... for me, at the AGM of our local party, being elected to the role of Press and Communications Officer. Also conference voting rep. Many other people were elected to important positions also. What, there's some OTHER election going on today? ;) Sorry... Had to do that. Mat is staying up all night and joining in the Liveblog on LC. I am strangely serene about the US elections; whatever happens, there's nothing I can do to affect it, I'll only be a casualty of whatever the result is. I hope you guys over the water get the right result come ...
The very best of luck to all our friends in the States gnawing their fingers tonight, and of course to every other country in the world (polls of which suggest would each vote for President Obama). I won't be liveblogging the election, though I'm reading several blogs, and I'll be wearily watching the BBC. I love the BBC; the current witch-hunts against them are terrible news; but, come every election night, the BBC trots out terrible news values, too. We have the anticipointment of hours of tedious Dimblebyvision to come, but so far Newsnight's promised rubbish coverage for the night. ...
I was out in our street yesterday evening discussing Hastings Council's proposals with my neighbours. Of 21 householders in the road that I spoke to personally, 17 were against the introduction of communal bins, 2 were in favour, and 2 did not have strong views either way. Those against the bins cited the following reasons: they do [...]
Westminster's European Scrutiny Committee has decided to hold its deliberations in private, even when questioning ministers. Liberal Democrat MP, Richard Younger-Ross, who is a member of the committee, said: "It's a great shame that the Committee has decided to meet in private. "The Committee makes important decisions about which pieces of European legislation need to be debated by Parliament. "These decisions will now be kept secret from the public." A conspiracy-theorist would say that the Labour cabinet has leant on the majority membership of the committee so that the contribution of UK ministers to poor EU decisions may continue to ...
Picture this: fifty grown men throwing rocks at a helpless 13 year old girl until she is dead. This is a perfectly legitimate punishment sanctioned by law in Somalia, reported recently. The girl said she was raped by three men. She was stoned on the charge of adultery. In a country with strict Sharia Law can [...]
Well, tonight's the night when we finally find out: has the USA elected its first black President? Or are the opinion polls wronger than they've been in history? Join us tonight, here on LDV, for our election-nite live-blog, and feel free to contribute your comments as we type. Don't forget, you can follow what's happening [...]
23.28/18.28 I really hope that the Beeb have learned a lesson from the fiasco of their local election results coverage in May. Certainly Jeremy Vine seems rather more restrained. 23.21/18.21 Continuing my election night tradition of opening a decent bottle of Chianti - good stuff. 23.13/18.13 MSNBC exit poll highlighting that the economy is unsurprisingly the most important electoral issue, with 93% saying the economy's in bad shape. Who are the 7% who think it isn't? 23.05/18.05 First polls closed a few minutes ago in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. Over on MSNBC, they're talking about how excited people seem ...
We are in Amsterdam on a mini-holiday and the following is my diary for today: It's 9.35am and we have just arrived in the port of Ijmuiden and we can barely see a thing. The mist is thick here. The ferry is in the process of mooring and once that is done we will be off on the bus to Amsterdam. 10.15am: just through passport control. The officer thumbed through my passport. "You travel a lot,"
A couple of presidential trivia questions whilst we're all waiting for the Main Event, courtesy of Lord Norton over at the Lords Blog. When was the last US presidential election which was won by the Republicans in which a Nixon or a Bush was not on the ticket? and What is it that Barack Obama and John McCain [...]
Sofa and TV: Check Several tabs in Firefox on laptop displaying various websites: - LDV's liveblog when it arrives: Check - Maron v Seder: Check - 538.com to see how their predictions went: Check - CNN Results page: Check - Political Betting: Check Popcorn with which to enjoy the looks on the inhabitants of Fox News's faces: Check ...yup, all set!
There is a brilliant letter about Canary Wharf by Alastair Green in this morning's Financial Times: It is impossible to leaflet, picket, protest or march in this citadel of high finance if the Canary Wharf estate owners withhold permission, despite the fact that in almost every usual way, Canary Wharf is just another public space, open to all. The publicly funded buses run, double yellow lines prohibit parking, The Evening Standard is on sale at the publicly owned Tube and Docklands Light Railway stations, freesheets are handed out, shoppers congregate, the public drives and walks through uninvited, and the Metropolitan ...
Err... apparently there is another presidential election going on somewhere. They are making a bit of a fuss of it on the telly, and in the village of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire it's all over, with the polls opening at midnight and with a turnout of 100%, they have already announced the winner, a chap called Obama, think he might do okay. Now for the big one .... That right the Lib Dem presidential vote!
Catherine and I would like to announce that we were married on Monday the 27th of October 2008 in a ceremony held in St Matthias Magistrate's Court, in the Parish of Christ Church, Barbados. We deliberately kept the nuptials quiet and our respective families, friends and mutual friends were not told until after the event. This was because we wanted a simple and private ceremony which was an affirmation of our love for each other. We intend to further celebrate with a party here in Kinross-shire at a later date. The holiday in Barbados was originally booked as Catherine was ...
Ok, am going to try to get a few hours' sleep cos I'm a wimp - but I am relying on those of you who know me to text me to wake me up when it all gets exciting......... LibDig This!
The following is a passage from the website that has been set up to be an online library of George W***** Bush: "Welcome to the future home of the officious George W. Bush Presidential Library. This patriotic website will serve as an authoritative digital archive, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the godly legacy of the most honest, peaceful, and intelligent* leader in the 6,000 year history of the planet Earth." If honest is invading Iraq for personal reasons and then making out Saddam had weapons of mass destruction then I need a dictionary. If Peaceful is a president that hasn't ...
At conference in September (ah! back in the day when banks were still notionally responsible independent enterprises that could find their arse with a map and a prevailing wind) I recall we were nonplussed in the Lib Dem Voice cupboard at one point to receive news of the launch of Nick Clegg. Surely it's forty [...]
The Lib Dem Voice collective will be live-blogging the US election from 11pm tonight, via the magic of CoverItLive. So keep the site open as you watch/listen/browse your way through the twists and turns of a truly historic night. As well as our chat and your comments, we'll also have a couple of posts from [...]
Hat tip to Chris Black for this moving story of a trip to the polling booth. LibDig This!
Back in the UK now; the government today said it would allow paitents to 'top-up' without losing their basic NHS care package. Nick Clegg has welcomed this in the Guardian; calling it a step towards a more 'liberal' NHS. It is welcome that Clegg recognises the problematic side of this decision and sees the challenge as being to; "avoid this undermining the important principle of equity and to ensure that it goes hand-in-hand with much-improved access under the NHS to life-saving drugs routinely available overseas." This is the paradox that this decision places upon supporters of the principles behind the ...
So I've taken a couple of days off work to watch the US election. I decided to have 'a lie in' today, and ended up waking up at 4pm. Shocking. Amazing how quickly I can switch into student mode, but I digress. So I'm up all night and I'm looking for a place to hang on. I'll have the BBC News channel running on my computer, and I'll be buzzing around the internet, occasionally blogging if I feel like there's anything worth commenting on. Anyone got any recommendations?
Bernard has been running a poll to try to identify the best post-war presidential election campaign. For me it comes down to a choice between Clinton's victory over the older Bush in 1992 to the amazing movement Barack Obama has built over the last 17 months. If you can't listen to Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow without a tingle, then you will know how captivating and exciting Clinton's rollercoaster ride to the Presidency was in '92. Led by the wild Cajun genius that is James Carville, the phrase "It's the Economy, stoopid" became synonymous with a disciplined, professional and captivating ...
Thanks, Labour Party. Not only have they deprived me of a week at home with my daughter during the October holidays, but they have completely mucked up my plans to enjoy some uninterrupted saturation coverage of the US elections. I need my sleep. I turn into the Bitch from Hell if I don't get enough. Given that I'm going to be up most of Thursday night and will then have to go to work on Friday, it would be very sensible of me to make sure I get my full 8 hours tonight. But I really want to stay up ...
It seems some Americans are happily queueing for several hours to vote today. On the one hand, it is good news for democracy that such a high turnout - as much as 80% - is expected. This election, from the very start of the primaries, has created unprecedented excitement and interest. In spite of the fatuous TV ads, in spite of the unpleasant negative campaigning, in spite...
I am being serious Lords and MP's don't go to Parliament tomorrow, you may ask why well who can blame you. Guido is giving friends the chance to download templates to make Guido face masks which is a scary sign not because one Guido is enough but because they is a disturbing image over at Benedict Brogan's blog that points to one direction, which is that Guido is planning something! That Irish Blogger Paul Staines needs to be stopped (A note to local councils to use your anti terrorism powers now and not for spying on people throwing litter). So ...
Won by the Guardian: Jonathan Ross earns around £16,000 a day, not a week as we said in a profile of his agent Addison Cresswell.
Whatever happened to Faceless Britain, I wonder? It was a theme in Clegg's closing speech at Liverpool spring conference: What will it look like, this new Britain? First the great monoliths of centrally-run bureaucracies must be opened up - and run for the sake of the people, the patients, the pupils. These days individuals are powerless in [...]
You might think that, after all of the travelling that we've done during the Presidential campaign, we might want to take a break from riding in trains. However, life goes on, and the wheels of Party bureaucracy turn relentlessly. And so, my mind turns to a trip to the North on 21 November. Ros is the guest speaker at the Greater Ashfield Annual Dinner that Friday evening in Mansfield, whilst I
I will be keeping up with all the action over at Iain Dale's Blog and maybe at LibDemVoice! I think readers should check both places out as they will most likely be having the best online election night coverage. I would have preferred to be at an election night party in London or even better besides Team Obama in the USA, but I have college in the morning!
It's a tale that you should read here. It should warm your heart... And there's someone else with similar thoughts here.
All via puddingcat. 1, Ernst and Young train their female employees in how to dress for the office. Isn't this what's known as Folletting in politics? 2, Sexual Bullying not taken seriously in schools. Hands up anyone who is a parent who is surprised by this? Anyone? 3, A Woman, from cradle to grave. Slightly American-centric, but worth reading even so. I don't think I have read anything so depressingly true in ages. Godsdammit, I am NOT going to let the world do this to MY little girl.
I hate supermarket shopping. I am the mad woman wandering the aisles muttering, "Over packaged!" "Overpriced!" "It's been shipped from where?" Saturday morning shopping is the worst of all as the local Sainsbury's is full of other disgruntled shoppers all feeling resentful that they can only get to the supermarket when it is at its busiest. However [...]
I've been well scooped on this by Charlotte, but I don't mind at all. Sharp and lithe, she said I was and I still can't decide which is the more gratifying. Charlotte was smoking like a chimney - with carbon capture and storage - throughout on her e-cig, and none of us noticed. Ditto in the cafe afterwards, until she 'fessed up. It looks like technology has thoroughly solved the problem of
I love Scotland. I have lived here for most of my life and I was desperate to get back for each and every one of the 11 years I was away. I am so proud to be Scottish and to share in a country with such a rich culture, a fascinating history and such diverse, dramatic and wonderful scenery. It saddens me that the Nationalists use our saltire as if it belongs to their Party alone. There is not one person out there campaigning in that by-election who does not love Scotland or care about our future - I even ...
Today was another bright and sunny day on the Glenrothes campaign trail. Liberal Democrat candidate Harry Wills was joined by Scottish Leader Tavish Scott, Shadow Chancellor and sage and sensible voice of reason on all matters economic Vince Cable and Jim Tolson, MSP for Dunfermline West on a visit to a Post Office to offer support to the Post Mistress whose livelihood is under threat if the Government awards the Post Office Card Account to a provider other than the Post Office. Call me an old cynic, but this decision should have been announced by now. I wonder why it ...
Love and congratulations to Iain Dale, author of my tribute blog, and his new wife Catherine. IT's always nice to have some good news to brighten the Winter gloom. Iain announced on Facebook earlier today that he and Catherine were married in Barbados last Monday. They kept that one well hidden from the rest of us - as indeed did Bob and I when we got married over 20 years ago. Let's hope that they have a wonderful life together. LibDig This!
Thanks to Stephen Tall for this http://www.libdemvoice.org/author/stephen-tall Official research has told us what most Lib Dems have known for years: our voters are more intelligent than those who vot...
In a sombre address to the ELDR Congress on 31 October, Mikhail Kasyanov (former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation) characterised his country as a place where the democratic institutions had been replaced by imitations. Mr Kasyanov was at the ELDR Congress as leader of the People's Democratic Union and had earlier presented his party's case to the ELDR Council for joining the ELDR as a full member. Mr Kasyanov impressed the Council with a trenchant analysis of the current political direction of Russia. He was extremely critical of the elections whereby former President Putin and his associates tightened their ...
I've always doubted the wisdom of taking what I call "Brown-Eye Aftercare Advice" from animated bears. We know bears are famous for a certain activity they perform in woods, but this is no qualification for recommending a brand of toilet roll. Instead I've trusted those people at Andrex, who make their toilet rolls out of Puppies, ensuring their brand is very, very soft. It's one thing to wipe yer bum with loo roll made from puppies. It's quite another to wipe your arse on pictures of puppies. Yes, today I realised this latest roll has cute little pictures of Andrex ...
I shall be eschewing twittering, blogging and all the delights the internet has to offer for a simple seat in my living room in front of the TV. The main reason for this is that the computer is situated in the study and the study is too close to the bedroom. This means that frequent trips from the TV to the PC would disturb my sleeping better half (and you don't want to provoke her!). Also, what is it with twitter? I purposely don't read anything that's twittered. Does that make me a luddite? Ahem, anyway for those who are ...
I was hoping to post some inciteful analysis of the final round of emails from the three candidates for Lib Dem president (what do you mean there's another presidential election going on at the moment? Can't say I've heard about it). Unfortunately, they're just too dull. Chandila says we should decentralise to invigorate the party but, on both email and website, seems a little unclear as to what it means or how it's going to work. There are some warm words on his website about decentralising membership and doing more fundraising outside London but it's hardly breaking the mould. Ros ...
This is a continuation of the Blogger's Interview with Nick Clegg. Part 1 here and Part 2 here. It's Jonathan Calder's turn to ask a question. I realise I think of him as 'Jonathan England', a contraction of his name and the name of his website. He notes that there's been an emphasis on 'Buying British' in Nick's recent comments. He points out that protectionism was what made the slump in the 1930s so much worse than it otherwise would have been so asks Nick: Why? "I don't think labelling goods as being manufacted in Britain, or manufactured locally, or ...
It seems pretty bizarre to me that the wealthiest country in the world doesn't seem able to organise itself to run an election properly - but such is the enthusiam generated by the campaign this time that it doesn't seem to be stopping folk from voting. The Obama campaign have done a terrific job of making his supporters want to get out and vote for him, as the polling of early voters shows. Such is the enthusiasm that 1,000 students in Pennsilvania were queuing up at 7am this morning ready to vote! CNN's Jack Cafferty asked viewers how long they ...
Redcar and Cleveland Council is delighted at the public's response to looking at five shortlisted designs that can transform Redcar seafront. Design professionals from all over the world have been drawing up a vision of how the seafront can be regenerated in a competition organised by the Council and the Royal Institute of British Architects. The Council, working in partnership with the Environment Agency, want the final winning design to be the perfect complement to the Agency's proposed new sea wall. Now after hundreds have been attracted to the Council's exhibition bus in Redcar High Street, the Council is extending ...
Well we're now back from Cornwall after a largely cold, wet and windy week. We were staying just on the edge of Bodmin Moor but because of the weather didn't get the chance for any proper walks there. But despite the weather we had a great time. Amongst other things we visited the lovely Tintagel and its castle, the Arthurian Centre near Camelford, Bodmin, the Eden Project, Padstow, the famous Jamaica Inn, Landhydrock House, Flambards Experience (the wettest and clodest visit to a theme park ever but with a fantastic end of season fireworks display), Healey's Cyder Farm, Futureworld, Lizard ...
We have recently held a meeting with a rep from the local Viva Vauxhall residents association, TFL and police regarding concerns over taxi touting around the Vauxhall Cross area. Local residents, especially those living on Vauxhall Grove and Langley Lane have had problems with minicabs (mostly unlicensed) parking up near their homes and associated problems with noise and anti-social behaviour. Pressure by the Viva Vauxhall residents association has already meant the local FIRE nightclub no longer park their cars in Vauxhall Grove or Langley Lane and the local Universal Cars have high visibility jackets so it is now easier to ...
There's more than one election taking place at the moment, y'know... Jenny Randerson's campaign to become the new leader of the Welsh Liberal democrats launched yesterday, and you can find coverage here (BBC) and here (Wales Online). You can find Jenny's campaign website here. Kirsty Williams AM, as LDV mentioned last month, is also in the [...]
Because I can tell exactly where this story is going, I've sent this off to both OFCOM and the BBC today: Hi, I would like to complain about the volume of complaints you have received from worried busybodies about Jeremy Clarkson's joke regarding the murder of prostitutes ("Change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change [...]
I remember vividly a heated debate I had with a Republican on a citizen journalist on a site some time ago. I confidently predicted that come today the American people would deliver swift justice on the Bush presidency and inflict an embarrassing defeat on the entire Republican Party. I stand by that prediction; on Liberal Democrat Voice I have optimistically predicted an Obama win by 375 to 163 electoral college votes. I confidently predict that the Democrats will sweep the board in the Congressional elections too. Voting has already begun and Barack Obama has cast his ballot. All the indications ...
From tomorrow's Assembly Plenary agenda: Amendment 2 - Carwyn Jones (Bridgend) Delete "breast"
The Assembly Commission has upgraded its e-petition system to make it more accessible and user-friendly. The new system requires signatories to register on the site, giving their name and e-mail and postal addresses before they are allowed to sign and submit petitions. Once users have registered and activated their accounts, they will be able to sign petitions with a click of a button. As not every subject raised by a petition can be answered or addressed with a yes or a no, the new system will also allow them to debate a petition on our e-forum. They will also e-mail ...
Inspired over the half term by Hardy country so will not be blogging quite so much for a while as painting calls. Review of Rothko exhibition to follow soon on Ripplestone Review....meanwhile here's one I did earlier..
David Laws, the Lib Dems' shadow secretary of state for schools, has criticised the policy of paying poorer students for, among other things, attending class. The Telegraph reports: In some cases, students are paid £250 each in taxpayers' money for attending every class over the course of a year. Middle-class students with the same academic record [...]
The Superwoman Blog reports that the November edition of Wales Business Insider Magazine has published its Power 100, described as Insider's View of the most powerful people in Wales. Only ten women feature. They are: 12. Edwina Hart, Health Minister 14. Menna Richards, controller of BBC (and speaker at Superwoman 4) 17. Iona Jones, Chief Executive S4C 23. Sian Lloyd Jones, Chief Executive, Finance Wales 26. Jane Davidson Environment, Sustainability and Housing Minister 80. (big jump that) Katherine Jenkins, Singer 82. Jane Hutt, Education Minister 86. Margaret Matthews, Managing Director Dow Corning Site Barry and Chairman CBI Wales 89. Kirsty ...
I met Zippo the Clown last week. His real name is Martin Burton and he was wearing a suit. He was giving evidence to our continuing enquiry into the licensing act as the Founder and D...
Earlier today I wrote about just what is on an American ballot, and explained very briefly about California's 12 State Propositions and the 22 Local Propositions for San Francisco. Now here's a bit more information about Proposition 8, which "Eliminates rights of same-sex couples to marry". To underline that a bit more - yes, gay [...]
Today's Western Mail carries news of research which suggests that children are more likely to vote for the Green Party or the Liberal Democrats in a general election as adults. The study, by the University of Edinburgh and the UK Medical Research Council, indicates childhood intelligence is linked to voting preferences and political involvement in later life. Not only are those with higher childhood IQs more likely to vote Green or Lib Dem, they are also more likely to vote in general and get involved in politics. I don't place much store on this sort of research as in my ...
I met a Republican a few months back. He said this is the most embarrassing election he has ever had to sit through. Not because of John McCain, but because both candidates are awful. John McCain, the maverick ex Vietnam vet who chose to stay in prison than be released early (the cynic in me wants to believe this is because he was embarrassed to be locked up and this way he could get some award, or, not have to work for a while). The image he strikes is of a middle aged father trying to crack a joke with ...
For a decade and more, the Conservative Party has struggled to find popular support for its economic policies. Faced with the twin burdens of the early-1990s recession and public scepticism that their tax and spending plans were not savage cuts to public services in disguise, over the last three general elections the Conservatives failed to [...]
I am disturbed to hear the news that our local Bath MP Don Foster has today revealed that a whistle-stop tour of the city led to the Government's decision on the number of new homes for Bath. Don put forward a Freedom of Information request that revealed that Examination in Public (EiP) Panel members drove a route around Bath that could have taken no more than 45 minutes, before...
I am very impressed by the responsiveness of the Liberal Democrat web team and the candidates office. They corrected the spelling of my name here on the national party website within a day of me sending a message via the site's contact form (which must get 1000s of messages per day). It's Antony (with no H) - the [...]
I do not like commenting on the US political scene. I see it as a stagnant quagmire, devoid of all life and new thought, slowly sucking its surroundings into its damp core. Even today, when America turns out to vote for their new president, I can still pull out no real enthusiasm. I should be happy. When I heard on the radio at the age of 9 that a man called George W Bush had won the Presidency, the tone in my parent's voices were near distraut. They wanted Al Gore. I immeditately disliked this Bush man. I chuckled when ...
I have finally gone all hi-tech and installed Twitter to this site....those who are even remotely interested can follow me this election night on Twitter and henceforth...
Commenting on the Chief Operating Officer of HSBC, David Hodgkinson's warning that the bank may not pass on an expected interest rate cut to its customers, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "It is difficult to see the justification for Mr Hodgkinson's comments that a cut in the Bank of England's interest rates may not be fully passed on to customers." Vince Cable...
Is it all over yet? Can we have an agreement that if Maine goes to Obama (by lunchtime Tuesday), McCain will concede and we can all go and do something more interesting for the following 36 hours. The race for the position of chief protector of western imperialist capitalism, commander in chief of western imperialist militarism, and chief boondoggler of the earmark in the pig trough has begun. If anyone thinks that one person is capable of the wisdom to wield the level of power than emanates from the Oval Office they are deluded. The world is a worse place ...
We have two planning applications this week that you may wish to have a look at. The first application is for the erection of a single storey rear extension to provide a dining room and family room at 2 Kelston View Whiteway. The application was first registered on 27th October 2008 and has a decision date of 22nd December 2008. The application registration number is...
Having made it to Sheffield, Ros and I set out for Stowmarket and our country refuge. It was never going to be an easy journey, but I really must thank National Express for making it that much more difficult... Our first leg was to Retford and, just as we were making ourselves comfortable on the platform, a wave of people in red and white striped shirts surged into the station. Yes, the
Most people know that the US election today will select the next President of the United States. It's perhaps less widely known that a huge selection of other races are being run today, with citizens facing a huge raft of different candidates at different elections, from federal to state to city. It's this complexity that [...]
Today's Metro carried a story about North West Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies having been nominated for the title of MEP of the Year. The panel wants to recognise his work on in blowing the whistle on abuses of MEP expenses earlier this year. I'm delighted that Chris has received this much deserved nomination because I [...]
The BBC is reporting that comments by Jeremy Clarkson on Sunday's Top Gear about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes have sparked 517* complaints. That would make Clarkson's comments over 258 times more offensive that the Ross/Brand stunt, which had attracted just two complaints before the tabloids got in on the act. What a dilemma for the Daily Mail. The BBC's the epitomy of licence-fee-wasting evil, but Clarkson's a climate-change-denying god who can surely do no wrong. And you can see that they're somewhat torn in their article. Yes, they report it along with the complaints and bit of moaning about the ...
The Western Mail reports that Swansea is one of the areas in which "visible justice" will be piloted. We hope that the Justice Ministry will take on board the experience of Chard in Somerset, whose restorative justice panels Liberal Democrats have long championed. Of course, other measures need to be taken in conjunction: improving detection & apprehension rates, and fully staffing the parole service, for instance.
Below is the text of a press release issued by Barnet Liberal Democrats this morning, ahead of tonight extraordinary meeting of the council. "Barnet Liberal Democrats will keep up the pressure on the Barnet Tory Administration at an extraordinary Council meeting this evening. The Extraordinary Meeting has been summoned at the request of Barnet Liberal Democrats. The meeting starts at 6.30pm. Councillor Jack Cohen Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group says there still remains many unanswered question about the Councils behaviour in investing millions of pounds in Icelandic and other foreign banks. Cllr Wayne Casey will be proposing the Lib ...
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire: With a new US President this week, the following few weeks are likely to see all sorts of prognostications about the lessons UK political parties and campaigners can and should be drawing. However, many of the differences between American and British election campaigns are not the result of American campaigners having good [...]
Out on Sunday with the Truro Hash House Harriers. For those that don't know Hashing it involves following a trail across the countryside, finishing at a pub. Lots of false trails mean the group stays together, no matter what your standard of running. Actually running is a bit of a dirty word to Hashers! But on Sunday, instead of a pub we were invited out to St Martin's on the Helford river, to Chris Bean's place to celebrate the opening of his new Fish Processing Unit. Chris must be one of the last fisherman working out of the Helford, and ...
Blimey! Apparently there's an election in America today. They elect a President every four years and this year there are two main candidates: Borat the Farmer and John Cocaine. I thought I would look to see if the papers reported anything about this and luckily they did. It seems that Borat the Farmer is doing very well but he's skinny and lots of Americans won't vote for him because he's a 'skinny'. Fat people tend to vote Republican and wouldn't dream of voting for a non-fat. That's why John Cocaine thinks he might win. His name also sounds uncannily like ...
The BAM Estate is one of the more interesting features of West Hampstead - indeed the whole mansion blocks of London are themselves pretty fascinating. But here in West Hampstead we have the Buckingham, Alexandra and Marlborough Mansion blocks. They were built on the Cock and Hoop field (named after the pub that stood on the site of the current Alexandra Mansions - demolished around 1900/01). The story of the development is not unsurprisingly more complex and whilst they might now look like the scheme that made someone very rich in fact it is predictably less straightforward. the Centenary official ...
Police have put out an appeal for witnesses following a fatal road traffic collision in Yate last night (Monday November 3). The incident happened at about 7.15pm on the Rodford Way, near the Abbotswood Inn. A 13-year-old girl from the Yate area was in collision with a Ford Transit van. Police, fire and ambulance attended the incident but the girl was declared dead at the scene. The road was closed for examination by the road policing unit's collision investigation unit and re-opened at 10.39pm. Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have been in the area at the ...
Last week, Mark Pack explained the impact that mobile phones have polling. [... T]his year's Presidential election [... shows] phone pollsters who include mobiles regularly finding a higher level of support for Barack Obama than those who ignore mobiles. The difference in support between these two approaches is large enough to matter in a close election: [...]
The Daily Telegraph reports that plans for a British bill of rights have run into trouble; "Opposition to the plan, which would build on the 1998 Human Rights Act, is said to be led by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary. Ministerial opponents are thought to contest that the plan will be seen as irrelevant during a time of economic crisis. They add that it could stoke unnecessary controversy by re-opening a debate on the original Act, which incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into British law and attracts sharp criticism from the Conservatives and campaign groups." Apparently what is ...
Whoever wins the US Presidential Election today - and it has to be said, I'll eat my hat if it is McCain - I think all should breathe a great big sigh of relief that the George W. Bush presidency is in its dying days. Back in 2004, Gary Kamiya wrote : "In years to come historians will likely judge the Bush presidency one of the worst in the history of the republic - an amalgam of arrogance, radicalism and folly so egregious it's almost laughable. "Abandoning common sense in foreign affairs, weakening the rule of law, handing the nation's ...
A number of residents, and Community Council representatives, recently expressed concern to me about hogweed growth near to the rail line, in the ground owned by Network Rail. I brought this to Network Rail's attention and they have now responded as follows: "The Hogweed was planned to be part of the spraying programme and should have been done. I will pass on the information to our Off Track Department."
I just wanted to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
Camilla Cavendish should be congratulated on winning the Paul Foot award for her work on opening up the family courts. This is a battle between the vested interests of lawyers, experts and practitioners and the interests of children and families. The people who earn money from the system want to be kept away from scrutiny. Those who suffer from their actions want the professionals to be held
and makes your choice. Tonight would be a great time to try out new things like the itunes radio stations and the in-depth look at results county-by-county. CABLE/TV CNN - From 23:00 - if you have cable. Down the line Cable channel with great maps and the `best political team on television`. For watching on the web - try [...]
In a longstanding American electoral tradition, the towns of Dixville Notch and Hart's Location in the White Mountains of New Hampshire opened their polling stations at exactly midnight. 100% voter turnout, gave 32 votes to Obama, 16 to McCain and 2 write-in votes for Ron Paul.
One of the things about blogging that a lot of people just don't seem to get is that the act has a tendency of heightening the author's personality. I've probably written this before but a colleague of mine likes to relate how a Lib Dem activist came up to him once and said "You know James Graham? He's a very angry man!" which didn't accord with my colleague's image of me as a cool, collected and reasonable person at all (what? Don't laugh!). A lot of people who come across as quite extreme, uncompromising people are pussy cats in reality ...
Membership has been one of the primary battlegrounds in terms of ideas during the campaign, and it seems like a good time to add my tuppence ha'penny to the discussion. Before I continue though, I feel it necessary to emphasise that this article doesn't represent a critique of the proposals, or of those making them, more an airing of the issues that have triggered such thought. Membership has
Saturday: We have driven all the way to Sheffield, which is in the NORTH, to interview Mr Clogg with some NEW Liberal Democrat diarists. He got a good quizzing on the economy from Mr Joe; on Barry O and the question of populism from Ms Charlotte; on the danger of protectionism in the current climate from Mr Jonathan; and on appealing to Labour voters; and what, if anything, counts as Conservatory territory by Mr Mat. Meanwhile, Daddy Alex led us in a chorus of "lesbians, lesbians, lesbians", and I asked about that resignation that has rocked the BBC: who should ...
Political Betting have got a post that you can follow to using the link but it indicates that all these economic packages haven't boosted Brown and the Labour party and they still are running into a disaster. But this is big, big trouble as many people like myself and others think a Tory Government is a disaster waiting to happened! So what can Brown do to not let the Conservatives get a majority?
Whether you call it a veto or whether you call it just a moratorium -- actually, don't call it either because what we are talking about, of course, is the interdict on Latin. Some arbiter elegantiarum in Town Hall circles has decreed that the language of Cicero is not fit for quotidian use. Not, of course, that any councils have emulated the Finnish news station or the Holy Office of the Bishop of Rome and transmitted press releases in the pristine tongue of the ancient Romans. It is the incidental, the minutiae, about which the custodians of our lingua franca ...
Thursday How quickly reputations can change in politics! For years I have joshed the Member for Twickenham by referring to him affectionately as Vince "Low Voltage" Cable, but no one would call him that today. It happens that I am invited to hear him speak this evening and, though I arrive at the Hall in good time after the customary stiffener, I find queues snaking around the building. Cable arrives and is hustled into the building by a protective phalanx of policemen as the crowds try to rip off a piece of his clothing. Unfortunately, it is hard to hear ...
As reported in The Scotsman and the Daily Telegraph: Research by the University of Edinburgh and the UK Medical Research Council and published in the journal Intelligence, suggests childhood IQ is as important as social class in choosing political allegiance.Previous studies have focused on class or education when examining adult voting habits.For the research, the IQs of more than 6,000 subjects were recorded at the age of 10, before any secondary schooling.People were than asked about their voting habits 24 years later, aged 34.In this set of questions, people were asked how they voted in the 2001 general election, how ...
I sincerely hope this post isn't seen as being disrespectful to someone who was clearly a remarkable woman, but Madelyn Dunham's death today has a weird kind of appositeness. I'm hardly the first person to point out the almost fictional-feeling narrative of Barack Obama's election campaign. He has a background that is almost too perfect, pretty much ticking every box going. He is almost a living cliche. The death of his grandmother just hours before polling (formally) begins sort of caps that off. The similarities to the West Wing Seasons 6-7 narrative have been well rehearsed (and of course, that ...
Today American voters have a rendezvous with history, in what is probably the most important — and certainly the most exciting — US presidential election in living memory. The outcome will have a huge impact not just domesticly but right round the world. One thing both mainstream candidates agree about is that it is [...]
I wrote a day or two ago about the "needs of the offenders" vs the needs of the victims. Today, I'm pointed at an excellent piece in the Graundian about dads in prison recording bed-time stories for their kids at home - a project that has since been extended for serving servicemen and women. No doubt some on the right will see this as disgraceful. More evidence that those on the inside are gifted hi-tech equipment that the innocent unconvicted on the outside can ill-afford. And no doubt those mouth-frothing swiveleyes are only a hop-skip and a jump from those ...
"He has proved both his ability and his integrity; he has had experience enough in public affairs to make him a statesman, and not enough to make him a politician. That he has not had more will be no objection to him in the eyes of those who have seen the administration of the experienced [...]
