LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Monday 12th May 2008

Ron Paul: Number One

Well, not for the Republican nomination, or November's General Election, but he will at least top the best sellers list with his book Revolution.

Boris Johnson about to resign as MP for Henley

Politicalbetting.com tells us that a Dear Henley letter from Boris Johnson has just been posted on the Henley Standard website. In it Mayor BoJo writes: I am writing this from ex-Mayor Livingstone's eyrie in City Hall, and it is time for Henley to find itself a new MP.It will be a huge wrench for me. I want to thank you all for putting up with me for what has been the seven happiest and most productive years of my professional life.So it looks as though a Henley by-election is imminent.

Cameron lies about Timpson

Interesting little nugget from the campaign in Crewe and Nantwich...a youtube video uploaded three days ago onto the site. Edward begins the video talking about, yes, you guessed it, his three children, who are all under five and all of which Edward is the proud father of. Strange how fatherhood can turn even the most serious of men into beaming beacons of silliness. Revelation number one Edward was bought up in a house with eighty foster children. That explains the need for family counselling. Sorry, am I getting a bit personal here? Don't blame me, Edward started it. Revelation number ...

Community

A good community mix tonight. A ward surgery with the local police attending that brought four heads together to try to find a workable solution for a problem. I do hope that the young people who were the centre of the problem will come to the other ward surgery tomorrow. Then the Bishopsgarth Association of Residents where again problems are pooled along with ideas to try to come up with...

Food for thought or a general ramble - you decide

I am currently listening to Andrew Marr's 'History of Britain' in the car on my way to work and it is very good: informative but not too laden with details about specific Cabinet meetings which added 1p to the tax rate to appeal only to sad politicos. I'm now up to the 1990s and the moment when Gordon Brown and Tony Blair started to plot to take over the Labour Party. Marr gives a limited amount of detail as this is an abridged version for the audiobook but it is significant that they started to work ouit where they were ...

Suffolk Tories slammed by District Auditor

Few things surprise me about what the Tories are up to in Suffolk anymore. Then something comes along and does. Not content with appointing a new Cheif exec at �70,000 more than advertised at �220,000 with benefits and a nice severance package, the Tory controlled council was found to have acted ‘potentially unlawfully’. So there, that has surprised me, I wait to here the self justification from our Tory County councillors who pushed through this appointment.

Wendy Alexander and the backdoor coup

In the last few weeks Gordon Brown has had to deal with various political storms. One has been Wendy Alexander's 'bring it on' demand. If you missed this, the leader of the Scottish Labour party suggested that Alex Salmond should call a referendum now on whether Scotland should be independent. What followed as an argument over what she actually said or meant. Was she calling Salmond's bluff, highlighting the issue or did she genuinely believe that it was best to have a referendum now so that the issue would be resolved once and for all? What everyone missed was the ...

A creepy move towards a Minority Report / Big Brother society or essential for attack prevention?

You probably haven't heard of WeCU. The company even appears not to have a website. In a couple of years they could be big news. They claim to have combined psychology with behavioral sciences to be able to identify "terrorists" (I only use the term in inverted commas (c.f. Phil Rees' Dining with Terrorists)). If it works it could potentially save a lot of lives. Obviously a lot more information is needed (read the Haaretz article) and I'm distinctly uncomfortable giving the state such power to "read" its citizens. What to you think?

Cotswold Rd traffic scheme under way

Work is well under way on the eastbound carriageway of Cotswold Rd, i.e. heading towards Yate. The idea is to restrict the lane width so that it becomes less of a racetrack and traffic speeds reduce. This is being done by painting a cycle lane and parking bays. There will also be a flashing speed sign. If you don't like it, please don't blame the cyclists - they didn't ask for the new lane. It's just way to make the road seem narrower so that drivers will slow down.

Boris's Bit of Bovver

London Mayor Boris Johnson’s love affair with the Evening Standard has taken its first hard knock. In this evening’s edition of the paper, there are several photos of BoJo on his cycle (without a helmet), going through red traffic lights, failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing and cycling along a pavement area. As a [...]

Westerleigh Rd railway embankment update

You may be wondering why there is still some temporary fencing opposite Rodborough. Network Rail have told us: "We are carrying out further investigation works into the drainage throughout the area, and it is possible that further works could be required. Therefore, the access road will be in place for the foreseeable future as it may be required to enable future works... There is a strong possibility we will be doing some more works to the toe drainage. Therefore it is not really beneficial to carry out any works to this section of fencing at this stage". The embankment itself ...

A blog to keep half an eye on in the coming days

Frances Guy is the British Ambassador to Lebanon. She has a blog hosted at the FCO blog. She's not posted since thursday but anything she says will be interesting reading.

Alex Stubb, it wouldn't happen in England

Alex Stubb is the new young Finnish Foreign Minister. He like the Miliwonk was/is a "pioneer" in Government Ministers blogging. However, his site is dramatically different from Dave's. Seriously check it out, especially the photos section. In his own words: "increase the peace".

Labour's Death Wish

Since taking time out to get my life back after the gruelling London elections, (yes I know how Brian Paddick feels) as a news junkie, I have followed the predictable infighting of the Labour Party's fortunes with fascination. It really has become a train crash. The Labour Party go through this once every 10 years or so, but even I who have witnessed at close quarters just how bad it can be, have been struck by the vitriol and abuse being hurled at Gordon Brown- not just from David Cameron, whose idea of PMQs is to....well, hurl abuse, and then ...

McCain aides quit over lobbying for Burma

Two of McCain aides have quit because they lobbied for Burma's military government, to get it a nicer image abroad. The lobbyist firm they were part of were paid $300,000 (�150,000) to lobby. It probably paid off. Western nations have taken burmese oil and gas, which had pipelines built by slave labour. The West has been doing nothing about Burma, and that is surely enough to say it's paid off. Concidering the Burmese Military has hundreds of thousands of child soldiers, commits ethnic cleansing, etc. Doing nothing has been far to generous. On lobbying, there's another reason the USA needs ...

Do as we say not as we do - Norfolk County Council

I was speaking to someone I know yesterday who was rather struck by the hypocrisy of Norfolk County Council. Having read on Norfolk County Council's website about issues to do with fly-tipping, she contacted Norfolk County highways about a load of rubble that had been dumped on her land. Norfolk County Council were not too impressed or happy to be bothered with a phone call about fly-tipping and insisted she phone up Broadland District Council who are responsible for flytipping, and as Norfolk County Council were keen to add "the perpetrators could be fined". "Oh, you're happy to be fined ...

Liberal Democrats - the effective opposition

Following the astonishing meltdown of the Labour Party this week, Nicol Stephen, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland, said that the Liberal Democrats are offering the only effective opposition to the SNP Government. "The past week has proved beyond any doubt that the Liberal Democrats are the only party providing effective opposition to the SNP. "Annabel Goldie's Tories have made life more than easy for the SNP over the last year. The Tories have consistently cosied up to the SNP, even supporting the nationalist's budget. They must share the blame for the ensuing cuts to frontline services that almost ...

Headline of the Day

From the BBC: PM's car did not cause jet crash

Have Labour just blown the gaff on ID cards?

One of the lines on the silly class war Labour leaflet in Crewe (see pic) says: Do you oppose making foreign nationals carry an ID card?Now I thought Labour's whole argument was that ID cards, even when they become compulsory, are only compulsory to own and produce when trying to access certain services, not to have to carry around with you.

Dougie Freedman's last gasp goal gives Leeds hope as Blues win first-leg

Blogged Live. Elland Road is packed, the crowd is in good voice and the first leg of the play-offs is about to start. Leeds United kick-off with super striker Jermaine Beckford back in the side after being sidelined for four matches with an ankle injury. Carlisle's Marc Bridge-Wilkinson hit the bar in the 7th minute, from 18 yards, when he picked up a cross from Danny Graham. Dougie Freedman came close in the 11th minute when he collected a cross, 20 yards out, turned and fired in one move, which was tipped round the post by Carlisle keeper, Keiren Westwood. ...

Gordon Brown praises the Shropshire Star

Whatever his other failings, our prime minister knows a good newspaper when he sees one: "Local newspapers are right at the heart of Britain's local communities, examining the issues which matter, seeking out local people's views, and representing their interests.That is why the readers of local newspapers such as the Shropshire Star see them as such honest, responsible and accurate sources of news."

Shropshire Liberal Democrats have a blog

And you can find it here.

'Rats in a bag' scrabble to leave sinking ship

Hand's up who remembers John Major famously calling his colleagues 'bastards'?? One can't help but wonder if Gordon Brown shares his sentiments; Ed Balls certainly seems to have a low opinion of Frank Field. His remark that Field's comment's regarding Gordon Brown's future were 'dishonourable' were followed by remarks branding Field as a 'loner' which were dubiously lacking in honour themselves. It may well be that he is a loner but his observation that Brown's personality is a "mega problem" are not wide of the mark. No surer sign exists of the disintegration of a government than it's collapse into ...

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #64

Welcome to the 64th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (4th-10th May), together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed. Let's get straight down to it, in descending order of popularity: 1. Don’t help the campaign in Crewe and [...]

Is Boris Johnson the new Roderick Spode?

My latest New Statesman column (Calder's Comfort Farm) is up on the magazine's website: Then Boris arrived for the ceremony without suitable clothing, so he had to get married in John Biffen's trousers. Though, to be fair, John Biffen was not wearing them at the time.

BritBlog Roundup 169

This week's Roundup can be found over at Redemption Blues. As usual, the Chameleon shames the rest of us by the amount of work she puts into writing it up.

Little News

At my party on Saturday, a friend of mine who I’ve known since three minutes after I started university, and who has recently married, announced that she was now pregnant. I was overjoyed at the news, cooing around the place like a demented owl and generally doubting my own gender by getting the types of broody feelings I’m not sure men are biologically supposed to get. It was the best news I’d heard all year. But now, two days and one clean-up later, I find myself asking how on earth this managed to happen. Obviously I have moved on from the ...

Ex Tory stands in Crewe

Looks like it's the same old story with the Tories wherever you go in the country. Apparently prominent local Tory Mark Walklate is standing as Independent candidate in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election after falling out with the Tory party. Same old. Despite his Independent re-branding voters will still see him as a Tory so the Conservative vote will be split threeways as it says on Elizabeth's website. Meanwhile on the Dunwoody site, the graphics and images have gone from genius to, erm, a little less than so. What's this? I may be in the process of learning PagePlus and ...

The sham of buying only "local produce"

Do give Yasmin Alibhai-Brown's piece on some of the Ludite instincts of part of the Green Lobby and why we shouldn't stop buying foreign food. She is right, very right. For more see boycotting Pret.

46 Redlands Rd flats: Council Officer recommendation

So people can find it easily, the Officers report recommending refusal, which was accepted in full by the Council's Planning Application Committee, is available for download from the RBC website here At the meeting, it was noted that Reading Borough Local Plan Policy CUD7 should also be part of the reasons for refusal.

Sharif pulls the PML-N out of the coalition with the PPP

Its only been three months and Pakistan's coalition between arch rival clans, the Bhuttos and the Sharifs, has ended. The PPP has failed to re-install judges removed by Musharraf. This isn't the end of the government but it is the end of an uneasy anti-Musharraf alliance. Sharif has said that his party will support the minority PPP government on an issue by issue basis. He effectively has the power to end the government. More from Dawn.

it is a small world

they say that what comes around goes around. Over the other side of the world there is devastation in Burma. NGOs and charities are clamouring to get that aid in where its needed most. i cant help wonder what the blockage is in the works. surely red tape doesnt take a week. common sense says that the most fundamental needs of a human being must be met before a nation can prosper. food water and shelter are all the basic things that we seem to take for granted in the UK. whenever I come back off of holiday from abroad ...

Frank Field doesn't think Brown will lead Labour into the next general election

Listen to Frank Field's incredible interview on the BBC World Service in which he says that Gordon is too unhappy to continue and that he doubts he will hang on for another 2 years and 2 weeks. Remarkable.

Pledge to children and young people in care

At the Full Council meeting of Bath & North East Somerset Council on 8th May the whole council gave a new pledge to children and young people in care. All councils across the UK are developing pledges as a result of a central Government initiative called Care Matters which sets out a radical package of proposals for transforming the lives of children in care. The Council's...

Ray Michie

In 1987 I was campaigning in Gordon, and after the long campaign our group of Liberals adjourned to watch the results. Of all the results, the one that gave the most pleasure was the election of Ray Michie in Argyll. Ray represented in her family and herself the embodiment of the tradition of Scottish Liberalism. That John Bannerman's daughter could be elected when he could not, seemed to be the harbinger of a further revival in the fortunes of Liberalism in Scotland and across the UK, as so it proved. That Ray proved to be a doughty fighter for her ...

The Derek Conway saga rides again

This time, it’s Conservative MEPs. Duncan Borrowman has more over on his blog.

Stop urban sprawl

The campaign "Don't Choke Chelmsford" is gathering momentum, as more and more people learn about Conservative plans for over-development in Chelmsford town centre as well as green field building. Our roads are already too crowded; there aren't enough reliable bus services; the cycle network is still incomplete. The latest element of this is when people learn that the council wants to sell off

Disabled accessible ramps for high street

We have two planning applications listed for Twerton this week. The first one is on the far edge of Twerton at 144 The Hollow and is for the erection of detached rear garage and provision of new vehicle access. This application was first registered on 2nd May 2008 and has a decision date of 27th June 2008. The application number is 08/01430/FUL if you wish to view this...

Putting flesh on Cicero's bones

http://cicerossongs.blogspot.com/2008/05/final-tally.html Excellent posting - also reminded me that the Tories are stealing some of this ground. Devolution is the magic bullet that could provide a TINA moment for our supporters and those that might vote for us. We have the policy or at least an aim of raising 75% of public money locally; it’s whether or not we can say the unsayable and show how this could happen. Here are some suggestions: 1. Ensure [...]

Gordon Brown - one sandwich short of a picnic

Gordon Brown was on BBC news earlier looking very bedraggled and, frankly, knackered. Tie askew. Double chin well showing - or is that a triple? The man couldn't relaunch a dinghy, let alone his premiership. He's doing worse than Callaghan. That's saying something. The basic problem is that he lacks a section of intelligence. Call it "emotional intelligence" if you like. So that, he seems

Johhny Vegas sues Guardian over sex assault allegations

Chortle reports that Vegas is suing[2] over the allegations made by the Guardian[1] and hinted at in The Times. The original story sparked a (justifiable) series of complaints and posts, including boycott and letter writing as well as a good explanation from Jennie about why the audience and alleged victim may have kept quiet. Vegas himself has not commented fully but has said I haven't done anything wrong. Given the nature of the UK libel laws this makes sense—his lawyers will've told him to stay quiet and not mention specifics, and they'll likely push for an out of court settlement. ...

Embryo wars - science, morality and a Bill ...

The Embryo Bill finally gets its second reading in Parliament today. The three main questions put to MPs will be: Hybrid embryos: scientists want to create embryos that are over 99% human for research into stem cells by implanting DNA from an adult human nucleus into a cow or rabbit egg. Access to IVF for lesbian couples: the bill changes the wording of the current act to remove the "need for a

New Policy on Comments

This blog is a way for me to think through the moral aspects of interesting issues I stumble upon in the news. It is my attempt to create a space for the development of liberal morality. I welcome comments that are pertinent to my articles and that pose questions on the philosophical principles of the issues discussed. I am unlikely to answer any comment that I deem irrelevant. I will also not

Linkspam for 12-5-2008

Royce's Random Thoughts - Five Minute Iron Man Spoilers, natch. SCENE: Many, many, many Testing the Suit scenes, ending with a pretty cool flight over Malibu, a crash through two levels of Tonyâ™s house, and an Oscar winning performance by Freddy the Fire Extinguishing Robot. (tags: Humour films iron+man)

Do Lib Dems ask too much of our candidates?

Brian Paddick's campaign diary was published in yesterday's Mail on Sunday (if you haven't yet had chance to read it, you can do so here). It's a fascinating, wry, self-deprecating, candid account of the highs and lows of running for the London mayoralty on the Lib Dem ticket. Brian's conclusion, though, is pretty downbeat: ... on [...]

Compose Dubya's epitaph, and win a book!

Lib Dem Voice has an advance copy of a new book, Hijacking America, to give away to one lucky reader (courtesy of its publishers, Polity Press). Written by Susan George, a well-known political scientist who used to work for Greenpeace, Hijacking America is billed as "fascinating, thorough and often chilling account of the decades-long transformation [...]

Finding Food on Hampstead Heath

On Saturday night I cooked dinner for three friends. Nothing very unusual about that except that much of the menu consisted of plants I had foraged that day from Hampstead Heath. Very few people know just how much of the plants that grow wild, and which are sometimes called weeds, are actually really good for you. We spent about four hours on the Heath and learnt about 28 different types of edible plant. The foraging workshop was organised by the Gaia Foundation and led by Miles Irving, Director of Forager Ltd. We had a great time and my guests and ...

Queen's speech preview

Here are a few things that might be announced by Labour this week in advance of the Queen's speech. Price of social care (already announced today)Measures to ameliorate the effects of the 10p tax (Tues 13/Weds 14?)Combating the rising price of foodPledge to work for European import tariffs on food to be suspended or cutPromotion of affordable housing, combat property market gloomInvolvement of parents in EducationNew independent exams standards watchdogGet NHS closer to patientsAnti-smoking measures - Ban tobacco displays, vending machinesPolice reformEnglish tests for people applying for citizenshipAlso... Something on floods? Papers increasingly aware we aren't prepared, and they would ...

Boris is an extreme right winger? (and other mistakes)

Cllr Alexis Rowell claims this on his Belsize LibDems blog. I don’t see that as true. He obviously likes the ‘broken windows’ theory of crime and his actions in banning drinking on the tube are not exactly liberal, but not particularly right wing. I’ve seen no racism in Boris Johnson, just poorly chosen words (not that racism [...]

Erratum: Brian Paddick's diary

Brian Paddick had a mini campaign diary in the Mail on Sunday yesterday. I would like to make one correction to a diary entry. Brian says: March 1st Join Boris in Sidcup on a march against the closure of the A&E. A Labour supporter erects a placard in front of my face and then, after Boris speaks, his organisers steal the megaphone so I cannot address the crowd. Politics is a dirty business As

I think ePolitix got it wrong...

Not their best of predictions! Well - it made me smile seeing that still up there today!

Visiting the Harrington Scheme, Highgate

At the weekend, I visited the Harrington Scheme in Highgate where those with learning disabilities and other challenges are trained in skills that will not only lead to employment - but also and being able to manage their lives themselves where possible. Gardening is their main training program and what a wonderful place this is, both physically and emotionally. It is so beautiful - with well laid out training gardens, polythene tunnels for winter work and a fantastic walled garden. The buildings house a variety of functions including classrooms, kitchens for training in how to cook etc. There is a ...

Nice work if you can get it!

While the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards still investigates the payment employment of Henry Conway by his father, the News of the World has an interesting story on Tory MEPs who have their snouts in the trough employed members of their families. Top target is Sir Robert Atkins. But rather than spoil your fun and giving you the details, I will let ConservativeHome stick the knife in! In

The ghost at the feast

On Friday went to the 'thank you' party for all those who worked on the London elections for the Liberal Democrats. Nice to see Dee Doocey and Mike Tuffrey who are two of our ongoing LibDem members on the GLA and get all the gossip about who was doing what with whom - in the sense of chairing committees and so on. All change again apparently as Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens combine to try to make the Assembly work and really hold the Mayor to account. However, the rules are stacked in favour of the Mayor when it comes ...

The Lib Dems elected Boris!

It's taken me ten days to recover from the shock of Boris Johnson winning the London mayoral election. I can't think of anyone less appropriate for high office. He's a joker, he's not a leader and he's an extreme right winger. It beggars belief. But what really shocks me is that he was only elected thanks to Lib Dem second preferences. When first preferences were counted Boris was ahead of Ken by 150,000 votes. The Lib Dems had 236,685 second preference votes to redistribute after Brian Paddick was knocked out. The Greens presumably all voted for Ken as they were ...

Conservatives are not amused at Boris chasing his balls

Conservative Home are getting a bit hot and bothered about the depiction of the Tories on ITV's Headcases. Their front page link states: ITV's Headcases' treatment of the Tories is more savage than funny. Au contraire, their cartoon of Boris as a shaggy little dog, chasing his tail (pre-watershed)/ balls (post-watershed) has caused much humble amusement in our household. The offending videos are

Nick Clegg on Headcases

I have now managed to find this You Tube video of Nick Clegg on ITV's Headcases:

Work on the Wesmorland Road Allotment's fence put back another month

The painting of the rusty iron rail perimeter fencing, around the Allotments in Westmorland Road, was due to start 1st week in May but due to workload of the contractor these works have now been put back to the second week in June. The Allotment holders are being informed that the fencing will be removed and a temporary fence will be erected whilst the fence is being painted. This may compromise security for a short period. The tenants have also been asked to remove anything they have attached to the fence ahead of the works progressing.

Nice Warmed House, and Nice Warm Clough Day

The weekend just gone saw my house well and truly "warmed," when a large throng of people descended on it and risked their lives by taking part in that most extreme of sports - eating food barbecued by me. The death count is currently static and zero, but can only move one way, and since the gestation period of whatever bacteria I have infected my friends with is probably a good few days, I am expected a flurry of angry and vomit-interrupted phone calls towards the end of the week. There were representatives from every walk of my ...

Credit where due for alan johnson

It's only fair when having a general whinge about politicians to credit those who perform well, especially in the kindergarten of the Today programnme where the general dunderheadedness of the presenters - Evan Davies excepted - catches out interviewees who just can't believe what they are being asked. Alan Johnson on the Today programme this morning was just such a politician. He was interviewed by the excellent Evan Davies, so no dumb questions or pointless tangents of the type Dim Jim Naughtie loves. Evan Davies started by asking Johnson about the comments of serial also-ran Frank Field about Gordon Brown. ...

Is it too early for general election predictions?

They don't seem to think so over at Lib Dem Voice (see their sidebar), so who am I to argue? View Poll: Predicted Election Results My personal, rather pessimistic view (fed by entries like this on PB)? Labour have completely alienated their core vote, whilst at the same time being incompetent enough to also alienate the swing voters who usually hold the decisive power. Core Labour voters won't be able to bring themselves to vote Tory due to tribal loyalty, so they just won't turn out to vote at all. Meanwhile, the swing voters will have no qualms about voting ...

The Final Tally.

The last three weeks have been amongst the most interesting and critical in British politics in a generation, but inevitably, I have been so busy that blogging has been very sparse indeed. In fact I think we have indeed seen one of the fabled tipping points in British Politics that seems to come once in a generation. many will say that the catastrophic defeats inflicted on the Labour Party in the local elections are simply the mark of the swing of the political pendulum. The Conservatives having avoided their own meltdown are now poised to recover. However, I think that ...

Cameron sheds 10p crocodile tears

David Cameron has apparently promised to make the abolition of the 10p tax rate the key focus of the Conservative Crewe by-election campaign. No doubt Elizabeth Shenton, our candidate there, will lose no opportunity to point out that Conservatives voted in favour of the measure in 2007, when Liberal Democrats voted against. Vince Cable's view is that: "David Cameron is involved in the worst kind of political posturing. "He cries crocodile tears for those who are losing out from the abolition of the 10p tax rate, but the only tax cuts he has proposed are for millionaires. "If he wants ...

Government has starved Royal Mail of investment

Commenting last week on the independent review of the postal service, which finds that liberalisation of the market has produced no significant benefits for either households or small businesses, followed by the revelation that Royal Mail's profits have fallen by almost a third, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary, Sarah Teather said: "The Government really should have seen this coming. Asking the Royal Mail to compete on the open market, without first making sure it had the resources to do so, was always bound to compromise the company. "They have allowed this great British business to fall apart at the seams. ...

The BBC uses Racism to Justify Prejudice - Goff Revisited

Y'all may recall that I wrote to the Beeb about the article on The Sunday Show in which they unjustly described all Goths as neonazi satanists. I got a reply yesterday.We were sorry to read that you felt that the item on Goths was inaccurate. We raised your concerns with Amanda Hancox, Series Producer of Sunday Life. She asked us to pass on the following: The feature on the Sunday programme was commissioned following a significant rise in the number of desecrated Christian graves in France. Our reporter was told by the Miviledes, the French Government's anti cult task force, ...

Does Boris actually want to be Mayor ? / Brian Paddick reveals he is a natural LibDem

I have changed my mind about Brian Paddick after reading his campaign diary in the Mail on Sunday. The man is a natural LibDem - he has a sense of humour! Give that man a big pile of Focuses to deliver! At the Eco Build exhibition in Earl's Court. Had no proper briefing so did it myself on Google. Is it meant to be like this? ...er....yes One point which Brian repeats several times is his

Clegg outlines Liberal Democrat approach to City tax loopholes

Via the FT: Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, will today use a speech in the City to call for the scrapping of tax loopholes that make London the accountancy equivalent of “a Swiss cheese” and to propose using the proceeds to cut corporation tax. Mr Clegg will accuse the Treasury of devising a complex tax system for [...]

Why did Brian Paddick stand for London Mayor?

My thanks to Peter Black for drawing my attention to Iain Dale's post 'Disillusioned Paddick Reveals LibDem Campaign Chaos'. I don't know why Mr Dale, or anyone else come to that, is so surprised by Brian Paddick's apparent criticism of the Lib Dems; Apparently the Lib Dems gave him virtually no campaign support or funding, Nick Clegg was constantly being 'miffed' and petulent and my particular favourite, the Lib Dems failed to get any press coverage. I have always had my doubts about why Brian was standing for London Mayor?" He didn't appear to have any deep rooted ideological reasons ...

Want BNP? Vote Labour

Have you seen Labour's disgusting leaflets for the Crewe and Nantwich by-election? You might have been glad that the poisonous British National Party aren't fielding a candidate, but you have to wonder if it's just because the BNP are satisfied the Labour candidate shares their 'principles'. Populist class-based personal attacks on other candidates? Check. Whipping up fear about crime? Check. Prejudice against immigrants and special laws to victimise them? Check. To pose as 'caring', finish by saying it's all 'for the children'? Check. With Labour and BNP campaigns now indistinguishable, did the BNP pull out after signing an electoral pact? ...

Thoughts from India

After 16 days away Mark and I have just got back from our honeymoon in India, and we're feeling that strange disorientation which comes with a really good holiday - a sense that whilst you're away the rest of the world seems a long way off and that the moment you're back, the trip seems like a dream. I hadn't ever really hankered after a visit to India, but Mark was keen to show me the country of his fathers' birth, and to introduce his new wife to his family in Mumbai, and I was more than happy with that. ...

Labour party internal anger about Crewe & Nantwich campaign

Over at Labour Home, "For the Union" thinks the Labour Crewe & Nantwich campaign is "disgusting". Referring to a leaflet question about ID cards and "foreign nationals", the blogger says: What has our party come to? Do we not know who we sound like with such inflammatory, nationalist statement. Unless of course - the plan is to TRY and appeal to the BNP - in which case, i may leave the party now.

Improvements due at Morrisons Traffic Lights

After a local resident approached councillor David Dixon about the problems for pedestrians at Morrisons, changes are due to make life safer. Traffic lights engineers have now spent some time assessing this junction and the conclusion was that the problem is being caused by vehicles from Bath turning into Morrisons through signals that are on red. This has resulted in some near misses. To prevent this bad driver behaviour we are going to contact the Avon and Somerset Camera Partnership together with our own Traffic and Safety team to propose installing a red running traffic camera. In addition to this ...

The Monday morning blog no. 2: the battle of the autobiographies

"War!? I must write my memoirs." So went the classic line from the Goon Show. The moment war was declared, there was a rush by the generals to go into print. It feels like we have had a similar experience over the weekend. With Labour now falling apart at the seams, it appears to be first choice of the ancien regime to join the internal Labour war by lobbing a grenade at the embattled Prime

A Proud Mum

I know this is primarily a political blog but it's also about me and in this case my wonderful daughters who both completed sponsored races to raise funds for Breast Cancer research this weekend. One, expecting our second grandchild, walked in unseasonably hot weather in the Midlands on Saturday and the other, not having done any running for some time, ran in rather colder weather in the Southern

Conservatives troubles in Crewe & Nantwich

It’s gone largely unremarked so far, but Mark Walklate, who is standing as an independent candidate in the Crewe & Nantwich by-election, is a former Conservative activist. He stood for the Conservatives in both the 2006 and 2007 local elections. Moreover, his nomination papers look to have been signed by two prominent local Conservative activists. All [...]

The Monday morning blog no. 1: another National Express cancellation

I have just arrived at Newcastle Central Station to find my train to London is, yet again, cancelled by National Excess. This has been caused by a "train failure". Should this be a National Express company failure? I have had more cancellations of my train since National Excess took over the East Coast line 6 months ago than I had in the whole of the 8 years before then. It means there will be a

Another own goal from Labour

As if things could not get any worse for Labour, Peter Hain went onto the Politics Show yesterday to defend the Prime Minister. He told viewers that Wales Labour were not listening to voters and that they needed to change the way they campaign: He criticised some in the Welsh party for blaming their council election losses on problems at a UK level. He admitted the 10p tax issue had been "toxic", but said his party was not keeping pace with the "incredibly fast" rate of change across Wales. The Neath MP said Welsh Labour would continue to suffer defeats ...

What did the Prime Minister know?

The Western Mail reports on claims by Lord Levy that it was "inconceivable" Gordon Brown did not know about the secret loans which led to the "cash for honours" inquiry: Lord Levy repeated his assertion that Mr Brown's central role in the 2005 General Election campaign meant he must have been aware that the party was receiving substantial sums in loans which were not declared to the Electoral Commission. In an interview with Andrew Marr's AM programme on BBC1, he said it was Mr Brown's job to know how the campaign was being funded. "The returns to the Electoral Commission ...

Watch out Obama!

This year's must-have accessory, a Hillary Clinton nutcracker. Apparently, they are selling like hot cakes in the USA. Buy yours here. "What's this about a glass ceiling in the White House? There's no glass ceiling. Hey, I've been in every room!"--George W. Bush "This is not the kind of squeeze doll I grew up playing with!" --Dick Cheney

Wendy All a Dither

As an economics graduate I know the question in a room full of economists how may theories on any economic issues are in the room? The answer for those less au fait with a gathering of economist is n+1 where n is the number of economists present. However, over the last week I've come to the conclusion that like those children's day a week underpants sets Wendy Alexander must have been given a

Brian Paddick in the Line of Fire

Now the London elections are safely out of the way, I’ve at last had time to read Brian Paddick’s autobiography, Line of Fire. This was published during the late stages of the London Mayoral campaign, I suspect more with an eye to boosting sales than to boosting his electoral chances. Disappointingly for politicos, there is almost [...]

Are the Lib Dems set to take control of Northumberland County Council?

I interviewed Jeff Reid, new Leader of the Lib Dem group on Northumberland County Council on Sunday. The Lib Dems are now the largest group and Jeff discusses possible ways forward for the Council, suggesting a "partnership of the willing" for the coming year.

How about this for a Labour meltdown

I stumbled across this whilst looking for something else but I feel it should be shared more widely with the world. These were the voted cast on 1st May in Bywell ward of Northumberland: Ind 599Lib Dem 506Con 463Lab 94At first sight, you would think this was a no hope ward for Labour. Actually, you would be wrong to think that. This was a ward Labour were defending. The independent who won was

Two articles worth reading

Have a gander at Will Hutton's defense of America and Nick Cohen's piece on Kouchner/Burma

On the buses!

What a super day! Earlier this week I received a letter of invitation to join the Town Mayor aboard a vintage bus to attend the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society’s annual rally at Wedgwood Visitor Centre. So, at midday, a lovely old London Transport Routemaster bus appeared in the Market Square and, after photographs were taken, we joined the civic party on the top deck. After travelling along the A34 and up to Blurton we duly arrived at Wedgwood where we were regally greeted by committee members and photographers. For the next two hours we were escorted around over 100 preserved ...

Brian Paddick's election diary

A must read in The Mail on Sunday: Initially there was very little money, even less strategy and a great deal of frustration as I realised the media - and to some extent the public - cared only about the two high-profile candidates, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.I struggled through a nine-month campaign in which the third force in British politics, for reasons beyond our control, became daily more like the third farce.

Day 2684: A Hundred (and-forty-one) Days of Mr Clogg

Wednesday: Time makes tragedies for all of us. I had MEANT to ask Mr Clogg if he would like to say a few nice words about Ms Ray Michie and Mr Lord Holme. AND we should've congratulated him for taking control of Sheffield Council. I am afraid I didn't; I asked a piece of fluff about Mr Boris instead. I'm sorry! I like to open with a nice easy question and close with something a bit funny and oddball. This is because I am a FLUFFY TOY. Well mainly. But also to set the ball rolling in a friendly fashion. ...

Monday 12th May 2008

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