Fri 3rd
23:52

Friday favourite 44

Given today's events I couldn't resist...

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone

The self destruction of Chris Huhne has not been edifying. But the appointment of Ed Davey as his replacement is unalloyed good news for the Lib Dems. Ed is a formidable campaigner - fighting the 'unwinnable' Kingston and Surbiton seat in 1997 - with no central help and a 15,000 Tory majority. The selection for the Tory nomination (between Richard Tracey and Norman Lamont) was seen by the media as the decisive contest. In the end Ed won by just 56 votes, but carried on campaigning so just four years later romped home with a majority of more than 15,000. ...

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone

I ask this question because I think a serious mistake has been made. The bill as it stands punishes those in serious need, and also those who try and help them. Many people will see their mobility allowance cut (meaning ... Continue reading →

Heather Kidd is holding a surgery at the Stiperstones Inn on 13 February.

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

I was interviewed today by Sonia Rathwell for Channel 4 News for a profile of now-former Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne. Here's some of what I said: It could be said that the former secretary of state for energy and climate change has a rather chilly public persona – but despite something of a "grey man" image, Chris Huhne has a warm, devoted fanbase according to Stephen Tall, the editor of the Lib Dem activists' newspaper, Lib Dem Voice. ... "After the leadership battle, he could have gone away and sulked but he didn't, he backed Nick Clegg all ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on stephentall.org

It's completely unsurprising that there will be many people in the country tonight who will certainly not be mourning the loss of Chris Huhne from the government. What is more surprising is that some of those people will be Liberal ... Continue reading →

Posted by Nick Thornsby on Nick Thornsby's Blog

The Liberal Democrat blogosphere has been an odd place over the past few days. There has been talk of "betrayal and loathing in the Lib Dems," our MPs have told to hang their heads in shame and someone appears to have declared war on the leadership. I have never been an enthusiast for conducting politics in this slightly paranoid language. That distaste is one of the many reasons I have never been attracted to the Labour Party. It reminds me of poor old Michael Foot waving his arms and talking about treason. Nor do I have any sense that the ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
Fri 3rd
20:23

The Boring God

Today I stumbled across the blog of Shiraz Socialist, on which is a fascinating post about the mini-controversy surrounding Terry Eagleton's review of Alain de Botton's Religion for Atheists. The post is a review of de Botton's response to Eagleton's review, achieving a level of nested meta that Tarski would appreciate. It is well worth ...

Posted by Adam Bell on Decline of the Logos

Please sign our petition here:

Posted by nickperrylibdem on Nick Perry For Hastings & Rye
Fri 3rd
20:15

Losing my temper

Ahem. As my regular readers will know, I'm renowned for my considered, well-tempered and cautious approach to events. Okay, so that's a lie. But I do try not to lose my temper in debates as it just undermines the argument. And I also try, despite how passionate I feel, not to come across as too abrasive or insulting. Unfortunately, given the number of times I've seen people been told lately, or been told myself, that concerns and dismay about the impact of the Welfare Reform Bill (passed thanks to Lib Dem MPs) is actually nothing more than "hyperbole" or "exaggeration" ...

Posted by George W. Potter on The Potter Blogger
YouGov

Nick Perry, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye, has announced that he intends to run for election to Hastings Borough Council on 3 May this year. Nick, who was his party's candidate at the 2010 General Election said to The Observer, "There are local and national reasons for wanting to be selected ...

Posted by nickperrylibdem on Nick Perry For Hastings & Rye

It has been another pretty intense week. My posting has not been as frequent as I would have liked. Sometimes it is difficult to decide what to post about out of so many issues going on at once. This afternoon I took part in the launch of the next phase of the No Knives Better Lives anti knife crime campaign. The No Knives campaign was trialled in Inverclyde with great results and we have rolled it out in the North of the city. Today it was extended to the Gorgie, Sighthill and Wester Hailes areas. We do not have huge ...

Posted by Paul Edie on Paul Edie's Blog

There was a discussion of mental health on last night's This Week. Alastair Campbell was impressive, but I am not sure that Ruby Wax's insistence that poor mental health means that there is something wrong with your brain and you need drugs reflects the most enlightened view. Because other ways of understanding mental illness are possible, and I have come across a particularly interesting one in my day job. The clinical psychologist Caroline Cuppitt writes about Charles Dickens' view of the topic and the character of Mr Dick in David Copperfield in particular: There is no suggestion that Mr Dick ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

The Mail Online carries a story that Canadian academics have shown that right-wingers are less intelligent than left wingers,thus proving John Stuart Mill right."I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will

Posted by David on Disgruntled Radical

Extraordinary.

... it's mostly bored resignation that in the midst of mouthing off about diversity, Clegg promotes two white middle class middle aged cisgendered het men, rather than one of the vastly more capable women he has available to him. I can't bring myself to be angry about it, like Caron is. I just don't have the energy any more. My irony meter went sproing a long time ago. It's like the fact that while the Welfare Reform Bill was going through Cameron was hosting a party for Children in Need. Because there's going to be so many more of them, ...

John Dodd attended the memorial service at the Fog Bell,Marshside Road on Sunday 29th January. The service was held to commemorate the anniversary of theburial of the seven Marshside men who lost their lives on the 26th January1869, whilst out hand-putting for shrimps in the estuary. The men were:Peter AughtonWilliam HeskethJohn 'Marshall' RimmerJohn WrightPeter Wright 'Thomas' Peter Wright 'Hannah's Robert Wright

Posted by Nigel Ashton on Meols Lib Dems

I hardly ever answer these, but this one caught my attention. My undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences, specialising in astrophysics at the end. My undergraduate dissertation was a literature survey of the Comic Microwave Background Radiation and the Origin of the Universe. My career is now in international politics. So it is fair to say that the two fields are not intimately related. I can count the number of fellow astrophysics graduates I have met in my current line of work on the fingers of one finger (the then chief of staff of the president of an Eastern European ...

There is just one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week Full Council, Thursday 9th February , 6:30 pm at Newsham Pavilion, Newsham Blyth followed by Public Question Time

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton
Fri 3rd
17:34

Uncollected rubbish

There are quite a few homes in Launceston whose rubbish was not collected on schedule today. I'm told by the Council that they had three vans break down and, although they caught up with some of the missed collections, they will not be able to complete the job until Monday. Apologies to householders affected. Tweet

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy
eUKhost

I'm going to write about parliamentary tactics today. Not because it's interesting – it's about the inside baseball of the UK Parliament, and is thus really only interesting to about ten people in the world ever – but because it's been tickling me ever since I noticed it. This is going to be a post about how the government runs itself politically, how it organises its business to avoid political risk, and how the government is already preparing for the next election. Okay? There's a reason why this post is happening today, and it's not going to be a surprising ...

Posted by Aosher on Brontides

So, I was sitting in the BBC News Channel Millbank, ahem, 'Studio' (broom cabinet) this morning as the Huhne news broke. As you can see, I was filling while everyone waited for Nick, Olly et al to walk from a door and get in a car. I was asked my views on what the Lib Dem Grassroots were thinking. So here's what I said you were thinking (I am paraphrasing). Do feel free to yell if it's not true, as I'll be doing the same with 5 Live tomorrow morning... Q. Are we sad to see Chris go? A. Yes. ...

Posted by Richard Morris on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON

In 1901 the International Olympic Committee decided that they would hold Intercalated Games every four years in the gap between the internationally arranged Olympic Games. There were to be held in Athens every 4 years. However, only one is ever staged, but if you have read my posts about the 1900 and 1904 Games the 1906 Intercalated Games may well have been the saviour of the entire Olympic movement. France 15 9 16 40 2 United States 12 6 6 24 3 Greece 8 14 13 35 4 Great Britain 8 11 5 24 5 Italy 7 6 3 16 ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal
Fri 3rd
16:55

Chris Huhne resigns

Energy secretary Chris Huhne has today resigned from the cabinet following the announcement that he has been charged with perverting the course of justice. Huhne, who was once considered the natural leader of the Liberal Democrats and at one time favourite to succeed Nick Clegg, decided that in the circumstances it was best to stand down to "avoid distraction". Huhne continues to maintain his innocence in the matter concerning his wife's alleged acceptance of his penalty points for speeding. That in itself, however, has become almost irrelevant. The allegation that a cabinet minister would willingly stoop to such deceptive practices ...

Posted by Andrew on A Scottish Liberal

From the Department of Energy and Climate Change:

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Because I'm made that way, I suppose, I do kind of collect new kinds of organisations, especially if they seem to pre-figure the future. One such is the Upper Norwood Library. It is red brick and 111 years old (I believe Bilbo Baggins was also eleventy-one at the beginning of The Hobbit). There are computers, but it hasn't been taken over by the boneheaded technocrats and cleared out of books altogether. It is always lively. But what is really interesting about it is that it is independent, run by a local board and funded jointly by the two London boroughs ...

Posted by Davidboyle on The Real Blog

It is likely that a number of our cities will, by Government diktat, be holding referendums in May as to whether to move to a mayoral system. Some of these will give the go-ahead and Liverpool is anyway likely to jump straight to a mayoral system by use of a council resolution. The mayoral contests will be on the same day as those for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). There are still some who, in relation to PCCs, are fondly imagining that Liberal Democrat candidates won't be needed. This is despite the fact that it abundantly clear that the Conservative ...

Posted by Chris White on Liberal Democrat Voice
Fri 3rd
16:14

is ed miliband...?

is ed miliband...?

Fri 3rd
15:24

BBC Judge and Jury?

Chris Huhne resigns, having no choice following allegations, as I understand by his ex-wife, who suddenly if I've got this right, confessed to having taken penalty points for a speeding offence (way back in 2003), some years later in 2011, which should have gone taken by her then husband. Both will now appear in court to answer charges of perverting the course of justice, now I cannot help thinking, the rights and wrongs of this will be decided by a jury, however I cannot help thinking that the over the top coverage being played out just now on the BBC's ...

Posted by tony flaig bignews on BIGNEWS MARGATE

Two stories of interest in similar ways in two completely different fields, both accused of crimes, both not yet proven guilty, both stepping down from a position of responsibility (one walked, one pushed). Chris Huhne You would have to have no interest in politics not to know that Chris has been having a rough time of it for a while, now it is official that he will be charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly having his then wife (Vicky Pryce) take penalty points on her driving license that were actually incurred by Chris. As such Chris has ...

Posted by Radar on iRadar

Deputy Prime Minister gave a wide-ranging interview to The House magazine, in which he discusses how it's right for the two coalition parties to differentiate themselves once a stable government was formed: In the run-up to the general election, you may remember, the tabloids were screaming, saying that if there was a hung Parliament locusts would descend from the sky and the sun would be blotted out, you know... so we needed for those first few months to show the most important thing of all, which is this is a government that works, and actually works rather well. Of course, ...

Posted by Prateek Buch on Liberal Democrat Voice

There is an article in today's South Manchester Reporter about the 10 minute rule bill. I have agreed to extended the deadline to saturday to allow their readers to make suggestions too. We've had over a dozen suggestions so far . ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP
Fri 3rd
14:57

Deja vu

Many years ago, when I was an SNP member and the party was briefly without Alex Salmond's leadership, I sent a polite e-mail querying the dropping of LGBT issues from a draft manifesto. The response, from someone who was already rather senior and is now a Scottish Government Minister, contained the phrase "not a priority for the people of Scotland" - which was the defining moment in my decision to leave the party, because the "people of Scotland" I wanted to work for certainly included LGBT people, and it damn well was a priority for them. (I note that LGBT ...

A little later than usual, but there is one planning application to report in King's Hedges last week: it is for the replacement of the "existing post sign with double legged sign (internally illuminated)" at the Jenny Wren pub on Campkin Road.Full details can be seen at the relevant page of the City Council's online planning website. If you prefer to look in person the reference number is 12/0081/ADV.As always in case of difficulty contact the team.

Posted by Cllr Neil McGovern on Focus on King's Hedges

A few weeks ago I was trying to put together a review of all that I'd written on this blog over the past year. I didn't get that far with it, and now it is February the moment for it seems to have passed. However, in doing it I was reminded of the posts that I'd written over the summer where I talked about what I saw as my achievements over the eight years that I served as a councillor on Luton Borough Council. Having failed to be re-elected in last May's local elections, I found the process of writing ...

Posted by Andy Strange on Strange Thoughts

There are two fundamental problems with the analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of the current negotiations on public sector pensions. Firstly, the IFS compares public sector pension provision with that of the private sector and implies that the inevitable disparity has to be rebalanced by cutting the public sector rather than improving private sector provision. Secondly, they choose to ignore the approximately £100 billion saved by moving from RPI to CPI and then says that if you exclude £100 billion and the fact that retired public sector workers' pensions are going to have lower increases than before, they ...

Posted by Janice Turner on Liberal Democrat Voice

What a rubbish week this has been. Nothing has been as bad for me as the passage of the Welfare Reform Bill, a true nadir in the life of this Government, but it's not good to see one of your own people have to resign from the Cabinet. Whatever you think of Chris Huhne, and to be honest, I was never his biggest fan for all sorts of reasons, anyone else facing the same charges in any other job would not be sacked until after the Court case. Unfortunately for him, if he'd stayed in post, every time he tried ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

The Faustian pact is now complete. The betrayal of everything the Liberal Democrats believed was accomplished this week when our ...Continue reading »

Further to last week's post on Leeds GIC not understanding what they're diagnosing, they've responded to further "clarify" their position in response to a follow-up by Emma Brownbill. They're still pretty confused. Firstly, they apparently retract any claim to follow the DSM-IV: (this is despite it being listed on their web site) Your example above follows the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV (TR)) which makes a differential diagnosis coding based on current age (302.6 Gender Identity Disorder in Children, 302.85 Gender Identity Disorder in Adolescents or Adults). However, as a provider of Adult ...

Posted by Zoe O'Connell on Complicity

According to the No. 10 website, Ed Davey MP will replace Chris Huhne as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with Norman Lamb to replace Davey in his role at the Department for Business. Completing the changes, Jenny Willott becomes an Assisstant Government Whip, and Jo Swinson replaces Norman Lamb as Nick Clegg's PPS. Congratulations to those Lib Dem MPs taking up new positions in government.

Posted by Prateek Buch on Liberal Democrat Voice

I can hear the smug cries of satisfaction & if Chris Huhne was indeed stupid enough to try & dodge, nearly 10yrs ago, a simple driving ban then OK. The law is the law even when it is silly & largely unenforced. But he's not been found guilty yet. And I wonder how many of those whose fingers will be pointed have themselves done the thing he is accused of. Of course the charge is not now a motoring one. It is perverting the course of justice which is indeed more serious but again not uncommon & when related to ...

Posted by coldcomfort on grumpyoldliberal

I have recently switched from using dircproxy as an IRC bouncer to ZNC and it is turning out to be a better piece of software. (Not least of which is decent SSL support and a handy web interface that allows easy reconfiguration) However, it suffers from the same problem as many other bouncers – it doesn't log Private Messages when you're online. This is annoying because I may have left some machine somewhere connected that I might not return to for a day or two, or I might be on a mobile device that's prone to losing it's connection due ...

Posted by Zoe O'Connell on Complicity

Hot off the press from the Lib Dem Press Office 'Following the appointment of Norman Lamb as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, Jo Swinson has been appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Liberal Demcorats and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.' This to me is terrific news. So both Jo Swinson and Jenny Willott have had promotions today. It might not make up for Chris Huhne going but it could have been a lot worse. A lot worse. [IMG: Share on Tumblr] [IMG: ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

The principal reason being his collusion with lobbyists acting for the big pub corporations, who he allowed to write large parts of a Government report in response to the BIS Select Committee. Today's news for Chris Huhne is a personal tragedy and I hope he clears his name. He is a huge loss both to the Government and the Liberal Democrats. But there are others more worthy and capable of being Cabinet Ministers. Norman Lamb, calm and unobtrusive, is a much more effective negotiator who would not have led the capitulation over the erosion of employment rights presided over by ...

Posted by Gareth Epps on Gareth Epps

There will be a by-election for Bodmin Town Council on March 1st. The four candidates are: Paul Ellis, Mebyon Kernow Jake Lyne, Liberal Democrat Robbie Taylor, Retired Cornwall Fire Service Office - Independent Christopher Wilkes, Conservative Jake Lyne, the Lib Dem candidate is 18 and as a result this is his first foray into politics. He's hugely enthusiastic to provide a voice for younger people on the town council. As a police volunteer and fire cadet he already puts a lot into the local community as a volunteer and I think he'd be a great addition to the town council ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

From the Daily Mail: Eighteen months after he'd buried her, Dawson married Tracy Roper, a barmaid 20 years his junior.

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

The 16th edition of my monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats came out this week. If you're not on the list to get it via email, you can instead read it online here: Tax cuts for millions or for millionaires If you would like to receive future editions of the newsletter direct to your own inbox, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of all the emails, and I won't pass your email address on to anyone else (except if required by law). And if you are already a ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

A trio of resources for your weekend's delectation: Electoral timetable for May's elections: I've recently updated my May 2012 election timetable post with extra details Liberal Democrat peers on Twitter: having commented adversely in the past on the lack of communications from many of them, I've been hunting out how many are using Twitter. You can find them all in this Twitter list (which is a little more comprehensive than the other lists I've come across). Let me know if you spot anyone I've missed. Liberal Democrat achievements: over on Facebook, I've started up a daily posting of a Liberal ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice

Dale Cox Follow @twitter Today saw the announcement from the Director of Public Prosecutions that Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce have been charged for perverting the course of justice. As my twitter feed fired up with the news, a close friend of mine Sam Fowles, posted the following tweet which I think does something to grasp the ridiculous nature of this whole tawdry affair: The Director of Public Prosecutions making a television statement regarding a speeding ticket, is indeed ridiculous, but then so is the fact that he is today charged. Putting things into perspective, a year after the 'story' ...

I'm on a short lunchbreak today so I don't have time for a proper blogpost but the resignation of Lib Dem Chris Huhne from the cabinet today, due to being charged with perverting the course of justice, makes me want to ask this one question: Chris Huhne must know whether he's guilty or not. I'm not going to pre-judge someone who has yet to be found guilty in a court of law but, if he really is guilty, then why the hell did he wait until now to resign when he could have stepped down months ago and saved everyone, ...

Posted by George W. Potter on The Potter Blogger

I know it's a rather boring thing to believe, particularly when you read a lot of the newspapers nowadays, but I still hold onto that most basic tenet on which our judicial system is built - that you are innocent until proven guilty. It is a particularly apt moment to re-consider this in light of two high-profile cases this week. Chris Huhne Chris Huhne's decision today to stand down from the Cabinet to fight his case is a sensible one. He pleads innocence on the charges of perjury and if he is to fight his battle for that truth then ...

The letters between Chris Huhne and David Cameron on Huhne's resignation as Energy and Climate Change secretary have been published on the Number 10 website: First, Chris Huhne's. His pain is palpable as he recounts his achievements. This letter is to submit with much regret my resignation as Energy and Climate Change Secretary. I intend to mount a robust defence against the charges brought against me, and I have concluded that it would be distracting both to that effort and to my official duties if I were to continue in office. It has been an honour to negotiate and then ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

"One nation banking recognises that these institutions cannot be isolated from the rest of society – that we are once again at risk of becoming two nations in this country, segregated economically, geographically and socially. One nation banking is, bizarrely, Ed Miliband invoking 'One Nation' Toryism, which Disraeli was a great pioneer for. If you're ...

Posted by danielfurr on Too lib·er·al [adj.]

It was in May 2011 that the allegation first surfaced that, eight years previously, Chris Huhne had allegedly asked his then wife Vicky Pryce to take the rap for speeding points that would have seen the aspirant Lib Dem MP for Eastleigh lose his licence. It's a charge Chris has strenuously denied ever since, always saying he welcomes the police investigation as a chance to clear his name. When asked whether he would resign, he has previously only ever had to answer hypothetically, as here when questioned by Andrew Neil: (Available on YouTube here.) But now reality has struck. Though ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: Engineering Student] Image CC Engineering at Cambridge Leading figures in the engineering, business and education sectors have strongly criticised Education Secretary Michael Gove's decision to downgrade the school Engineering Diploma from the equivalent of five GCSEs to just one. The Engineering Diploma is available for 14-19 year olds and combines engineering theory with practical experience as well as complementary study of science, maths, English and information technology. It can be taken at a Foundation, Higher and Advanced Level. Dr Mike Short, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, published an open letter to the government noting how industrial ...

Posted by Ed Long on aldes.org.uk

Simon Wright MP and the Norwich Lib Dems are campaigning for better broadband in Norwich. At this week's Full Council meeting, Cllr James Wright highlighted the fact that there are areas of Norwich that do not have access to consistently high internet speeds. He also called on City Hall to play its full part in the 'Say Yes to Better Broadband in Norfolk" campaign. [IMG: Simon Wright MP and Cllr James Wright are saying YES to broadband ] Cllr James Wright, Liberal Democrat Group Leader at City Hall, commented: "There are pockets of the city that suffer from a poor ...

Posted on Simon Wright MP

So Chris Huhne (and ex-wife Vicky Pryce) is to be charged with perverting the course of justice as a result of allegations that the former Environment Secretary Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change allowed or persuaded his wife to accept speeding penalty points on his behalf in 2003. Mr Huhne strenuously denies the charges (and one can't help but wonder whether Ms. Pryce will be less keen to repeat her allegations now that she is being charged as well) but it has not saved him. He has been forced to resign from the Cabinet. It's an odd business, ...

Posted by Tom Papworth on Liberal Vision

Chris Huhne has just made the briefest statement outside his Central London flat. He has confirmed that he is stepping down as Energy and Climate Change secretary. He protested his innocence and stated that he was confident that a jury will find him not guilty.His statement in full is:The CPS decision to launch a prosecution is deeply regrettable. I am innocent of the charges and I intend to fight this in the courts. I'm confdent that a jury will agree. So as to avoid any distraction from my duties or my trial defence I am standing down, resigning as Energy ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has just announced that Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne and his former wife VIcky Pryce will be charged with perverting the course of justice. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 16th February. It is expected that Chris Huhne will now step down from the Cabinet. Keir Starmer emphasised that Huhne and Pryce have the right to a fair trial and that nothing should be said or reported that could influence that. He said:All the available evidence, including the new material, has now been carefully considered by the CPS ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

Chris Huhne has just made the briefest statement outside his Central London flat. He has confirmed that he is stepping down as Energy and Climate Change secretary. He protested his innocence and stated that he was confident that a jury will find him not guilty. His statement in full is: The CPS decision to launch a prosecution is deeply regrettable. I am innocent of the charges and I intend to fight this in the courts. I'm confdent that a jury will agree. So as to avoid any distraction from my duties or my trial defence I am standing down, resigning ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

I am just so bored of this story. I am even more bored that people still think that charges is a presumption of guilt. We have seen in recent months people just being arrested is enough for the mob and the media to presume guilt and yell it from the roof-tops. Look at Rebecca Leighton. Everyone said she was guilty because she was arrested and described as the saline nurse killer. Turn out she wasn't guilty and was in fact totally innocent. Look at Chris Jefferies. Arrested over the murder of Jo Yeates and you know what – he wasn't ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery
Fri 3rd
11:00

Friern Road

At last I've had some fly-tipping removed. You can see the before and after photos: It always feels good to get a long term bit of eco crime fixed. This 'little' problem only took 12+ months and 4 attempts to get it fixed. Mobile phone photos can be a god send. Hopefully this now makes the recently opened bus drivers toilet more attractive. (This bus drivers toilet solving the worst eco problems for this patch of Friern Road).

Posted by James Barber on James Barber

If you wish, you can see Paul Staines and Harry Cole enjoying champagne while bragging about various betting organisations who are no doubt indebted to them. I can't remember such a dramatic moment when a cabinet minister's future hangs in the balance, as this morning and the DPP's announcement. At the bottom of it all is a human story which has an element of Greek tragedy to it. I don't want to say anything that would prejudice a fair trial. But one does wonder whether Vicky Pryce may now be regretting talking (presumably freely) to her friend at the Sunday ...

Posted by Paul on Liberal Burblings

The following is the complete statement by the Director of the CPS Kier Starmer on the Chris Huhne affair. This statement is made by the Crown Prosecution Service in the interests of transparency and accountability to explain the decisions reached in the cases of Mr Christopher Huhne and Ms Vasiliki Pryce and to explain the time ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland

So the Crown Prosecution Service have announced that charges of perverting the course of justice are to be brought against the Environment Secretary Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce. So with his cabinet position untenable who will take over this Lib Dem position. Not because he has been found guilty of anything, but because his resources or time and energy will have to be directed to defending himself. Therefore the ability to carry out his Government responsibilities would be limited as he is facing a criminal charge. Who will be replacing him? There was talk of David Laws making ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has just announced that Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne and his former wife VIcky Pryce will be charged with perverting the course of justice. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 16th February. It is expected that Chris Huhne will now step down from the Cabinet. Keir Starmer emphasised that Huhne and Pryce have the right to a fair trial and that nothing should be said or reported that could influence that. He said: All the available evidence, including the new material, has now been carefully considered by the ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

BBC news has just announced that Chris Huhne and his ex wife Vicky Pryce are to be charged with perverting the course of justice. The first hearing will take place on the 16th February. I said some time ago that Chris Huhne had probably had it here and got a lot of flack for it fom ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland

The Sonic Lipstick Sarah-Jane Smith fandom newsletter hangs up it's collective keyboard :( (tags: doctorwho ) Mark Thompson: Is Lib Dem MP gender balance problem exacerbated by FPTP? Mark is very good at taking a point that is already well known and finding and collating the evidence to back it up. He's a Lib Dem Fact Check if you like. Here, he gives us the maths and shows his working to prove that actually, Lib Dem gender balance is better than both the other two main parties, and unlike them, we've never stooped to quotas. Now, if only we could ...

This morning's Telegraph reports that Nick Clegg has continued his campaign to secure help for the lower paid with the insistence that Conservative plans to give married couples a tax break must take second place behind a Liberal Democrat tax cut for low-earners. The paper says that as ministers debate next month's Budget, pressure is mounting for a targeted tax cut to ease pressure on household finances and stimulate the shrinking economy: Mr Clegg last week called for an acceleration in Coalition plans to raise the starting point for basic rate tax, a policy designed to increase the take-home pay ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Changing Attitude Ireland is launching a new book, "Moving Forward Together: Homosexuality and the Church of Ireland", in Belfast on Tuesday 7th February and in Dublin on Thursday 9th February. The book, co-edited by Ginnie Kennerley and Richard O'Leary, includes short articles in straightforward language written by leading theologians and well known Church figures, as well ...

Posted by Andrew McFarland Campbell on Faith and Pride

@travelling_wolf All fair points (in my post) – more impressed by efficiency of top-qual state ed for £5k pa. in reply to travelling_wolf # From me last night > 'The day the Coalition broke. Literally.' http://t.co/LfQYgYRS # @omaromalleykhan Hmm, article assumes poorest don't want to (or can't) work. True for some. But high marg tax major disincentive for many... in reply to omaromalleykhan # @omaromalleykhan Benefits most efficient form of handout, least effective method of empowerment. So depends if u want s-t or l-term impact. in reply to omaromalleykhan # @mjturner1975 Thx for the figs. So as expected:high FSM % ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on stephentall.org

In December 1976 Paddy Ashdown put to the local party in Yeovil a plan for winning the constituency for which he had been recently selected and where the party was third at almost every election. Thirty-five and a bit years on, it still reads as a pretty good plan. 1. We should adopt a three-election strategy and should plan on that basis that I would probably not be in a position to mount a genuine challenge for the seat until my third attempt. [It took him two rather than three attempts as it turned out.] 2. I would need to ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Farmer's Boy has applied to have an extra night of live (and amplified music) – ie Wednesdays. Please let us know what you think by emailing Chris or Michael.

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

If you don't like the plans to switch to part-night street lighting, which are being rolled out across Hertfordshire, you will not be able to influence the policy for another 18 months at least. In a recent email, the Conservative Cabinet member responsible for Highways confirmed to his Lib Dem opposite number that the current policy, which introduces a blanket measure of turning some street lights off from midnight till 6am across the whole county, will not be reviewed until the Summer of 2013. Lib Dem County Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Central Watford and Oxhey), who is the Opposition Spokesperson for ...

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

If the Crown Prosecution Service announces today that Chris Huhne will NOT be charged, it will struggle hard to convince the public of the case. Maybe that's why Keir Starmer has called a press conference - that was Portillo's view last night. It may well be the right decision. As Uncle James in the Forsyte Saga repeatedly said, "I don't know. I can't tell." It is important that the public is

Posted by David on Disgruntled Radical

A high profile national campaign to teach schoolchildren skills which could save lives has been backed by Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert. Julian visited the British Heart Foundation shop in Burleigh Street to show his support for the charity's campaign to teach Emergency Life Support. Hard man actor, Vinnie Jones features in the television advertising for the campaign which urges people, worried about giving the kiss of life to forget it and go for chest compressions (CPR) instead to the beat of the Bee Gees' classic, Stayin' Alive. The BHF, working with the Resuscitation Council UK, is calling for youngsters to ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

Cllr Helen Dick and I have now submitted to the City Council Liberal Democrat proposals to improve the council's Revenue and Capital Budgets. We will have amendments to both the revenue budget and the capital budget at the Budget Meeting next Thursday but will look carefully at the ideas coming from the other political groups. In the revenue budget, by using unallocated and not legally committed money in the City Development budget, we propose saving the much-needed visiting specialists in Music and PE in the city's primary schools and also reversing the proposed cut of music instructors contained in the ...

I contributed to the Mindless Ones' post on the Watchmen prequels, or at least my swearier alter ego Andre Whickey did. That post was put together from what started as informal discussions between us, hence the writing style for my bits is very different and swearier than my normal writing. Tagged: Alan Moore, comics, me ...

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!