Meek goes to Thanet in a tremendous essay in the current London Review of Books: There's plenty of evidence in Thanet to support Ukip's general proposition that local power is being diminished while the power of remote, faceless authorities is growing. But the overwhelming might of those remote, faceless authorities has little to do with Brussels. It has to do with global business and chainification. It has to do with the neoliberal political agenda: privatisation, jurisdiction-hopping, protection of inherited wealth and a shift of taxation from rich to poor. The Ellington and Hereson School supposedly belongs to Kent County Council, ...
[IMG: image] Saturday The main highlights of the day were: The Rally. Nick Clegg was on fire. He made a really great speech. I don't think I have seen him so animated. Mind you, with the general election coming up, he is at the stage of "s**t or bust" – as is the party. Finding the Liberal Democrat Voice "office". It is behind the scenes. You go through a curtain, past some printers, through some double doors, left through some more double doors and then take the first door on the right. In the end I had to get the ...
Sun 5th
21:15
Conference Speeches: Steve Webb: "We spend £37 billion on pensions tax relief, mostly on well-...
Continuing our series of Conference speeches reproduced in full, here is Steve Webb's from this afternoon. He said that he wants the next Government to look at tax relief on pensions and he looked back on the work that he had been doing on pensions over the last four years. He also revealed that the donor who gave £1 million to UKIP is standing against him in May. If this bothers you, If this bothers you in any way, you can donate to his local party here. Those of you who were paying attention to the news last week will ...
It kind of shows how poor our electoral system is when I can confidently predict the result of the next General Election in one constituency! Peter Dowd has won his Party's selection – the election involving the good people of Bootle is now all but irrelevant. With Peter becoming an MP and I would add filling the boots of Joe Benton, one of the nicest people in politics, who will lead Sefton Council? The choice is not obvious and no one really stands out within the Labour Group to fill Peter's boots. There could be quite a punch up over ...
Sun 5th
20:15Conference Speeches: Willie Rennie - "If you want to stop the talk of 'the 45′ or 'the 55&prim...
Willie Rennie challenged Nicola Sturgeon to reveal whether she is a Borgen Liberal or a Salmond Nationalist. He was also keen to emphasise that more powers must be delivered. He said that Labour and the Tories must not be timid in their approach: For the first time ever the people of Scotland were given the power. The democratic power to decide whether to continue our relationship with our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom. With ballots not bullets. By the people not the Lairds. After open debate not behind closed doors. I am so proud that people quietly, ...
I took part in a fringe meeting at Liberal Democrat federal conference this afternoon alongside the Communities minister Stephen Williams MP and Nick Tyrone from the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), and the event was very [...]
Blog Categories: Political Theory Vote: 0 votes + Vote up! - Vote down! [IMG: Magna Carta image] Judging by the reverence in which it is held, most people who are vaguely aware of Magna Carta's place in British, and beyond's, history think of it as some kind of a founding document of liberties of individuals against despotic monarchs and governments. It is somehow at the core of our constitution, and Englishmen abroad go all misty eyed at how much it has contributed to world jurisprudence, rights and democracy, fair play, the laws of cricket and medieval re-enactment societies. If we ...
Sun 5th
20:00
Plans for 215 houses off Bromfield Road, Ludlow back on table as developer gets heavy handed
Approve this application or face substantial appeal costs. That's the message from the planning agents trying to get approval for 215 homes off Bromfield Road. I am angry that the developer is trying to force this application through using heavy handed tactics and no engagement with the public. The previous plans were thrown out by [...]
Here is Alistair Carmichael's speech to Conference morning, strangely devoid of news of his victory at the Lib Dem Disco last night. Good morning conference and welcome back to Glasgow. It has been quite a year since we last met here. Last November this was a city united in grief when Police Scotland's helicopter fell from the sky and crashed into the Clutha Vaults pub at the other end of Argyle Street, killing ten people. The response from the people of Glasgow at that time was remarkable. They showed the truth of the slogan that is on the lanyards most ...
[IMG: ipaddy 2014 glasgow rally] Here is Paddy's speech from the rally last night. OK - now it begins. What comes next is the fight of our lives. And it's going to be tough. But I am up for it and I know you are too. As a liberal I am used to fighting against the odds - tell you what, I relish it And taking a small band of trained and dedicated insurgents onto enemy territory against the odds - its what I was trained for - what I am used to -its what we have had to do ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of gas service connection works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Paton's Lane (from Provost McGowan Place to Magdalen Yard Road), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 6 October 2014 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles will be available via Perth Road / Step Row / Magdalen Yard Road. For further information contact ...
Liverpool Town Hall Last Thursday we had our regular meeting of the 'Mayoral Scrutiny Committee'. Actually it ended up being the Assistant Mayor's Select Committee as neither the Mayor nor his Deputy were there. It was as they say about ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Winning Lib Dem Blog Post of Year award 2014] Many thanks to all the Lib Dem members who voted for my post, Party of protest or party of government? It's the wrong question, to be Lib Dem Blog Post of the Year at last night's Liberal Democrat Voice awards. And many congratulations to all the other winners, especially Jonathan Calder who is now no longer the Lib Dem Leonardo DiCaprio after winning Blogger of the Year. Watch out for the winner's curse Jonathan.
Here are the latest national voting intention figures from each of the main pollsters. To put the numbers into longer context, take a look at my database of polling figures going back to 1945, which is updated quarterly. Con Lab LibDem UKIP Green Con lead Fieldwork Method ComRes 29% 35% 7% 19% 4% -6% 24-26/9 Online ComRes 29% 35% 10% 15% 4% -6% 26-28/9 Phone ICM 33% 35% 10% 9% -2% 12-14/9 Phone Lord Ashcroft 32% 32% 8% 17% 4% 0% 26-28/9 Phone MORI 34% 33% 7% 15% 6% 1% 6-9/9 Phone Opinium 32% 34% 7% 17% -2% 23-26/9 Online ...
[IMG: Jo swinson 2014 rally glasgow] Here is Jo Swinson's speech to the rally last night: Conference - hello and a very warm welcome back to Glasgow! It may still be a bit wet and chilly, but it's still the friendliest city, and most importantly, still in the United Kingdom. A lot has happened since we met here last year. Fantastic year for sport: Winter Olympics, record medal haul for the UK Huge success of the Commonwealth Games here in Glasgow this summer - inspiring athletes from 13year old swimmer Erraid Davies to Jo Pavey's fantastic gold medal at 40 ...
And those two things are related. Evan Harris, former Lib Dem MP and Hacked Off campaigner, got in touch last night to ask if I'd support his amendment to today's 'Doing what works to cut crime' policy motion, ensuring the police don't use RIPA (Labour's Regulatory and Investigatory Powers Act) to stifle investigative journalism. Evan and I disagreed vigorously over the Leveson Report – he's pro-regulation backed by statute, I'm not – but he, and the Save Our Sources campaign, are 100% right on this issue. It was good of him to ask, allowing me to utter the words "I ...
This is Woodbridge, looking upstream from the riverbank, on a sunny Sunday morning. And, as summer has turned to autumn, and winter approaches, it's nice to know that there will be something to look forward to as spring returns...
[IMG: Disco 2014] Last night, saw the Liberal Democrat Disco, organised at conference by Cambridge local party to raise funds for its general election campaign. It was a great night with a packed hall featuring the "Battle of the LibDem deejays". Alistair Carmichael was cheered the loudest, thus winning the accolade of "deejay of the night". His set included Lulu's "Shout" and Dolly Parton's "9 to 5". He finished on a serious note, explaining that we had passed over midnight into the Sabbath. Coming from the islands of Scotland (where they are very serious about these things), Alistair felt there ...
[IMG: actors who haven't won oscars] As I mentioned the nomination, it's only fair to mention the result. I didn't win Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year, which instead went to Jonathan Calder and Liberal England. That brought an end to Jonathan's long run of being nominated for the award while never winning it, a phenomenon which had made him into the Liberal Democrat Leonardo DiCaprio. (Caron Lindsay, who now replaces him in the 'most nominations without a win' role, can choose who she wants to be instead of him) Now he's finally won the award, of course, we all ...
Are you a cat person or a rat person? As forced polling choices go, that one would have a particularly predictable majority answer. But like a lot of forced polling, my answer to the pollster would be, 'Can I have another choice, please, because anything but rat isn't good enough?' and my real opinion would be that I'm more a people person. There's a related row in the comments to the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Tor re-read. It's really 'Are you Ron or a Hermione person?' and, spoilers, I've had some thoughts about the moral responsibilities here... ...
[IMG: brownecover] You can tell we're heading towards a General Election. The mud-slinging has become more vigorous. The uncosted promises of jam tomorrow are appearing more regularly. The differentiation is happening with greater urgency. And publications are starting to appear laying out the case for the various parties. Biteback publishing has launched a series of short accessible books on the theme "Why vote X 2015: the essential guide". Nick Herbert has written the book where X = Conservative and Suzanne Evans has chipped in where X = UKIP. The Labour version is slightly different because Dan Jarvis has edited the ...
[IMG: Illustrating a pothole with legs] From The Guardian: "Mark Morrell" was what people used to called Mark Morrell in his days as an engineer for British Gas, but since his retirement he's become more widely known as "Mr Pothole". In February 2013, he noticed that a nasty hole had opened up on a blind bend on the A422 in Farthinghoe, Northamptonshire. He told the council, who repaired it, but in May another appeared. Again he reported it but this time nothing happened, so he took the matter to the police. "Within two hours of that, surprisingly, they were out ...
[IMG: Ldv awards 2014] We surpassed ourselves at our annual awards last night. Every year there is some typically Liberal Democrat random "feature" of the ceremony. Last night's event was no exception. It's a very long story involving great preparation and, then, the intervention of fate in the shape of a locked hotel room, several mobile phones on voicemail, mad dashes around the conference complex, rolled up old newspapers and a large shopping bag. Suffice it to say, the awards ceremony started ever-so-slightly late, but it was all smoothed over with some laughter and good conversation. The winners' announcements started ...
Sun 5th
14:57
The opinion poll crosstabs lie: or why policy isn't what Lib Dems need to concentrate on
[IMG: Nick Clegg arrives at Lib Dem conference. Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/libdems/15445148192/ - some rights reserved] Liberal Democrats love debating policy. With good reason - add together the number of policies other parties have lifted with the number of policies the Liberal Democrats have successfully implemented, and the party needs a hefty policy production line to have enough to keep going. Parties need policies. But they also need votes. Tallying up election votes looks much worse for the Liberal Democrats than tallying up the number of policies implemented. No wonder then that the Liberal Democrat Autumn conference in Glasgow has ...
Being Me I have been poorly of late: the persistent low mood of my depression has been a heavy weight to carry for sometime; yet the prolonged period of this bout is close to approaching two years. It does suck the whole enjoyment of life from you. I have become evermore distant from friends and prone to hours of exhausted blankness. I do my utmost to keep my mind occupied from 'destructive thoughts'; however, the feeling of self-loathing and hatred I have for myself never diminish. I just have to live with that now. Writing does help either my occasional ...
Shortly before midnight on 11th May 2010, just five days after the General Election, Liberal Democrat MPs and Party chiefs voted to enter Coalition Government with the Conservatives and to support the difficult but inescapable compromise Coalition Programme for Government. This was a sobering moment. No jubilation. Just a recognition that we had to make this work; and determined that, contrary to past history and evidence from elsewhere, it wouldn't inflict terminal damage on the Party. This was, of course, a "least worst" option. The public finances were in a mess; the economy in danger of catastrophic decline. The last ...
I was delighted to take part earlier this morning in the DUSA Marathon Radio Show - see below:Last year DUSA raised nearly £2500 in one weekend by hosting a 55-hour marathon radio show with the same team staying up for the duration. This year, the show lasts for 60 hours, raising money and awareness for Dundee Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre. You can donate here. I wish the team all the best for the remaining hours - the show runs until midnight tonight!
[IMG: nhs sign lrg] As a society we are judged by the way that we care for the vulnerable, the elderly, and those suffering from illness. Britain can be proud that in 1948 we led the world in laying the foundations for a universal health service, available to all regardless of wealth. And we continue to lead the world today. Earlier this year the Commonwealth Fund rated the UK NHS best in the world overall, as well as in a number of specific categories. In this Government, Liberal Democrats have protected health spending, and will continue to do so. But ...
Sun 5th
11:18
From Glasgow: conference season so far - and what's with the Tories and Human Rights anyhow?
[IMG: HUman RIghts] Normally, as you all know, Lib Dem conference comes before Labour and Tory conferences. But this year, due to the timing of the Scottish independence referendum, Lib Dem conference, which kicked off yesterday, is the last one up. This means that for those of us who luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) form part of the travelling circus that does all three conferences each year, instead of turning up bright eyed and bushytailed at Lib Dem conference we've already done Tory conference, usually a killer health wise. I myself already have a mild case ...
I may have noted, if only on my Twitter feed, that Ros and I had recently found ourselves in Stockholm as a General Election campaign for the Riksdag was underway. The ruling four-party centre-right coalition consisting of the Moderates, the Liberal People's Party (Folkpartiet), the Centre Party (Centerpartiet) and the Christian Democrats were up against a centre-left coalition consisting of the Social Democrats, the Greens, the Feminist Alternative and the Left Party, with the ultra-nationalist and generally beyond the pale Swedish Democrats as an increasingly prominent repository for protest votes. The election finally took place on 14 September and produced ...
I love this story so much. It says a lot about our collective human nature. Our need to explore, to find out what is over the next hill and discover the world around us. To push ourselves to the limits of our endurance and beyond. This is the spirit that certain people I criticise on this blog don't seem to understand. Our time on this planet is a short one and our aim should not be to eek it out for a few more years by living a bland life and not taking risks but to live life to the ...
[IMG: Palace of Westminster. Photo courtesy of - some rights reserved] Do gender quotas make a difference to the quality of politicians here? Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – the impact of quotas on the quality of elected representatives. In the debate over quotas (usually gender quotas), a frequently used argument is that quotas are wrong because it should always be about the best person for the job. However, that fundamentally misunderstands politics and standing for office, as both running for office and being an elected member for a ...
Human Rights, Devolution, And The Constrained Authority Of The Westminster Parliament – Because the Human Rights Act is ingrained into the UK's devolution settlement, Westminster can't just simply dispose of it. It's almost like David Cameron is making promises he knows he can't keep. How IDS' plan will starve and stigmatise people on benefits – Always remember that what they're willing to do to the lowest in society, they'd do to everyone else if they could get away with it. The Only Political Speech You'll Ever Need To Read – "You know, the dingle dangle scarecrow didn't want much. Just ...
Thanks to everyone who joined us for the LDV Awards evening yesterday. So what will be the fun events today? There is a very full programme on the fringe today – from promoting healthy lifestyles to the Gibraltar reception, from cycling to the future of the BBC, with several sessions on various environmental issues. The RSPCA is offering beer and curry, and there will be live jazz at the Azerbaijan reception. Do let us all know about any events you went to, or any worth dropping in for. How to find out what is happening You can view or download ...
[IMG: Matilda House] This Monday in Glasgow, Lib Dem conference will debate motion F21 "Building the Affordable Homes We Need". The Liberal Democrats have a fantastic opportunity to tackle the greatest social challenge of my generation, the housing crisis. The economic and social cost of this crisis is huge. England needs around 245,000 new homes a year just to meet demand. Yet we are building half the homes we need. The latest figures show that the average income needed to buy a home is £36,500, higher than the incomes of more than half of the households in the country. Add ...
The local Health and Wellbeing Board is consulting on pharmaceutical service needs in our area. Anyone who uses local pharmaceutical services is encouraged to comment on a draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) by completing an online survey. The Board would like to hear what you think services including local pharmacy or chemist shops, pharmacy services in supermarkets, GP practices that dispense medicines for their patients and online pharmacies. Local pharmacies also provide healthcare help and advice and are often the first point of contact when people are concerned about their health. Your views will help the Board to develop a ...
I was sorry to read of the death of Lynsey de Paul this week. Her name reminds me of evenings listening to Radio Luxemburg with the radio under my pillow. She was a songwriter as well as a performer, and wrote this song for Thunderthighs - Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou and Casey Synge. They were the "coloured girls" from Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side and also sang with the Steve Winwood project Go and Mott the Hoople.
Sun 5th
09:00Nick Clegg's conference rally speech: "We may be the underdogs but we have the values, beliefs and r...
"This is the fight of our lives" – that was the message from Nick Clegg at last night's conference rally. You can watch it here: And if you want to catch up with the whole rally – including speeches by Jo Swinson, Kavya Kaushik and Paddy Ashdown, as well as a performance by The Other Guys – then you can do so here.
Sun 5th
08:55Watch and laugh: Clarke and Dawe - Unfortunately Bryan Fails to Understand the Importance of What Ar...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
You will not have seen this plan of Ludlow before. I've put it together out of two very different planning documents. Much of this housing development is not due to happen soon and some may never happen, except you can't ever say never in planning. The two documents I have used are SAMDev, which allocates [...]
If there is one thing you can say about the Liberal Democrats without fear of contradiction it is that we are stubborn beggars who will do our own thing regardless of the consequences. There are times when to the outside observer that appears to be pointless masochism. Faced with declining poll ratings and problems with trust, the obvious thing to do is to put up our most popular politicians to front the election campaign, especially those who are instinctively trusted by the electorate and who are perceived to have integrity and principle. Unfortunately, the leadership do not seem to seen ...
A recent trip to have another look at Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society's Birkenhead Taylor Street HQ brought this bridge into view whilst riding on a preserved/rebuilt Wallasey tram. [IMG: Egerton Bridge] Egerton Bridge – click on photo to enlarge The bridge is of the bascule type that was placed at various locations around Birkenhead Docks and it is impressive. The wikipedia page below has some information about it:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egerton_Dock The photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
Sun 5th
08:30Sunday debates open thread: From first aid to child abuse via crime and public services
Thanks to everyone who contributed to yesterday's open thread. Please add your reports, comments and recommendations on today's business in the main hall below, sticking to things that are happening today. This will be the first full day of action in the splendid auditorium here at the SECC. Expect a full house for the debates on Welfare Reform and Public Services. In between, why not check out today's Extras thread (fringes and everything else) which we will be posting at 10.30am? So what is happening today at Conference? Today's timetable 09.00-09.25 F10 Policy motion: First Aid in Schools 09.25-10.20 F11 ...
Residents have drawn to my attention a trip hazard at the north end of Strawberrybank - see right. I have asked the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership to make necessary repairs.
Thanks to those kind folk at Code for the People, this site has a new look and structure, including 'infinite scroll' which I hope will make navigating through content much easier as you can just keep on scrolling. And then find you've spent far more time reading this site than you planned to. There may well be a few rough edges to catch, so if you do spot something both apologies and please do let me know. Thanks!
The Liberal Democrats gather in Glasgow again for their annual conference, as we did in2013. This is not as interesting as it might have been if Scotland had voted Yes in the referendum. But Glasgow is a city that I like, for all that healthy eating seems a bit of a mystery to the locals. On the first day we were treated with a clear mission and a muddle. The clear mission came through at the conference rally in the evening. It was greatly aided by the Conservative party's lurch to the right, with its promise of unfunded tax cuts ...
The Bath & North East Somerset Energy at Home Advice Service is now live! B&NES Council has been working with local partners to set up a local energy efficiency scheme for local residents and businesses. The B&NES Energy@ Home Advice Service for the scheme is now in place and ready to take calls and emails to provide a response tailored to individual needs. The Advice Service aims to help
All infants at B&NES primary schools will benefit from being provided with hot lunches - for free. The Liberal Democrats in Government have made helping our children a priority. Free school lunches will make sure all children can get healthy, nutritious meals, and parents will save money. We estimate that parents can spend around £430 a year on making packed lunches! Now, they can save
For over 100 years London has talked about extending the Bakerloo line south. Extending it even started in the 1950′s but stopped after 18 months of building work. The Mayor of London and Transport for London have released their London Infrastructure Plan 2050. It includes a Bakerloo line extension with little relationship to the past 100 years of historic proposals. Their proposal is to extend via the Old Kent Road via Lewisham to Beckenham and Bromley. They are consulting on this extension please do respond. Liberal Democrats have always said we want the Bakerloo line extended. For some time we've ...
Dear Readers, I've recently had some exciting news: I've been accepted onto a teacher training course in Hanoi. I'm heading out in months time. After I finish that my plan is stay out there and teach English for a while. I very much hope to continue blogging while I am out there and imagine that Vietnam will [...]
The future of our country shouldn't be decided in a closed cabinet committee, stitched up between members of the political class and then rushed through by January. Every man, woman, and child in the UK will have to live with the consequences for generations after todays politicans have shuffled off the political stage.I believe every UK citizen should have a say in how this country is governed. Unlock Democracy is currently campaigning for a Constitutional Convention to be held to take the critical decisions on our future out of the hands of politicians. Can you please spare a single minute ...
