friendly and affectionate and likes a lot of attention. We’ve started a blog to write about [...]

Male Chauvinist Piggery

I read Bob Shaw's piece with interest......I started to leave a comment and then felt a blog coming on! OK, I admit it, I am a weak little woman......all 5 feet of me - I have never been strong and I have never been tall! Plus, I am left handed which of course makes me sinister too. In reading Bob's piece I was reminded of the time I went to a meeting with a bunch of Unison members I was due to be representing. There was clearly some dissent in the ranks and the woman who had invited me in ...

Welcome bill for temporary workers' rights

I have great sympathy for Andrew Miller's Bill to increase the rights of temporary workers. I have known examples where people have worked in the same temporary job for years without holiday or sickness pay. That's Dickensian. Thankfully, the better agencies now give a good set of rights to workers after three months of "temping". I agree with Lorely Burt that the bill, which the LibDems

My nominations for the Golden Dozen

Rather than keep them secret, these are the posts I have nominated for the Liberal Democrat Voice Golden Dozen in the last couple of weeks: Word Association, Dave & Auschwitz Orange by name Labour unveils its Top 50 achievements since 1997 Meral's musings Party reform commission - will it work Process Guy We need to kick out the old guard - Liberal Revolution Have you been over-charged

Poverty Bites Back!

Now, before we start, I'd like to make it clear. This part of Cambridgeshire is pretty prosperous by any standards, unless of course you are a non-domiciled venture capitalist. We no longer have a job centre in the town, even us Lib Dems, usually the first to protest about anything let this one pass more or less, when the government not unreasonably closed it down as unemployment in the Town dropped below 1%. Thousands of new houses are being built and it's refugees from London, not Somalia, who are filling them. Prosperous commuters mostly, leavened with a sprinkling of locals ...

Q4 Donations Analysis Part 2 - Labour

Labour received £ 5,921,561.83 in the period. By way of comparison they received £ 4,868,129.55 in the preceding Q and £ 2,730,417.28 in the equivalent period in 2006. There were also donations of £ 43,394.00 in Q4 2007 to the Co-operative Party. The overwhelming volume of cash was donated by trades unions including (with amount of largest single donation) Amicus - £1,467,194.00 Unite (T & G) - £ 1,302,907.00 Unison - £ 734,225.00 GMB - £ 292,373.00 USDAW - £ 242,494.00 CWU - £ 158,194.00 Community - £ 40,178.00 UCATT - £ 37,100.00 One of the largest personal donations, of ...

Why don't we all just publish all our personal data and 24 hour webcam on the internet

With the government spraying our personal information all over the shop, calls for everyone's DNA to be held on a national database, with the government about to take our credit card and mobile phone number details from travel companies, with 800 public bodies having access to our email and mobile phone histories and with up to 4.2 million CCTV cameras covering virtually our every move, wouldn't

Campaign to save threatened post offices

The campaign to save post offices in the Borough is very active. Edward Davey MP joined Ian (on left) and lots of supporters outside the threatened post office in Hook Rise South. Sign the petition here!

Guardian's glowing review of Clegg - to be savoured

The Guardian's top leading article today gives Nick Clegg a very good "mid-term" report. It's not often they give such a glowing review to anything to do with Liberal Democrats, so it should be savoured ! The article says Nick Clegg has "restored a quiet equilibrium to his party". It says he has not faltered in the crucial first few weeks of the leadership, has avoided attempting to arrive "in a

Labour realise that pagers are "so 1990's"

Remember the old joke that labour MP's used to get a message on their pager every few seconds reminding them to "breathe in, breathe out" Well it seems that Labour are to scrap the pagers that so dominated New Labour MP's from the time Tony Blair took charge in 1994. Pagers have, of course, be superceded by text messaging, PDA's and other even newer gadgets, and it appears that labour have realised that pagers are much like the Labour Party itself, in that they are "so 1990's". Perhaps too it is endemic of the problems that the Labour party are ...

The days of Liberal clubs round the country

Hidden away on Heath Street, Hampstead is an old foundation stone for the former Liberal Club. "HAMPSTEAD LIBERAL CLUB Foundation stone laid by SIR CHARLES RUSSELL Q.C. M.P. 20th July 1889 S.A.LYON. ESQ. TREASURER Spalding and Cross, Architects Allison and Foskett, Builders" In 1880 the Hampstead Liberal Association was formed and worked out of 13 High Street but them moved to 1 Downshire Hill by 1885 (this appears to have been a correspondence address). it was then renting at 31 High Street in 1888 before moving to the newly built headquarters at 24 Heath Street from 1889. The offices were ...

Welcome to Nancy Jirira

We thought it would be a good night, but we never expected Thursday to be quite so good. Nancy Jirira was elected as the new councillor for Fortune Green with a whopping 51% of the vote and a majority of over 600 votes. The Tories threw absolutely everything at this election, lots of Labour canvassers (though few Labour Camden councillors in evidence on the doorsteps!) and Nancy still won through. Good luck to Nancy - she's a strong community champion, she joins Russell Eagling and Flick Rea on the team and will really stand up for Fortune Green's residents. Well ...

Tate and Lyle show that big corporations can do the right thing if the public demand it

Before I get comments saying "It's a marketing ploy", of course Tate and Lyle's decision to make all their sugar Fair Trade is a good way of marketing their product in a more ethical way. But the decision to do it does show that corporations will listen if enough people lobby for something, What we need now is for more and more people to start demanding that supermarkets cut the ridiculous amount of packaging from their products then perhaps Tesco, Sainsburys and the rest will see that there is a marketing opportunity for them.

Equality comes at a cost .......

and that cost is the price of a pint. Confused Let me explain. I'd not long been up and had just logged on to see if I had any responses to my questions about the Gender Blog Awards in Liverpool when I noticed that I'd had 2 replies to one of my questions. One reply was quite nice and the other was less nice. What am I on about Some of you may or may not recall, in my original post; Gender balance piss up, I said I looked forward to being bought a drink by the gender balance blog ...

It gets worse for the Sheridans

It's amazing what a libel victory can do for you. In Tommy Sheridan's case, he won his case against the News of the World, but since then his political party has imploded, he and his wife now face the possibility of another court case and perjury charges and now his wife has to face allegations of theft. In many ways it would have been better for the News od The World to make it's allegations regarding his sex life and just accept it because everything he has done since has done more to damage his politics and his reputation than ...

Send in your Golden Dozen nominations

Regular readers of our weekly Golden Dozen feature will know that we have opened up five slots to reader nominations. All you have to do is drop me a line at stephen - stephen.hat.libdemvoice.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one), highlighting the best [...]

Leaving Mozambique

It's been a fascinating trip to Mozambique. I've got to check out of the hotel in half an hour before the trip back via Lisbon. The event was a workshop and Assembly of the Africa Liberal Network, an alliance of parties from around the continent. They range from the PDS, the Senegalese Government (and we had Minister Mamadou Lamine Ba from the party) as well as parties such as the SNP from the Seychelles who get 46% of the vote yet still come second there. There are also developing parties such as our hosts the PDD and ANADER from Congo. ...

'All in the mind' by Alastair Campbell

Today's Guardian reports that Alastair Campbell is following up his diaries with another work of fiction, this time entitled 'All in the Mind'. It promises to be an interesting read if the following 'extract' obtained by John Crace and published in the article, is anything to go by: "His wife was right, Ali thought to himself. He did need a break. Even after months of intensive therapy with the country's most dangerous psychopath, he was no nearer to curing Tony of his Messiah complex and he was feeling knackered. Still, he was in better shape than most in their 40s, ...

Social Mobility & Equality

Anyone who is a member of the facebook group 'Liberal Democrats believe equality matters'will have already received a message from Geoffrey Payne reminding them about the fringe meeting 'Social mobility and equality' at 1pm on the saturday in the Crowne Plaza hotel. I thought I would mention it too as social mobility is anything but a simple subject and one which benefits from a lot of discussion. Lynne Featherstone & Danny Alexander will be there to speak.

Future of Scottish Water

I very much welcome any review of the structure and operations of Scottish Water to find the model that delivers best value for taxpayers and customers. There is, in my view, much merit in considering the mutualisation of the organisation (as both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have backed - albeit different models). The Liberal Democrats remain totally resistant to the notion of privatisation, and would insist on legislation to ensure that the future de-mutualisation or privatisation of Scottish Water would be strictly prohibited. A mutual approach to ownership would make Scottish Water directly answerable to its mutual holders, the ...

Saturday Morning up early and plenty to do

I am off out shortly to go and help clear up one of our local estates of its litter problem and yes I will be there until about 4pm this afternoon. We will also be clearing rubbish from the very important Carr's woodland where a tree planting day will take place tomorrow more details will be posted here later about that event. Those of you lucky people sat in front of the rugby this...

Norman Baker MP comes to town

Lib Dem Mayor, Bob Eaton waited with me and his fellow Town Councillor, Alan Cummings, at St Neots railway station for the arrival of Norman Baker MP, the Lib Dem Shadow Transport Minister. MP visits to our neck of the woods are rare. Probably because we don't often ask them. But we asked Norman because Transport is such a key issue for St Neots. He came not just as some sort of visitor from another planet, but loaded with practical advice about how we could go about improving matters. Bob briefed Norman about the improvements we had pushed through at ...

One of those Conferences

It is Saturday morning in Llandudno so it must be the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference and somehow I just know it is going to be one of those conferences when what is being discussed in the media bears no relation to talking points amongst the representatives. The Western Mail sets the mood with a two page profile of Welsh Party leader, Mike German in which their main focus is on when is he going to stand down and who will succeed him. Discussions I have had with other journalists confirm this trend and yet the entire party is united in ...

Saturday 23rd February 2008

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