LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Saturday 12th July 2008

Your spouse is a national, your kids are nationals, you should be a national

If your spouse is of a different nationality to you, and you live in their country and have children there then there is no reason why you should not be able to become a naturalized citizen of that country. A Moroccan woman, who lives in France, married to a Frenchman with French kids, has been denied citizenship. This is absolutely absurd and unjust. The reason for denial is that she is insufficiently integrated into French society and practices 'radical Islam' (wears a burqa). Very upsetting. Statement of personal interest: my mother is American, married my father (British) and lived here ...

Knife Crime in London

Lewisham West & Penge LibDems hosted a pizza and politics this evening on the theme of knife crime in London, in the wake of a whole seres of juvenile stabbings. As Dwayne Brooks (the murdered Stephen Lawrence's good friend) and self-confessed former 'gangster' Victor Ofosu (who has done work with Simon Hughes) were both present, [...]

Labour Government promises to help train the Nigerian army

Spotted on Craig Murray's blog: Britain to train army in Nigeria to fight Delta rebels. I'd ask if the Labour Government has lost its collective mind, except it's far too obvious that what it has actually lost is its soul - to Mammon. We should be very glad that Zimbabwe has no oil, or we'd be training Mugabe's thugs too.

A Site To Look Out For

If you are going to be following the US elections this autumn, a good site to look at is www.electoral-vote.com. It's main feature is a map of the USA showing the latest opinion polls for each state, and a projection of the electoral college vote based on those figures, plus some analysis.

Sunday Telegraph poll shows Labour ahead in Glasgow East

As we Lib Dems have often proved, momentum is all in by-elections. So there is still all to play for in Glasgow East. Nevertheless, the findings of a poll taken in the constituency, published in tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph, may help to calm Labour nerves. It has the parties as follows: Labour 47%SNP 33%Lib Dems 9%Conservatives 7%For proof that activists are born optimists look no further than the Daily Referendum blog: William Hill are giving odds of 33/1 for the Conservatives to win the Glasgow East By-Election. I think those are very generous odds and William Hill may regret them. I ...

Good to share

It was 2003 when the committee that John was part of and looking into public transport recommended that there be a Stockton Borough wide public transport forum. It got changed by Cabinet to being Tees Valley wide, but nothing happened. At regular intervals John would ask a formal question at Council meetings, but finally, in February this year, the first meeting was held. We put our names down...

Who are the Greens kidding ?

According to a Green Party Spokesman called Derek Wall on the Haltemprice and Howden by-election: 'The willingness of so many Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters to put their faith in the Greens, even though it's our first run in the constituency in recent years, shows that mainstream voters see the Greens as a real alternative to bland and complacent politics.' Now let's get this completely clear. A seat where the Lib Dems came a very good second place and where Labout came third in 2005, where neither the Lib Dems or Labour chose to stand this time, still only delivered ...

My MP is on role of shame

Thanks to Jo Anglezarke for pointing this out. Have a look to see if your MP is on the role of shame. No surprise here that my MP, Michael Foster (Labour- Worcester) is on there. It would be easy to quickly point out how so many are Labour MPs, but thinking about it a bit more, David Cameron was speaking boldly of how it needed voted for, yet so many of his MPs went against him. Doesn't that reveal something about the reliability and positions of many conservative MPs.

Redditch by-elections

No Jacqui Smith hasn't been killed (MP for Redditch). Betty Passington a district and county councillor died, causing two major by-elections. I went up to Redditch today to help the LibDems with their campaign. They're doing brilliant work. They are working hard to pick up votes of previous labour supporters. There major policies include, improving facilities especially for youth, developing public transport, cycle ways and footpaths and developing affordable housing. These policies I think are very important for many local areas. Redditch is relatively deprived, particularly some of the areas covered by the by-elections. Labour recently have been doing terribly ...

The Labour councillor who sticks up for Guantanamo and extraordinary rendition

Never let it be said that leading Labour Hackney councillor and ultra party loyalist Luke Akehurst is unafraid to stick up for even the most unpopular of causes. Leaving aside his support for the current government, Cllr Akehurst has declared on his blog: I am in favour of extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo Bay Although, to be [...]

Volunteers for the UK School Games

From 28-31 August, Bath co-hosts the UK School Games - an important event run in the style of the Olympics and Paralympics. The organisers, West of England Sport Trust (WESPORT), are looking for volunteers, of all ages, to help during the games. For more information: Whether you are interested yourself, or work with children and would like to publicise this opportunity to them, you...

Lib Dem chief whip broke Parliamentary rules

Paul Burstow, Lib Dem MP for Sutton & Cheam, has been criticised by the Parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon for sending newsletters to constituents at taxpayers' expense. The BBC has the full story here: Chief whip Paul Burstow used pre-paid Commons envelopes to send the material attacking a Tory rival to voters in his Sutton and [...]

McCain's newest ad - saying the good stuff about immigration

Few British politicians are willing to extol the benefits and moral reasoning for immigration. At least John McCain will. Its really gonna piss off some of the hard right in the Republican party. Lou Dobbs must be in tears.

British Medical Association spot on: "Twenty is Plenty"

Bath MP Don Foster was pleased to learn of the British Medical Association's (BMA) support for 20mph zones in residential areas, which was announced at their conference in Edinburgh on Thursday. Liberal Democrats in Bath recently launched a campaign to see 20mph speed limits imposed on residential roads throughout the city. The BMA believes that not introducing 20mph speeds is...

Chanel Four to Film in Twerton

Chanel Four Television are filming in Twerton between 21st & 23rd July for their production home and a way a place in the Sun according to a report from The Bath Film Office. A Place in the Sun - Home or Away is a factual entertainment programme that follows and helps British people in their search for property in the UK or abroad. As one of the highest rated series on channel 4...

The BBC meat cleaver boy

I keep seeing a young boy of about 14 with a meat cleaver on the BBC news. He keeps taking it out of his trousers and brandishing it at the camera. He's covered his face partially so I don't think the police would be able to do anything. He's with a gang of about four or five other lads. They keep showing it every time there's a news story about knife crime. I don't know why as they are technically filming an offence as cameramen. It's quite a big meat cleaver as well so sometimes I feel scared when it's ...

MEP attacks Cameron

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7497632.stm There you have it David Cameron is getting attacked by MEP about his expenses. Before the media have had Cameron's shadow cabinet and his MEP's under the spotlight but now it all has been topped of by a MEP attacking Cameron about his expenses. Imagine Nick Clegg under the spot light how big of a shamble that would be for the Lib Dem's but when the Conservatives do it for some reason it doesn't hit the Front Page. This Issue was even raised on the Andrew Marr show when someone who was a guest on the programmed pointed out ...

Lib Dem MP added to list of scammers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7502211.stm A lib Dem joins the Conservatives and Labour Party in the list of Politicians who have scammed the tax payer. Well I'm happy its the only Liberal Democrat but still this is unacceptable but i think he has explained himself to a acceptable enough level and you should allow him to continue serving his constituency and let them decide what to do with his future at the next General Election!

Floods and paying for risks

I hold Steve Webb in very high regard but I am not sure he is pointing the party in the right direction with the latest statement on flood insurance. Insurance does not pay to cover certainty. If it is certain that a house will be flooded in the next 12 months the appropriate twelve month premium is the cost in full of replacing the damaged property. The better we are at predicting flood risks and identifying high-risk properties the higher the premiums on those properties will be. That is how insurance works. Any other argument is to take the position ...

Justice for Families in The Times

It was nice to read the Leader in The Times Today which is linked and has the headline 'Justice for Families'. This includes: A large number of readers have told The Times this week that they have been denied access to papers that they need to mount an appeal. The systematic raising of difficulties to prevent parents from appealing is one of the aspects of the system that I have particular

Hungover Post.

Clairwil wants to scrap tax credits. Given that three-quarters of people who are eligible for them are not getting them, I think I agree with her that there must be a better way... I went to see Moths Ate My Doctor Who scarf last night with {[info]} matgb, {[info]} purple_pen and {[info]} burlesque_bunny and her fella. My review is here at {[info]} dw_academy And finally, via {[info]} purple_pen, Your result for Which Chess Piece are You Test?...The King's KnightCongrats! Only 5-7% of the population score this!The King's Knight is spontaneous and active. They get great satisfaction from acting on impulse. ...

Hmmm

I'm not sure how to take this article. If I were Clarkson I'd take it as something of a back-handed compliment...

As recommended by the New Statesman

I've been meaning to blog about this for a couple of weeks, but this blog comes to you as recommended by the New Statesman (once, briefly, about one item... dammit, don't ruin this for me). PS. Speaking of which, Paul Evans, who writes the New Statesman column, used to blog rather well at Hot Ginger and [...]

Cleared out of leaflets

We decided not to use our delivery network today to get out the by-election leaflet in Whickham South and Sunniside. Instead we used volunteers from outside the ward. I had to look after the office where everyone was meeting at 10am. I was expecting to have a couple of rounds left for me to do but I was cleared out by 10.30am. So I went off to visit constituents instead.We are now on the way to

Proud of Pubs week

{Lynne Featherstone behind the bar at the Three Compasses} This coming week is 'Proud of Pubs' week, so Ive done a photo with the landlord and barman at the Three Compasses Pub in Hornsey High Street - which is situated just underneath my office! I am very, very proud of this pub. They are phenomenal example of community public spirit - and beyond that - pubs are soon going to be just about the only community location left as the Labour government runs a coach and horses through our local post offices etc. So - three cheers for the Three ...

Talking at cross-purposes about Sharia

When our most senior judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said about a week ago that British Muslims should be able to use Sharia law to settle legal disputes, he provoked a storm of controversy. 'We've got a perfectly good legal system (or more accurately, set of legal systems) in Britain,' people said, 'and if Muslims don't like it, there are plenty of countries governed under Sharia law that they can go to instead.' Many scared Britons seemed to think that a Sharia Act was on its way through Parliament, burkhas would become compulsory, and stoning introduced for capital crimes. So ...

Nightingale Primary School: bright as buttons

{Lynne Featherstone taking questions from children at Nightingale Primary School} After Woodside House, dashed to Nightingale Primary School where the children had written to me about the terrible situation for water in Tanzania. I had already written back to them all individually (hopefully giving them a good idea of how our democratic processes should work!). This bunch are bright as buttons. Hand after hand shot up with question upon question. And full marks to their teachers - as it was clear that they had been prepped for my visit and their interest had been really stimulated. That's the way to ...

Opinion: One year on

This week saw the first anniversary of the One Wales Government, the coalition deal that put Plaid Cymru into government in Wales in alliance with Labour. To mark that occasion the Welsh Liberal Democrats staged a debate on the record of that Government, highlighting the many unfulfilled promises and the problems facing the two parties [...]

Popular classes under threat

{Lynne Featherstone and Robert Gorrie at Woodside House} Off to Woodside House yesterday where I meet a huge class of Asian ladies doing exercise. As you can see from the photo - very colourful and very determined that Haringey's Labour Council are not simply going to remove their vital facility without a fight! Woodside House is the proposed target for Haringey to redevelop into a new Civic Centre for the Council (with the idea of selling off the current one). That is why Cllr Robert Gorrie, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Council group, and myself have come to see what's ...

Highgate Tube fence rides again...

First up on Friday is meeting at Highgate Tube to discuss the dreaded fence issue. Without going back over the arguments - residents are divided about the fence on Archway Road by Highgate Tube station as on the one hand people living on the roads behind the station want good protection against all the noise from the road, whilst those on the road or going along the road don't want an eyesore. Anyway, a fence got put in with Transport for London also promising a lot of planting that would end up screening the fence - and allow it to ...

Intimate scrutiny

I am not entirely sure I wanted to read about the BOSS chair technology over breakfast but there we are. Now I pass the mental image over to you. Does illustrate the problem of modern information tools and how basic security concepts cannot always be upheld by traditional methods. Less dramatic perhaps than the debate on civil liberties and detention without trial or even the ID Cards debate.. The problem of course is the use of illicit mobile phones in prisons, BOSS is the Bodily Orifice Security Scanner and your imagination is recruited to grasp how mobile phones are entering ...

Thou Shalt Not Impersonate Members of the House

As a zealous, informed and clinically-obsessive politico-blog-reader, you will no doubt already have hurried to the Daily Dale this morning, and there discovered the latest case of ... ATTEMPTED FRAUD. Some scheming little internet fiend hath endeavoured to fool and to trick Mr Dale into believing that there was an imminent 'putsch' against Supreme Leader 'Granny' Gordo. A putsch? Putsch? A putsch! A putsch! The throng! The mob! A Gordon Riot! A Gordon Riot! Grab your battens and seal the hatches! Fortunately, this was not Mr Dale's reaction, and instead he cunningly checked the source and discovered the e-mail to ...

Day 2476: Mr Frown - adding fule to the fire?

Tuesday The Conservatories are making a fuss about whether Mr Frown 'misled' the House of Commons by claiming to be a competent Chancellor, er no, claiming that a 'majority' would be better off under changes to car tax. I don't think this was a deliberate FIB; he merely FORGOT that his briefing notes said 'better... or no worse... off'. Similarly, I think that he was not trying to claim that he was like Ms Bronte's brooding anti-hero when he said he was like Heathcliff. I think he just got the WRONG CARTOON CAT since it's obvious that he is GARFIELD! ...

Plumbing new depths

The Labour Government is not famous for its belief in democractic accountability. But in its plans for regional select committees it has plumbed new depths of cynicism. The back story is that at the moment each region has a 'regional assembly' - a body comprising mainly councillors from the region (and others with a 'stake') - which has had an important role in things like coming up with a 'spatial strategy' for the region - including small issues like how many houses should be built in each area. The Government has decided that regional assemblies will be abolished. Their role ...

Please don't say 'texted' in front of me!

I know and understand the need of language to change and develop over time. New technology needs new words, colloquialisms becoming part of the 'norm'. One such colloquialism that really grates on me, is the word 'text'. Even one of the BBC newsreaders was caught live on airing this morning saying 'text your message to...'. Now, I am sure, and I stand corrected if this is not the case, by the

A blog with a difference

Most blogs kept by Liberal Democrats are heavily political in their content and usually involve them spouting off about the great political issues of the day. Mine I am sure is no exception. But one Liberal Democrat blog that is completely different is one that is also written by a Lib Dem who stands a [...]

Nick is stopped

The Link above is to a story in a newspaper that shows a Council not allowing our Party Leader Nick Clegg to a care centre where they was ment to be a meeting held by a resident. Why is this council blocking Nick from attending the meeting i believe its because they think he will bag the Votes if he mingles with the people. The council are scared that the Lib Dems can really take the area of Evesham forward so they are trying to prevent them from going to meetings held by the Public.

Politics Show's on the BBC

The BBC has a lot of Political programmes but they are not all to my taste. The Politics show and Daily Politics are actually quiet boring. I have in the past fallen asleep watching them two programmes. They are a bit dull for my liking. But the Andrew Marr Show or Question Time (off air till September) are great Programmes i actually enjoy watching them two programmes. And they really entertain you with Political talk which is i think presented and discussed in such a style that is more informative compared to the Daily Politics or the Politics Show! What ...

What have our MP's done?

Burnley A&E was a big campaign at the time of the closure and still is. The Liberal Democrats are leading the campaign to get A&E back to Burnley General but yet our Local MP's in Burnley and Pendle on text are saying they are doing something but not a lot has been done by Kitty Usher and Gordon Prentice. I had a Poll on this blog that significantly showed that the people of Burnley and Pendle wanted A&E back at Burnley General but what happened NOTHING! Why because our Labour MP's don't want to go against Party Politics and speak ...

'The youth in Politics'

'The youth in Politics' Nothing wrong in saying that is they but for some reason yet our Local Parties the Oldies don't like to get the youth into Politics. We need more and more young people in the Lib Dems they is no point letting the older generation's handle local Politics but when they come to retire who is going to take they place! Local Politicians need to invite the youth to meetings and really get the youth involved. In the North West of England i don't think they is any local Lib Dem Party that has a youth Representative. ...

Nudging behaviour

Nudge - and similar books of behavioural economics are getting a lot of attention at the moment. I'm particularly interested to see if they can provide any help to the work of the Communications Team of Winchester Action on Climate Change. If you're interested in getting a copy, here are some links: Nudge - by Robert Thaler Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini Here's a link to the Cabinet Office paper titled Personal Responsibility and Changing Behaviour referenced in the Guardian article on 'Nudge'. Other works on behaviour change relating to climate change worth ...

Time to kick Russia out of the G8 ?

The G8 might only be a club or richer countries, but Russia fought hard to be admitted and said ti wanted to take its rightful place amongst the other seven nations. So why was it last night that despite assurances given, despite Russia supporting a G8 resolution for tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe, Russia chose to stab its G8 friends in the back and veto the resolution ? Sadly, yet again, it is a sign that when it comes to dictatorships, Russia is the number one friend of tyrants and murderers.

New Liberalism on the wireless

I have only just spotted and listened to Tristram Hunt's radio programme about 'The Middle Way' in his brief series Ideas - The British Version. It was broadcast last Sunday and will only be available on the 'Listen again' facility for another 24 hours or so. It deals with attempts in the early 20th century to develop progressive alternatives to Marxist communism and laissez-faire Liberalism. It touches on New Liberalism, Keynesianism and Fabianism, dealing with their influence on British and continental politics. I'm not a huge fan of Tristram Hunt and perhaps the programme is a touch simplistic. But New ...

Bloggers' summer reading (Part I)

Imagine you were going on holiday this summer: which two books would you take with you? One would be a political book - whether you want to re-read it, or try something new you've been recommended. The other would be your own choice of summer reading - the book you're most looking forward to reading [...]

Women in charge in the church

So many interesting things happening this week - and I've been pretty busy too - so I'm only now getting round to commenting on the decision of the Church of England to allow women to become bishops. Technically, the Synod decided in principle on admitting women as bishops three years ago, but delayed implementing the decision. This has been a pretty frustrating time, both for women...

Cerys, Jonathan and Rhodri

I was bemused to read in this morning's Western Mail that former Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews and rugby pundit Jonathan Davies have been recruited to star in a new film aimed at explaining the workings of the Welsh Assembly Government. The idea is to make a two-minute film, which will be screened at big summer events this year such as the Royal Welsh Show and the National Eisteddfod. The film's producer, John Morgan says that the film will 'explain some of the intricacies of the Assembly', which immediately brings into question his own knowledge as it is meant to be ...

Flood insurance must cover those at most risk - Webb

Commenting on the announcement that insurers have agreed to cover households with a flood risk of up to one-in-75 years, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: 'It is all very well making insurance available, but it must be affordable to people living in the most vulnerable homes. 'Even when people can get insurance they may be asked to pay large chunks of the cost of claims themselves. 'Every year, more and more people move up the flood risk scale. When only those whose homes are up to a one in 75 year flood risk can get cover, what ...

Thank you, David Davis

So David Davis, in wasting thousands of pounds of taxpayers money in a farce of a by-election, has answered my question. Sadly, his answer is exceedingly pedestrian. It's revealed in the Treasury press release that announced his appointment to the Chiltern Hundreds: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today appointed the Right Honourable David Michael Davis to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern. The Chancellor has also granted Mr Davis's request to be released from this appointment today. For the first time in many years, no-one is Stewarding or, er, Bailiffing the hundreds of Stoke, Desborough, ...

Quizmaster extraordinaire

Last night I was the 'Quizmaster extraordinaire' at a quiz organised by the Friends of King Harold School. The purpose of the evening was to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust as well as launch the new 'Friends of King harold' parent association. So far they raised about £800.

Day 2745: Food Glorious Food

Monday: Our Prime Monster, First Lord of the Treasury and King of IRONY has warned us not to waste food... before nipping in for a quick eight course dinner. Mmmm, tasty, but maybe not Tasteful. But ALAS: we have a left-over slice of PIZZA. Clearly, Mr Frown's needs are greater than mine so... how many stamps to post this to Downing Street? Less appetising than Mr Frown? {Posted by Picasa}

The highlight of the Bedford calendar - Bedford River Festival

One thing I love about Bedford is our real sense of community and that is never more wonderfully demonstrated than at our bi-annual River Festival. At one time Bedford was the most culturally diverse town in the country and we are still home to over 100 different people groups - a fact that is evident in the diversity of the festival. This year will be the 30th anniversary of an event that started as a celebration of the Ouse becoming navigable from Bedford to the coast and is now second only to the Notting Hill Carnival as the bigges t ...

Day 2744: Sarky v Mandy

Sunday: There appears to have been 'un peut d'un spat', as they would say En Français, between President Sarcastic of France and Mr Mandy 'Mandy' Mandelbrot, one time Prince of Darkness and now Trade Commissioner of the European Union. First, Monsieur Sarcastic appeared to blame Mandy for the Irish 'No' to the Lisbon treaty. Then Mr Mandy slapped down Monsieur Sarcastic for being a PROTECTIONIST. This actually goes a bit deeper than the French being peeved about their Presidency of the Union being Royally Republicly shafted by the Irish. It goes to how we respond to the darkening economic clouds. ...

Saturday 12th July 2008

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