This evening I attended the Police Residents Meeting in the 260th Scout Group Hut off Spring Road. The meeting was attended by Sgt Mark Fellows, our Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant and Police Community Support Officer John Ludford, who brought the latest figures for crime on the Yarnfield Estate which were; Since the last meeting in December (63 Days) - 39 Total recorded Crimes (Down 6 on the previous equivalent period) Of which there were: - 5 Burglaries from Homes (Up 3 on the previous month) - 10 Vehicle Crimes (Up 5 on the previous month) - 4 Assaults (Down 2 from ...

Posted by rogerharmer on Roger Harmer
Mon 13th
22:53

Monday update

Today : + I attended the latest meeting of the Balgay Stakeholders Group, at which we discussed various issues affecting Balgay Park and Hill and Victoria Park. I recently raised residents' concerns about the state of the roadway near to Mills Observatory (mud and potholes) and assurances were given about resolving this. The Conservation Volunteering Day in January was a great success and the next one takes place on Sunday 1st April. + I met with Mark Welsh, who will soon become Branch Manager of the new HSBC bank branch in Murraygate. The new £1.8 million HSBC Dundee Branch is ...

Last summer I reported my discovery that Nora Logan, daughter of my hero J.W. "Paddy" Logan, Liberal MP for Harborough from 1891 to 1904 and 1910 to 1916, had been a suffragette and had gone to prison for her beliefs. My original source was a debate in Hansard and the story is confirmed by her appearance (as "Norah Logan") on a Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners 1905-1914 held by the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University. So I set out to discover more about Nora Logan. It has nothing to do with the fight for women's suffrage, but I ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

Earlier today I blogged about the odd and dangerous political situation the Liberal Democrats risk being left in – more in favour of the NHS Bill than large parts of the Conservative Party: Arguing that you are the smaller party in a coalition and have achieved some important changes to a piece of legislation that has come from another party's Secretary of State is one thing. But then ending up being keener on seeing the Bill go through than much of the Secretary of State's own party? That's skirting with political disaster. Shortly afterwards (though I'm sure not as a ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 13th
22:19

Democracy in Action?

Democracy is supposed to be government by the people or by their directly elected representatives, elected in a free election. In the English system of local government, or councils, such elections take place every 4 years so the question arises of how to keep those directly elected representatives in touch with their electorate between elections. This is a question that exercises the minds of

Posted by Maureen Rigg on Maureen Rigg's Blog

Watch today's visit by Lib Dem London Mayor candidate Brian Paddick:

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Mon 13th
21:36

A Dangerous Method

The dynamic between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung was one of the most fascinating and enigmatic of the early 20th Century, inevitably shaping the development of psychoanalysis and related fields. No wonder it proved such a tempting theme for Christopher Hampton in his play, The Talking Cure. Hampton subsquently wrote the screenplay for the film ...

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer
Mon 13th
21:25

A very sad ending

It is with great sadness and regret that I announce my immediate resignation from the Liberal Democrat Party. For reasons i cannot and will not go into, events have occurred both locally and nationally which have placed me in an impossible position. It's a position where I feel that I cannot morally continue within the ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland

The Tories at the City Council have made countless errors of judgement, ranging from investing in Icelandic Banks, to introducing fountains to Cathedral Square and lets not forget paying consultants £1k a day in salaries....... and guess what? Now they expect you to pay for such mistakes! Last year the Council took a £1.5m golden handshake from the Government for NOT increasing the Council Tax, but this year, when they are expected to come up with their own solutions or ideas...... the highly paid officers and Tory councillors have come up with the avant-garde concept of .....increasing COUNCIL TAX by ...

Posted by admin on Darren Fower

The whiff of snobbery that I was detecting in the row over Vince cable's choice of Prof Les Ebdon as the new director of the Office of Fair Access seems to becoming a stench. Witness this extraordinary article from Charles Moore in the Telegraph. Apparently the retiring University of Bedfordshire Vice Chancellor, Prof Ebdon, is unsuitable to be the head of this body designed to ensure the as wide a range of people as possible can get access to a university education because he "will never understand poor people like Jude the Obscure". Now you may wonder why the deep ...

Posted by Andy Strange on Strange Thoughts
YouGov

NHS Hertfordshire (the PCT) and Hertfordshire County Council are together supporting HertsHelp – made up of over 130 community groups and organisations. HertsHelp can help you find the practical support, guidance and information you need to get the most out of life. Contact them for help with the following: Staying healthy and well Relationships and families Feeling safe in your home and community Emotional support Learning, training and staying in work Keeping active Keeping active Finding community groups Help with money worries Putting something back (giving time/volunteering) Help to get out and about Telephone 0300 1234 044 e-mail info@hertshelp.net Or ...

Posted by nickhollinghurst on Nick Hollinghurst

Over the last week a number of groups have been created in the Liberal Democrats, Liberal Left and Liberal Reform. My take on groups or wings of the party is best summed up by what Nick Clegg said in a conference speech in Sheffield. Liberal Left seem to be picking for a fight. They oppose ...

Posted by Nicola Prigg on Nic Prigg's Blog

Back in December I wrote a post calling for a free market in boardroom pay: he threat of a strike, a committee of the good and the great would be convened to decide what people engaged in a particular trade or profession should be paid. Invariably, they recommended a substantial increase. Nowadays that is pretty much how pay for executives in the private sector is decided. A committee considers ponders the questions and comes up with the recommendation that they should be paid much more.This impression was strengthened by the threat of the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

From the original post:this week's challenge: choose three girlfriends, the kind you know will always have your back (rather than stab it with a knife), will bail you out of jail (or be in the cell with you, laughing about what great fun you had), will encourage you to succeed (even when your success surpasses her own), is the first one you think of when you fancy some company. Because she's so fun and loyal (more so than any of the men you know). The rules: While we're going to gravitate towards women who demonstrate loyalty, support and interest towards ...

So having spent my last two posts suggesting that the OU needs to retain at least some face to face tutorial and/or residential school time in its modules, I've decided to enrol in an entirely internet-delivered short course in circuits and electronics, of which the BBC says: ... is unusual in that it is inviting students anywhere in the world, without charge or prior entrance requirements, to study for a certificate carrying the MIT brand. The level this course is taught at is supposed to be equivalent to a module within the first year of an undergraduate degree. MIT say ...

Mon 13th
19:40

Greece should default

Yesterday we saw the Greek parliament pass yet another round of crippling spending cuts amidst rioting in Athens. In return for more and more austerity, they will be loaned yet more money to add to their national debt, in order to pay off, for a few more months, the creditors hammering at the door. And, whilst billions of money are being added to Greece's national debt, millions of Greeks are without jobs, and even many of those with jobs aren't getting paid enough to live off of. The situation is so desperate that there is a small but significant number ...

Posted by George W. Potter on The Potter Blogger

Last week was suitably eventful climaxing with the councils budget meeting on Thursday. Thanks to the careful husbandry of the councils finances over the last few years by Phil Wheeler and also to a more generous local government settlement that we had anticipated we found ourselves in a reasonable position for this financial year. Rather than run up big un-earmarked reserves we chose to invest wisely in projects such as telecare equipment and mending the roads. We also invested record amounts in care services and fixing up the school estate. There is a long and extensive list of excellent initiatives ...

Posted by Paul Edie on Paul Edie's Blog

There. I said it. While many are waiting patiently for RBS' share price to rise to levels where the taxpayer can recoup it's losses, I am not convinced. I spent years studying and working as a Risk Manager, now I'm going to use that skill. The best thing for UK Plc. is to offload RBS ...

Whilst watching the all-new Pointless (now in HD) I received an e-mail from Liberal Reform with their launch details. Here it is republished ad verbatim (without me putting in all the hyperlinks): We are today delighted to announce that Liberal Reform has launched. Liberal Reform is a new membership group within the Liberal Democrats, committed to fostering debate and variety in the Lib Dems, and promoting a rounded liberal ideology in Lib Dem policy. This includes the economic liberalism that the founding members feel is currently lacking in representation in the party. The group views any pacts or attempts to ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

These are the words of Lord Eldon, Lord Chancellor in the 1820s. Of course it is hard to tell what he would have thought of the new Liberal Democrat faction, "Liberal Reform" launched today (see Lib Dem Voice). It is very hard to tell what anyone will think of it since its mission statement begins:"Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats - personal,

Posted by David on Disgruntled Radical
eUKhost

Boris Johnson demanded the return of the British Empire and claimed the Chinese contribution to culture was "nil". Published: Blink.org.uk, 6th August 2007 The further revelations about the Conservative would-be candidate for London Mayor prompted one campaigner to call for ... Continue reading →

Posted by Lester Holloway on cllrlesterholloway

Andrew Lansley's current political problems are perhaps best summed up by one of the most vocal Cabinet ministers defending him in the last few days being Nick Clegg. When another party's senior ranks is being more vocal in defending your job than much of your own side, things are not going well. But it also leaves Nick Clegg and other Liberal Democrat Cabinet members in a rather bizarre position: being keener in public (and in private) on the NHS Bill than much of the Conservative Party. Arguing that you are the smaller party in a coalition and have achieved some ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

[Originally posted at Liberal Democrat Voice, 13/02/12] Last Wednesday the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) collaborated with Bristol City Council to run a major one-day conference on the Localism Act, which is now rapidly moving towards implementation. The audience comprised primarily local authority elected members and senior officers. The conference was kicked off by Barbara Janke, the Liberal Democrat Leader of Bristol City Council. The day's discussions were bookended by wide ranging presentations from Westminster Liberal Democrat politicians: Lord Shipley in the morning and Andrew Stunell, our man at the Ministry, in the afternoon. The Localism Act is huge - ...

Posted by admin on Alex's Archives

The most notable thing, first of all, is that this sounds like the Brian Wilson band. Each of the various Beach Boys touring bands has their own sound, and even though to the average listener they'd all sound 'like the record' there are clear differences. On Good Vibrations, Al's band (none of whom other than ...

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

Yesterday, in St George's Cathedral, Southwark, The Rt Rev Mgr Richard Moth told Scouts that 'Service is uncomplicated - it is the giving of ourselves for others', during the Founder's Day Mass for Catholics in Scouting in England & Wales.

Posted by Michael Carchrie Campbell on Gyronny Herald
Mon 13th
16:50

A 'new' orthodoxy?

There is nothing new under the sun, it is said. Yet, at regular intervals we get told that the current ideas for reform of the House of Lords are all too sudden, ill-digested and in need of copious further debate. Trying to sort out my bookshelves at home, I came upon an interesting set of ideas published in 1963, The Liberal Challenge, by the Party's then Leader, Jo Grimond. I was intrigued to find that almost all the salient features of the present Government's proposals, and indeed of Jack Straw's White Paper for the last Labour Government, were succinctly set ...

Posted by Lord Tyler on Lords of the Blog » Lord Tyler

As you will know, from time to time I query the objectivity and quality of news reporting particularly from the BBC in the south east, on some occasions I also question the direction and conduct of our Police, well the two subjects were combined, in a single news report last week. Tuesday (7th) BBC South East Today had a story concerning retired Col. Tim Collins, who is to stand as a candidate for the new role of elected police commissioner in Kent, with the backing of the Tory establishment, now clearly Col.Tim Collins is a serious candidate, who not surprisingly ...

Posted by tony flaig bignews on BIGNEWS MARGATE

London's architechts are certainly being kept busy by the amount of development proposals that are being kicked around at the moment. We've just received official notification of a new proposal for part of the Kings College Campus on the other side of the Finchley Road.Whilst strictly speaking this is outside the Fortune Green boundary - as its only out by 10 metres or so - we'll be taking an interest.Few would argue that doing nothing with these seemingly abandoned houses houses is a good idea. However, whether these particular proposals will end up being a development we can support depends ...

Posted by Russell Eagling on Fortune Green Spotlight

The Localism Act is now moving to full deployment. All is not yet clear because 71 statutory instruments will need to be placed before Parliament and some of those will not come into effect before October. However the basics of ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

One half of the Old Firm of Scottish football lodged an intention with the Court of Session in Edinburgh to go into administration this lunchtime. They now have five days to appoint an administrator. We wonder what punishment the Ibrox giants will incur as a result of doing so to relieve debts of £21-75m. The last time a Scottish League team went into administration without penalty was Livingston then of the SPL on 3 February 2004, just before their CIS Cup Semi-Final the tournament they went on to win that year. They were managed by the preferred consortium for the ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest. Today's Campaign Corner question: I often get very nervous when speaking in public. Speeches at the Civic Centre may not matter much but I do want to make a good impression at local groups – and at party conference! What do you advise? Practice makes perfect: People who are nervous about making speeches (or not very good at it – not always the same thing!) understandably often try to avoid making them. ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Friends of Garston Park are having their AGM this Friday, followed by an ordinary meeting. Do come along if you want to get involved, or just find out more. We are meeting at Long Lane Church at 6 30, Friday 17th February. We have meetings on the third Friday of every month (well we do take a break for Xmas!). We are always looking for people to join in so do pop along. If you are interested but can't come on Friday, drop me an e mail (paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk) and I will make sure the Chairman gets it.

Posted by Paula Keaveney on Paula Keaveney - Lib Dem Campaigner

The agenda for the planning committee next week (21st February) is now published. It includes the decision on the Veolia application to increase processing of solvents at King Street in Garston. I sent in an objection to this, mainly because of the problems caused by a gas escape in the past. The committee is being recommended to give permission. You can read the agenda, and the report details, here

Posted by Paula Keaveney on Paula Keaveney - Lib Dem Campaigner

Filed under: Uncategorized

It seems that prayers will not be forming part of the official Cornwall Council agenda for at least the next two months following the high court ruling in a case brought over Bideford Town Council. Council Chairman Pat Harvey, after consultation with Monitoring Officer Richard Williams, has decided that the ruling means that Cornwall Council would be out of line with the law if it continued with its practice of having prayers as the first item on the agenda for full council meetings. And so she has decided to remove prayers from the meetings in February and March whilst waiting ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

Today has seen the launch of a new Lib Dem group called Liberal Reform. Here's what the group has to say about what it stands for: We are an organisation founded and run by members and activists, to both propose ... Continue reading →

Posted by Nick Thornsby on Nick Thornsby's Blog
Mon 13th
14:30

The NHS

Listening to the debate on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions I was stuck by the ferocity of the debate around the NHS compared to the lack of passion regarding prayers at Council meetings. The NHS is a loved national institution. Any policymaker wanting to change it needs to accept that. If they don't, any reform they suggest will stall or die. While the Liberal Democrats have been seen by some Conservatives as a block to the Lansley proposals, the reality is that many Conservative party members don't much like their colleague's suggestion. Arguably, this is less to do with the ...

Posted by Simon Goldie on Simon Goldie

The 2011 Liberal Democrat spring conference was marked by the sort of intensive policing, extensive barriers and crowds of angry protesters that have long been the norm at other party conferences. For many Liberal Democrat conference representatives the sight of the angry protesters was rather bizarre. Not that they should have turned up - the party was now in government after all - but rather that the angrier the protesters, the earlier they knocked off each day to go home. The most angry were so brief in their part-time appearances as to give genuine part-timers a bad name, while the ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The next Sandgate PCSO Surgery will be held by acting Sandgate Neighbourhood Officer Mark Ball on Thursday 1st March. The surgery will take place at Sandgate Library from 10:30 am - 11:30 am. No appointment needed - just turn up. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY

Posted on Tim Prater
Mon 13th
14:21

Just to be clear

Yup, the colour and look of this blog has changed a LOT! There is a lot going on down here in the shire and I find myself blogging these days not just about politics and the LibDems but other things too. With that in mind, I wanted to make the appearance of the blog more generic. ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland
Mon 13th
14:14

A Confusion of Goods

Chris is in the process of taking umbrage, albeit very politely, about morality and the role some on the Left believe it plays in politics. He is objecting to the use of 'thick' moral judgements in political discourse; judgements which do not relate to broadly held principles with an intuitive appeal, but rather focus on ...

Posted by Adam Bell on Decline of the Logos

2011 saw the second full year of Liberal Democrat participation in national government. It also saw the beginning of a process to test the waters for the creation of a grassroots grouping supporting the economic and social liberalism, the individual and political liberty that is so valued by our party. Discovering a good level of support for the idea, we decided to proceed. Our mission statement can be found on our website, but its preamble should give you an idea of the direction we intend to take. Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats - personal, ...

Posted by Zadok Day on Liberal Democrat Voice

The very idea of a tax break for people just because they choose to get married is one which will make the skin of just about any Liberal Democrat crawl. The Coalition Agreement with the Conservatives allows us to abstain in any vote. That's not actually enough for me - voting against, particularly in the light of welfare reforms, would be the only acceptable course of action to me. I mean, you can't take benefits of someone sick and disabled and give them to a couple earning in excess of £100,000 a year between them just because they are married ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

[YouTube Link]

Posted by Debi on Thagomizer.net

I'm still, ahem, not best pleased about Lib Dem MPs voting overwhelmingly (46 to 6) in favour of the Welfare Reform Bill and its devastating cuts to disability benefits. And I really don't think that many grassroots members are happy either. So, here's the plan for Liberal Democrat Spring Conference (9-11 March). The first step is to submit the following emergency motion to conference. This is the draft version and I'm currently about to begin work on getting sufficient support for it for it to be able to go forwards (the rules mean that either ten reps or one statutory ...

Posted by George W. Potter on The Potter Blogger

The Independent carried a mischievously misleading front page report last week, hyperbolically headlined 'Lib Dems rocked by anti-Clegg rebellion' — their attempt to stir in the wake of the founding of the anti-Coalition Liberal Left group. Here's the letter my LibDemVoice co-editor Mark Pack and I wrote in reponse: (Picture courtesy Mark's site, as I don't buy the Indy... even when I'm in it.) Sir, 'Lib Dems rocked by anti-Clegg rebellion' shouts your front page (Thur 9 Feb). It's hard to square this noise with the reality. LibDemVoice.org, an independent website, regularly surveys party members' views of the Coalition - ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on stephentall.org

10th February is the birthday of Samuel Plimsoll, 1824-1898, 'The Sailor's Friend', a national hero in his lifetime, first president of the National Union of Seamen and saviour of countless lives as the man who gave his name to the Plimsoll Line. For many years Plimsoll Day, 10th February, was celebrated throughout Britain (15 towns have streets named after him). Plimsoll is recognised in Bristol, his birthplace, but his later years were spent in Folkestone, and he is buried in the churchyard at St Martin's Church, Cheriton, Kent. There is a move to recognise him properly in Folkestone, beginning with ...

Posted on Tim Prater

News International, through its Management and Standards Committee, is now being ruthless and commercial in dealing with the alleged wrongdoings of all its British titles. In doing so, News International is showing no more sentimental attachment to its reporters than it did thirty years ago to its print workers. It is akin to when a despot withdraws his favour from certain underlings: they are not "thrown to the wolves" but they suddenly are treated like any other subjects, and they then have to account for their actions when they thought they could get away with it. David Allen Green in ...

Posted by Aosher on Brontides

Thanks to Sam Fisk on Twitter.

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

Boxing is the only sport in the world where the intention is to deliberately cause harm to your opponent. It's a "sport" based on the concept that you are the better person if you can beat the crap out of your rival. Many in society seem to accept that a way to resolve differences it not by sorting it out in the car park - drunk or not - and that fighting is generally seen as the last resort, which shows lack of control or a lost argument rather than an argument decider. So why, then, are there millions of ...

Posted by Lee on Lee Dargue

Just when I think Journalism has hit a new low it only goes and shows off that it can in fact go even lower. I had seen the tweets and the forums linking Aaron Ramsay's goals to deaths of famous people but when a newspaper picks it up and not just picks it up – actually runs it as a story – and not just runs it as a story says that it is an exclusive my soul ebbs away just like the atmosphere in the solar winds. That bastion of knowledge The Sun are today running a story entitled ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats - personal, political, social and economic liberalism. Today, after several months of planning, Liberal Reform finally launched. Several misconceptions think this is a reactionary launch to Liberal Left, but I can claim the opposite; we've been holding informal discussion and debates for nearly a ...

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

Over at the New Statesman, James Plunkett, who is leading the Resolution Foundation's Commission on Living standards, looks at what we've learned from the recent interventions by Nick Clegg (pushing for a £10k income tax threshold to help the lowest-paid) and Danny Alexander (urging this be paid for by ending higher-rate pension relief) — and what those interventions might mean for George Osborne's budget this March... If there's one thing Alexander's intervention confirms it's this: the key question for the 2012 Budget is no longer whether the Lib Dems will get anything on personal allowances but how the next increase ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

My December 16th posting about Coastal View free newspaper publishing verbatim scurrilous Labour Party articles smearing the Lib Dems, started with the words "Grant funded Coastal View." This prompted a complaint to Ian Swales' office by one of the owners claiming that the newspaper was not grant funded.As a sign of good faith, even though I had understood that they had received Council grants, I deleted the words "grant funded."I have checked with the Council and the newspaper has received the following grant funding:£5000 (grant) in May 2009, in relation to set up costs printing, design and delivery of the ...

Posted by Chris Abbott on Chris Abbott
Mon 13th
12:16

Liberal Reform

Last week, Liberal Left was formed. Today we have Liberal Reform. Unlike, Liberal Left, Liberal Reform does not see the Liberal Democrats as a centre-left party. In fact, they quote Nick Clegg: "We are not on the Left and we are not on the Right. We have our own label: liberal."

Posted by Simon Goldie on Simon Goldie

As many of you will know one thing I hate is the manipulation of statistics to try and say something. That certainly has something to do with having worked in statistics both in the public and private sectors. There is nothing I hate more than when political groups misappropriate statistics for their own ends and that includes within our own party. Yet after the soft launch, or looking at the Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozen rather hard, of Liberal Left we now have another soft launch for a group calling itself Liberal Reform. Now Liberal Vision got out the trumpets ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal
Mon 13th
12:00

Going to Gateshead?

Federal Spring Conference takes place 9-11 March 2012 in Gateshead. Any Party member is welcome to attend, either as a delegate or as a day visitor. Click here for more details on how to register for the event. ALDC has a busy programme of training and events for Liberal Democrat councillors and local camapaigners. Please note that everything is in the Sage Gateshead Conference Centre, so you will need to be registered to attend. This does include training sessions which normally take place in a separate venue. Friday 9 March 2012 ALDC stand is open from 2.00-6.00pm. Come and find ...

Posted on ALDC

At 2:30 tomorrow afternoon, a crowd will gather at Bristo Square in Edinburgh and will march to the Scottish Parliament where a rally will be held in support of equal marriage. The Love Equally march is being organised by the Official Scottish Youth Parliament and supported by, among others, NUS, Liberal Youth Scotland and the Equality Network. It's a bit of a pity that Valentine's Day falls in the middle of the Parliamentary recess, so there won't be many MSPs around, but it does fall in the middle of the school holidays and was a factor in us deciding not ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

I can't tell you how hard it is to keep up with all of this. It is as though for each reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. Ah, I forget, that's a law of physics, isn't it? And you cannae change the laws of physics... Anyway, no sooner has Liberal Left taken to the runway than Liberal Reform leaves the terminal building. I won't be joining. I'm not the joining kind, I suppose, and besides, I already pay a subscription to something called the Liberal Democrats, an organisation dedicated to fighting for liberal values with a noble and ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter
Mon 13th
11:30

Meeting Dave Prowse

Every child of a certain age remembers seeing Star Wars at a young age and feeling utterly terrified when a 7ft tall Darth Vader enters the scene with his distinctive breathing sounds and wreaks death and destruction on the world. I am one of them. The Star Wars trilogy (I wont mention the 'first' three aberrations) marked ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland

Being let down is horrible. I've been let down a lot in the past week on a number of fronts and I'm hoping that this week is somewhat more enjoyable. I've been let down by the behaviour of people who have put personal ambition above respect for others and doing the right thing. This wasn't against ...

Posted by Spidey on Spiderplantland

'No reprieve for the middle classes in 'Lib Dem Budget' after Osborne refuses to change plan to cut child benefit payments' booms out the Daily Mail this morning. That has certainly given me reason to be optimistic for the week ahead. Delving further into the story the Lib Dems are seemingly mounting a charge against the upper middle classes to fund tax breaks for the less well off. So robbing from the rich to give to the poor. The party are like modern day Robin Hood's. This hasn't gone down well with the people who have commented on the article ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

Being in Bedford for another week, Michael approves of Dave Hodgson's plans to open up the River Great Ouse to more users. If it can be done in Oxford and 'another place', why not in Bedford as well.

Posted by Michael Carchrie Campbell on Gyronny Herald

It's good to see as a new wave of Lib Dem subgroups present themselves to the world that Lib Dem Friends Of Cake has now reached 76 supporters. The other ginger groups may say they have cookies, but we have cake. Mmmmm, cake... ginger cake. Definitely winner of the Best New Lib Dem Faction Award at the 2012 LDV Bloggies.

Posted by Jen on Either / And

(source: The most pro-European party in the country can no longer be nonchalant to what the European Union has become; it is an uncontrollable monster, willing to save a failed fiat currency at any price. We are endanger of creating generational hatred towards Europe, especially Germany, in Greece and other indebted countries. Keeping these ...

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

I have argued several times on this blog that the coalition agreement is likely to last until 2015. In the early days of the current government many people I know disagreed. A major reason for the agreement lasting is the rule that says the worse the junior partner does in the polls, the more it needs to stay in government. I have also taken the view that it is likely Nick Clegg will lead the party into the next general election. He will do this by weaving a modern liberal narrative that will bring together different strands of liberalism. It ...

Posted by Simon Goldie on Simon Goldie

The Liberal Democrat Voice team is normally very circumspect about surveys. But, it being Valentine's Eve, our romantic natures got the better of us on this occasion... UK Dating site FreeDating.co.uk has carried out a survey which reveals differing attitudes to Valentine's Day, based on political persuasion. According to the survey, Liberal Democrats are particularly positive to Valentine's Day. The site says: Liberal Democrats are hopelessly romantic – along with lawyers, Christians, and women who don't read books. Both Tory and Labour voters are about as unromantic as you can get, beaten only by atheists and scientists. Married men looking ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

Today sees the launch of a new grassroots group within the Liberal Democrats - Liberal Reform. I am delighted to support this project. Its mission statement reads: Liberal Reform exists to promote four-cornered freedom in the Liberal Democrats - personal, political, social and economic liberalism. We are an organisation founded and run by members and activists, to both propose policy in keeping with the party's liberal heritage and to continue arguments for free people and free trade in the future political direction of the Liberal Democrats. We seek, through active debate, policy initiatives, and broad campaigning, to foster an understanding ...

Posted by Free Radical on Free Radical

Thanks to Mary Reid for sharing this one - a beautifully produced, down to the coffee stains, crime sheet listing assorted horrors and gaffes committed by Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. Just as well there's someone better...... If you live in London,and you want to help London elect a credible Mayor with fresh ideas for London, here's how to help Brian Paddick's campaign.

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

Today's Independent carries this letter from Stephen Tall and myself: You can see the results of all of the Liberal Democrat party member surveys here.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Nearly 2 years in and there are significant questions about how we operate within a Coalition with the Tories. Tensions have been high but muted. The party has been very defensive. Some have reached out to Labour and this seems to have been formalised in Liberal Left. Others have sought to form a right leaning ...

Posted by Matthew Gibson on Solution Focused Politics

Last Wednesday the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) collaborated with Bristol City Council to run a major one-day conference on the Localism Act, which is now rapidly moving towards implementation. The audience comprised primarily local authority elected members and senior officers. The conference was kicked off by Barbara Janke, the Liberal Democrat Leader of Bristol City Council. The day's discussions were bookended by wide ranging presentations from Westminster Liberal Democrat politicians: Lord Shipley in the morning and Andrew Stunell, our man at the Ministry, in the afternoon. The Localism Act is huge - both physically and in the range of ...

Posted by Alex Marsh on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 13th
09:00

Missrepresentation

All Walks – the amazing team of Debra Bourne, Caryn Franklin and Erin O'Connor – who work to educate the fashion world away from singularity of image to diversity – screened an American Documentary in Parliament 'Missrepresentation' the other day. I was on the panel who took questions afterwards – chaired by Jo Swinson MP, my Liberal Democrat colleague (and co-founder with myself of the Body Confidence campaign). Jo now chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image and I have taken Body Confidence into the government's work on public health and mental health and well-being. First we watched ...

Posted by Lynne Featherstone on Lynne Featherstone » Blog
Mon 13th
09:00

Nai Day

Greece has a self-image as a country that says "no". On October 28th every year the country celebrates "no day" (oxi day), remembering the occasion in 1940 when General Ioannis Metaxas refused to allow the Italians and Germans to occupy Greece without a fight. This brought Greece into the war – in fact, for a while in 1940 Greece was Britain's only ally, and the Greek armed forces (which had been expected to simply roll over and accept subjugation) met with some early substantial successes, rolling the Axis powers quite some way back into Albania. Greece's small army didn't stand ...

Posted by Aosher on Brontides

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Tim Montgomerie is doing rather well in the row over the NHS. The arguments over reform have been going back and forth for a while. On Friday, Montgomerie ran a piece arguing for the Bill to be scrapped. For a prominent Conservative to make that case was surprising enough. What really got the media interested was the fact that Montgomerie claimed that one Cabinet Minister wanted the Bill scrapped, another was critical of the Health Secretary and a third likened the Bill to the Poll Tax. The Friday posting has secured Conservative Home coverage in the national media over the ...

Posted by Simon Goldie on Simon Goldie

A topic of much debate in the party, the question of whether or not there should be Liberal Democrat candidates in this autumn's Police and Crime Commissioner elections was also the subject of a piece on The Westminster Hour on Sunday: * Mark Pack is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and writes a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice

Energy market reforms which will make it easier for consumers to get the best deal have been backed by Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert. He was given the chance to have his say on the plans at an event organised by energy regulator, Ofgem at the House of Commons. Under the proposals, each energy supplier will have to offer a no frills tariff with a simple unit price and a fixed standing charge. It is expected that around 75 per cent of consumers on standard tariffs will benefit from the changes. Energy companies would also be required to make their bills, ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on King's Hedges

On Friday I blogged about the way that John Birt was employed on a freelance contract while Director General of the BBC to allow him to avoid tax. A reader has sent me this Private Eye cutting from that era. It dates from 23 August 1996 and feature Leighton Andrews, former Liberal parliamentary candidate and Gillingham Town supporter and current Welsh education minister and Cardiff City fan. I don't know if there were any tax implications to this move, and there is certainly no suggestion that Andrews acted improperly, but it is interesting to be reminded of how the BBC ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 570 party members responded, and we're publishing the full results. 90% of Lib Dem members back principle of 50p rate LDV asked: In 2009 a new top rate of income tax of 50p in the pound was introduced for earnings over £150,000. Previously the top rate of income tax had been 40p in the pound. At what income level do you think the Coalition Government should set the 50p top rate ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 13th
07:00

Police Report

Reporting period:- 04/01/2011- 31/01/2012 Number of calls for area:-171 Number of community related calls:-42 Alcohol seizures:-NIL Dwelling Burglaries:-NIL Burglary (other):- 02 There have been 2 reported Burglary (others) for this period. The first was Unknown person(s) climbed over a 6 foot security fence at the rear of the Focus property which is currently being demolished. Having gained access to the compound the person(s) made several attempts to force open metal shutters on a container and eventually gained access to the administration container. A window measure 2 x 3 foot was broken to facilitate entry and after having gained entry an ...

Posted by Owen Temple on Owen Temple

A website offering help and advice to people with a range of day-to-day needs is now available with information localised for people living in Cambridgeshire. AskSARA is a self help guide that enables people to identify equipment that may help them in their daily lives, including information on manufacturers and local suppliers. Cambridgeshire's version is being promoted as a flagship for providing local information by the Disabled Living Foundation. AskSARA takes users through a set of guided questions leading to general advice and recommendations on what equipment would be suitable to meet their particular needs. It provides information on local ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

A website offering help and advice to people with a range of day-to-day needs is now available with information localised for people living in Cambridgeshire. AskSARA is a self help guide that enables people to identify equipment that may help them in their daily lives, including information on manufacturers and local suppliers. Cambridgeshire's version is being promoted as a flagship for providing local information by the Disabled Living Foundation. AskSARA takes users through a set of guided questions leading to general advice and recommendations on what equipment would be suitable to meet their particular needs. It provides information on local ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on King's Hedges

I recently raised with the owners of the disused Homebase site on Riverside Drive residents' concerns about a gap in the security fencing round the site. The owners, H&H Properties, responded assuring me that a prompt repair would be carried out and this has indeed since taken place. H&H Properties also confirmed to me that it is intended to start work on-site in late April or early May, with the piling contractor being on-site during May and June. Although I was opposed to the original planning application as I feel more could be made of this site with stunning views ...

Mon 13th
06:09

Flogging a dead horse

Highly respected former Conservative Assembly Member, Lisa Francis has blogged about her reasons for quitting the party. Lisa was the Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales from 2003 to 2007 and a particularly close friend of former Conservative Assembly Leader, Nick Bourne, who represented the same region before losing his seat in 2011. However, the direction the party has taken since that last Assembly election has not been to her taste. She writes that she is unhappy about the way the party is being run and more particularly, about how the membership is treated. She has rejected the option ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Martina Purdy of the BBC has produced some interesting registered activities for our MLAs up at Stormont. One that strikes me as a little strange is that Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin declared his trip to Boston last November. He was part of a trade delegation from the north west and the cost was met by ...

Posted by Michael Carchrie Campbell on Gyronny Herald

When approaching an MP or a political party, it always helps to understand what makes that party or party member tick. How can we frame our argument in a way that seems natural to the person we're speaking to? Many activists write off entire parties as 'evil' or 'opponents' when actually, the party wants the ...

We are delighted over here at Liberal Vision to welcome a new group to the Lib Dem family (drum roll please...) LIBERAL REFORM. A while ago we wrote about a new group that was considering forming a grass roots organisation aiming to bring together (and facilitate discussion and policy development) amongst those in the Liberal Democrats who are sympathetic to economic liberalism. At the time Mike Bird (one of the founders of Liberal Reform) said: "The aim of this organisation is provisionally to promote economic liberalism within the Liberal Democrats. We hope to be a 'big tent' of opinion, and ...

Posted by Angela Harbutt on Liberal Vision