As usual, Steve Richards in the Independent is a breath of fresh air as he compares the current Lib Dem difficulties with the NHS reforms: There is more of a media frenzy over the allegations of sexual harrassment concerning the Liberal Democrats' Lord Rennard than there was when Nick Clegg gave the go-ahead for the ill-conceived NHS reforms. Yet the Rennard saga is much less significant - and the messy reaction to it from the Lib Dem leadership is easily explained and to some extent excused. You can read the full article here. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post ...
A pure classic. Boris loses his temper with the London Assembly. He was all ready to answer questions about his huge new budget, but they couldn't be arsed to ask him any. So he flies into a rage and the air is blue with classically-educated epithets, including the memorable: great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies You have to admire the coolness of the chair. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Lib Dem Voice co-editor Stephen Tall was interviewed on Sky News earlier today about the allegations concerning Chris Rennard — here's what he had to say:
The results of the Italian general election are emerging and they are not a pretty sight. In fact, they are a confusing sight, with several dozen political parties fighting the election mostly as part of joint lists, which combined with other lists to form complicated alliances or coalitions. In some cases, parties have split, with members fighting each other on rival lists. The likely winner (according to exit polls) is the centre-left alliance Bene Comune (Common Good), though the term 'winner' here means first place but not an overall majority. In second place is Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition, which has ...
The Brazilian economist Roberto Unger was so incisive and clear in his radicalism in the Radio 4 programme Analysis tonight, warning the Left in Britain not to be "paladins of nostalgia" but to have some kind of vision of the future. The bizarre thing is that so few of the interviewees - even the Social Liberal Forum's David Hall-Matthews - really seemed to grasp what he was saying. Part of the problem, I suppose, is the BBC's obsession with the minutiae of Labour Party policy, which is a side-effect of getting an IPPR apparachik to present the programme. It is ...
Mon 25th
21:38
Why the media have yet again shown they just don't get it on Lord Rennard and Nick Clegg
This blog post with not look at the specific allegations but just at how the media are reacting and what priorities they are showing. I shall state this at the very beginning. Lord Rennard has serious allegations to face about his behaviour. The Liberal Democrats as an organisation also have serious questions to answer about how they dealt with allegations from the women against Lord Rennard. However as it stands Nick Clegg does not face any serious questions despite the weight of media that states that he does. In fact the Telegraph report today actually backs up Nick Clegg's claim ...
When the news initially broke last week, my initial reaction was disbelief. I do not know Chris Rennard personally, although I have met him on two occasions. But I know him by reputation - and what a reputation he had. As Director of Communications from 1989 until 2003, he was widely credited with the by-election victories at Eastbourne, Newbury and Eastleigh - and before that with creating the brand of community politics that worked so effectively not only in his native Liverpool but in council ward and constituencies across the UK. His legacy, in campaigning terms at least, is hugely ...
Time to stick my neck out and trust to my sources... There's a new Ashcroft Easteigh poll out at midnight. Looks like it will be Lib Dem 33%, Conservative 28%, UKIP 21% and Labour 12%. That's almost dead on the same as the last Populus poll and a shift to the Lib Dems from the last Ashcroft poll. Most significantly, the fieldwork was done on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – right at the height of the negative coverage for the Liberal Democrats over the Chris Rennard allegations.
The Lib Dems have been hit by a fire storm in the run up to vital elections on Thursday - not just in Eastleigh but in a number of local by-elections including the very marginal Berrylands in Kingston. I've just watched the closing statements of the second ever Presidential debate in Kenya - where more than 14 million voters go to the polls a week today - and the minutiae of the scandal seems somewhat irrelevant. Elections in Kenya are closely fought and last time round ended in a bout of ethnic violence that killed 1,300 and disposessed many thousands ...
Your local Parish Councillors have been updated regarding the competitive tendering process in relation to our local Health Centre. Here is the announcement; "We are writing to inform you that following a competitive tender process NHS Cambridgeshire has awarded the Maple Surgery contract to Malling Health Ltd. This will become effective from 6th April. The current contractors, the Acorn Partnership will cease to caretake the Maple Surgery from 5th April 2013. NHS Cambridgeshire is committed to ensuring continuity of care for all patients registered with the practice, therefore all services and clinics operating from the Maple Surgery will continue as ...
"No one cares about the real issues, they just want to re-enact scenes from 'The Thick of it'. Dirty tricks are undermining the very basis of our democracy." Cicero's Songs mourns the state of British politics. The Real Blog looks at the fallacies that lay behind Labour's mania for regulation: "The coalition has still not really understood the mistakes of the public service and regulation system they inherited. There is still no narrative to explain what went wrong - and explain it to the public or grasp the nettle to do something about it. Because they haven't grasped it and, ...
[View the story "Eastleigh by-election: 25 February - it's close" on Storify] Eastleigh by-election: 25 February – it's close Storified by Mark Pack· Mon, Feb 25 2013 11:47:22 An unusual start to one of these round-ups: a quote from Conservative by-election candidate Maria Hutchings which I agree with, as it mirrors my own experience: "'Not one person has mentioned it,' Hutchings says as she canvasses, appropriately enough, on Telegraph Hill." "It" being the allegations about Chris Rennard: Eastleigh voters ignore Rennard row as ground war rumbles onNick Clegg's failure to hold his party's election guru Chris Rennard to account over ...
It's quite some time to be a Lib Dem: the ongoing Huhne/Pryce court case, the resultant Eastleigh by-election and, now, the allegations against Lord Rennard and the party*. Last Friday, I was delighted to be able to get out delivering for Mike Thornton in Eastleigh: as a new(ish) activist it was my first taste of by-election campaigning - I only wish I had been in a position to go for longer. It has been a campaign that seems to have really galvanised the activists within the party. Record numbers have, reportedly, been flocking to Eastleigh to campaign and record donations ...
[IMG: Adrienne at Work and Beyond] There's plenty of help around for younger people trying to get a job, but Cheadle-based careers expert Adrienne Conway thinks older job-seekers aren't as well supported, and she's set up a new company – Work & Beyond – to help them. With over thirty years' professional experience helping people across Greater Manchester into work, Adrienne's got the skills, experience and contacts to help job-hunters work out what they want to do next and to search out and bag If you're facing redundancy or retirement, looking to return to work, lacking confidence in your skills ...
A win for the Daily Telegraph: Otters' shrinking genitals cause fertility scare
Mon 25th
17:03
Update on the Party's processes following the allegations concerning the conduct of Lord Rennard
I want to update you on three developments to the processes I outlined in my post on Saturday. Arrangements for victims and witnesses to come forward Firstly, we have sought the assistance of Public Concern at Work, the UK's leading whistle-blowing authority, to ensure that the whistle-blowing arrangement is sufficiently independent to provide the required support to those wishing to come forward in relation to the alleged behaviour of Lord Rennard. Public Concern at Work have agreed to take over the role, temporarily filled by Kate Parminter, as the main point of contact for anyone wishing to come forward with ...
I don't know if Chris Rennard is a groper or not. I don't know whether complaints against him were dealt with properly or not. At this point it seems not, but no one is sure. One thing I do know is that the barrage of negative press has been deliberately timed to try to change the result of the Eastleigh by-election which, according to the polls, looked like it was going to be won by the Liberal Democrats. For me that is the real scandal, and the tragedy of British politics today. No one cares about the real issues, they ...
We are but three days away from the budget here in Southend and one thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that the 35 locations across the borough like the one pictured below at the top of The Broadway in Thorpe Bay that will be removed from use. [IMG: thorpe bay bottle bank] Thorpe Bay Recycling Yes in the budget the bottle banks and recycling bins are to go in an attempt to save money. I haven't seen it anywhere but I was talking to a councillor about waste and he then opened up his file and read out that ...
Ely Underpass, Artists Impression Liberal Democrat County Councillor, Nigel Bell has accused the Tories of planning a sham consultation on Ely bypass by pushing their favoured scheme and not giving residents full details of the alternatives. The consultation is being launched next month and a leaflet will be sent out to homes; but there is no mention of the alternative scheme to deepen the current underpass at the level crossing. Instead, the county council has paid lip service to alternatives by only mentioning and dismissing another alternative 'hidden bypass' scheme which combines a bypass with an underpass under the railway. ...
With all the other stuff in the papers yesterday, it won't be surprising if Nick Clegg's appearance in the Sunday Times magazine passed you by. He faced questions from a panel of 36 celebrities who put their hearts and souls into thinking all sorts of original questions for him. First up was Jeremy Clarkson, characteristically pithy, asking whether Nick felt sorry for Chris Huhne. "After all," the Top Gear presenter said, "he was only speeding." Nick's played that with a compassionate but clear bat: I do feel sorry for the whole family because they have all clearly become engulfed in ...
Liberal Democrats! Have you been to Eastleigh yet? There's still time, for the most hotly-contested by-election of the decade. Remember their last by-election? The incumbents (Conservative) was pushed into third place, while the main challengers (Lib Dems) won - now Lib Dem and Tory starting points are reversed, will they meet those same expectations? Labour leapt up from third place to second with 28%, showing Tony Blair was headed to government - where is Ed Miliband headed from his third place? I spent weeks there when I was younger and fitter, and remember a few things that might encourage you... ...
Here's what I told the BBC:
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – the shock news that non-members help British parties in their election campaigns. I say "shock" as it illustrates my love-hate relations with political science. The vision of conventional political science when it comes to parties and campaigning in Britain has been rather myopic. It has pretty much completely ignoring the role of non-member helpers on election campaigns. Of course, if you are used to election campaigns then you are most likely also used to non-members helping in them and the only limit on how ...
[IMG: nick clegg eastleigh] From PoliticsHome: Nick Clegg has accused the Conservatives of "breath-taking" opportunism over their campaign in Eastleigh. The Tories have run posters criticising Lib Dem candidate Mike Thornton for backing a housing development on greenfield land in the constituency. But the Liberal Democrat leader hit out at the campaign, and questioned how his Coalition partners would solve the housing shortage in the area. "I flatly reject the cynicism, the opportunism, it's really breath-taking from the Conservatives, who have no plan to protect green spaces elsewhere, no plan to provide affordable homes", he told BBC Radio Solent. The ...
With not a Consett councillor in sight (barring me) the Belle Vue Village Green application was rejected today by the Highways Committee. It surprises no-one. The county officers and the same inspector who recommended its refusal in 2011 ran the same arguments again (barring the 1964 deed which they no longer dare trot out after the High Court ruling), and the committee duly voted the same way as last time. There were no surprises (other than the impressive array of substitutes who appeared on the Labour benches) and the score-line at 12-4 was as predictable as yesterday's Capital One Cup ...
Margaret and I have enjoyed opening this site to the comments of all, opponents as well as supporters, but have decided that in this pre-election period it makes no sense to allow opponents free-rein to use our site as a platform to promote their views. It would also be completely undemocratic just to select "friendly" comments and so we've decided simply to publish no comments at all until May 4th.
Many of you will know I've not had the best week. Aside from all the horrors going on in the lib dems, I've also had a bereavement and various other stresses. Yesterday, then, I needed something to act as a release valve. Cinema has always been a coping mechanism for me and I decided a good weepie would really help. So I went to see the new British comedy/drama Song for Marion. It's not the most original script ever. You're never in any doubt about what is going to happen at any point, and the plot is somewhat thin. It's ...
[IMG: Some rights eserved by Helen Duffett] It was a pleasure to return to Eastleigh for the third time in this campaign at the weekend. It was very inspiring to see the large numbers of members of Liberal Youth helping. Many had made long journies to get to Eastleigh. I was delivering with Matt and Johnny from Birmingham University, who travelled down by train for the day. It was their first time helping at a by-election. A quick look at Liberal Youth websites and Facebook pages shows they have been spearheading huge efforts in Eastleigh. On Saturday they organised a ...
Google's attitude towards its customers is a continuing stain upon its reputation. [IMG: Android Call Centre] In an ideal world, no one would ever need to contact customer services. Every step of one's interaction with a company would take place online and be hassle free. All the information would be available on the web. Problems could simply be fixed by reading an FAQ. No mistakes would be made by either party. In those rare occasions where something did go wrong, the "community" would provide free peer-to-peer help in official forums. Unfortunately for Google, we live in the real world. Things ...
The BBC report that Plaid Cymru Leader, Leanne Wood has called for a change in the law might be needed to make sure more women are elected to the Welsh assembly. She said that measures to select female candidates in her own party "are not always at their strongest". The Assembly's Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler has also said she wants more women elected after a decline. However, no details of the proposed law change have been given. Without these it seems that the Plaid Leader may just be chasing headlines rather than taking a serious position on the issue.
[IMG: Tax Considerations] Vince Cable this month launched our new publication on helping small and medium sized businesses access stock market finance. Here, I'd like to concentrate on three tax changes that could address the broader challenge of 'rebalancing the economy' away from an over-reliance on debt and unproductive investment. I'm all for a highly progressive tax system that doesn't privilege 'capital income', but that doesn't mean the current system works in a fair or sensible way, as these three bizarre distortions show. Corporation tax As George Osborne said in opposition: Our corporate sector's excessive dependence on debt is deep ...
Like most of Swansea I am still on cloud nine after the outstanding out come of the Capital One Cup Final yesterday. It was an outstanding performance and shows how far the Swans have come in the last ten years. I am gutted that I have Assembly commitments on Tuesday and will not be able to attend the victory parade and civic reception. Having been a Councillor in the City for the best part of 29 years I can recall most of the highlights and the low moments of the clubs history in that period. This includes the near-bankruptcy of ...
Nick Clegg's statement yesterday concerning the Rennard allegations: The allegations made on Channel 4 concerning Lord Rennard last Thursday were extremely serious and distressing to the women involved. It is critical they are investigated thoroughly and dealt with properly and they will be. But I would like to make one thing crystal clear. I did not know about these allegations until Channel 4 informed the party of them shortly before they were broadcast. I have today spoken to one of the women in the broadcast who I respect and admire and who confirmed that she had never raised the issue ...
Please see Public Notice below from the City Council regarding work commencing this morning. The council's Road Maintenance Partnership has advised me that, "City Road/Logie Street junction is to be closed to allow the junction to be resurfaced. This will require City Road to be closed from its junction with Tullideph Road." In addition to the better road surface, the good news is that this will finally allow for the repainting of the yellow box markings at the junction to be undertaken - something I have been requesting on behalf of residents for some time. THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT ...
Speaking on Radio Four's Today programme, Party President Tim Farron spoke candidly about the the handling of the alleged inappropriate behaviour of the party's former chief executive, stating very plainly: The one thing I probably can tell you without going through due process is that we screwed this up as a party. There are individuals out there who we have a duty of care towards who we did not fulfil that duty of care to them and that is something we have to learn from, apologise for, and make sure never happens again. He emphasised two key points which will ...
The allegations against Chris Renard, like all such allegations, provoke the inflammatory old saying "No smoke without fire". As a longstanding pipe-smoker I know that it takes attention to light a fire and more attention to blow smoke rings. It would be interesting to know whether the women concerned approached Channel 4 or Channel 4 approached them. If the latter, who prompted Channel
Reporting of fall in women in public life contains patriarchy Shocker | fearlessknits Suspect this is a misguided attempt at "balance" (tags: ) Therapists Argue To Replace "LGBT" With More Inclusive "GSD" / Queerty (tags: ) rmc28 on Allegations of harassment "Good people can do bad things. The world is not divided into Evil Rapists and Good Normal People. But if people never suffer any consequences within a group for doing bad things, they have no reason to stop. The consequences fall on the people harassed and driven away; they also fall on the group as a whole, which is ...
Last week a number of bloggers focussed on the dishonest, authoritarian nature of the DoH. This is not news to those who have researched the ethically dubious behaviour of a government department that is the only one that admits to paying third parties to lobby government. The department's track record on public health interventions in particular is justifiable only in the eyes of those whose narrow focus allows them to take the extremist position that "the end justifies the means" and therefore excuses behaviours that are otherwise unacceptable. I and many others have previously highlighted the lack of objectivity that ...
Dear Sir/Ma'am. I wish to make a complaint about Channel 4 News. On Thursday 21 February, Channel 4 News ran a special report into alleged sexual harassment by Lord Rennard of the Liberal Democrats. I have no issue with the report itself and agree it is a newsworthy item which should be reported. My complaint is regarding the timing of the piece. Channel 4 News are presumably aware that (i) there is a parliamentary by-election to be held at Eastleigh on Thursday 28 February, (ii) that polls indicate a close fight between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative party, and ...
Further to my recent article about the impending West End clean up, I am on Wave 102 news today about the event. Click 'play' below to listen:
Today's front pages of the newspapers are about as grim as you might imagine after the weekend's events... [IMG: rennard front pages - 25 feb 2013] I've not had chance to read through all the press yet. Two that have caught my eye are this critical, but fair-minded, editorial in The Guardian: Like the BBC over Jimmy Savile in recent weeks, the Liberal Democrats have faced difficult press allegations in recent days. Last night the Liberal Democrats found themselves scrambling to clarify whether they looked in the other direction over claims about their former chief executive Chris Rennard, allegations which ...
Three priests and one ex-priest have issued accusations of inappropriate behaviour towards them by Cardinal O'Brien. The alleged behaviour was some 20 years ago and it is admitted that the allegations are made public now with the specific aim of trying to prevent Cardinal O'Brien from going Rome to join the Conclave to elect a new Pope. There is no stated motive from the women who last week made public their claims of inappropriate behaviour towards them by the Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Rennard, but it does seem odd that accusations about events which allegedly took place sometime between 2003 ...
You can download a higher definition PDF version of this poster here.
[IMG: No] It seems we can hardly move for news of sex scandals and allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour at the moment. The cases may be in different sectors - the media, politics, the church - but they share two common characteristics. The first is that at the centre is a man who was powerful in his own organisational context. That power may have been a product of formal position. It may have been the product of particular skills and expertise. Or it may have been the product of perceived popularity and broader socio-political connections. The second characteristic is that ...
Press release by the County Council Hertfordshire County Council would like to hear opinions about the way business is regulated in the county. In the current challenging economic climate businesses are facing difficult times and keeping up with the many regulations governing how they operate can be tough. Hertfordshire County Council has teamed up with the Borough and District councils in the county as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Local Enterprise Partnership to consider how much help businesses get to succeed and where improvements can be made. Businesses are encouraged to complete a short online survey at http://tinyurl.com/bonedrb ...
