I watched a James O'Brien programme the other day. Immigration was the subject. A young man said that we should have a points system like Australia. We do. You only have to look at the array of categories set up for visa applications: You'll need a visa to work or do business or academic research in the UK The visa you apply for depends on your circumstances. Skilled workers A 'skilled worker' visa may be suitable if you've been offered a: ##skilled job in the UK ##role in your overseas employer's UK branch – the visa you apply for depends ...
A rather strange canvassing experience tonight. – 15 minutes talking to someone who said they were considering voting either Lib Dem or Green. They wished that the banks had been allowed to crash in 2008, with all the inherent chaos that would have caused. They want a flat tax for personal income plus one for business in order to put lots of accountants out of work (a statement delivered with a straight face). They want to stop EU migration into this country, and force the 2 million Brits living in Europe to return to the UK, in order to reduce ...
My days are, for those who know me in a more professional capacity, not merely an endless round of tea drinking and paper oscillation. I do have a life which balances my work, to mangle another PR catchphrase. This evening, for example, I was at an event to celebrate the tenth birthday of the Suffolk Community Foundation, an organisation dedicated to supporting good works across the county and which not only raises funds in its own right but also administers endowments on behalf of donors both corporate and individual which give grants to a range of causes. It is a ...
A short break from campaigning last night. My ward colleague, Cllr John McClurey, turned 60 yesterday and he had a party for family, friends and politicos at Deanos Restaurant in Whickham. John and Councillors Sonya Hawkins and Susan Craig. My selfie with Sonya. . Good time had by all but then we had to be back on campaigning. I got home at 10.30pm and was straight back on the laptop. I
I guess I am one of the fortunate people having a hip arthroscopy - I have a friend who has been there and done that before! Not many can say that! Rather than wallowing in fear I have been in the office this week but in the lead up to this op I have read blogs and researched. Several people have given some top tips... Miranda was the first - she has recently spent time on crutches and suggested getting a few party feet and gaffer tape for the handles of the crutches... Gentle gel pads cushioning the blow on ...
John Pugh speaking at his adoption meeting this evening Southport's John Pugh has backed the Lib Dem plan for five new Green Laws. The five green laws are: A Nature Bill: key measures include legal targets for biodiversity, clean air, clean water and access to green space, extending the Right to Roam and establishing new marine and coastal reserves.A Heating and Energy Efficiency Bill: key measures include building on the Green Deal with a national programme to raise the energy efficiency standards for all Britain's households. We will legislate to boost renewable and district heating programmes and heat saving standards.A ...
I know I said I was disengaging with blogging on the elections locally but I did go to the Southend West Hustings as organised by the Southend Echo this evening and I tweeted the whole thing so I thought I'd share it with you. Please start from the bottom and work your way up (ooo err...) to read my take on the hustings... The post On the Southend West hustings as organised by the Southend Echo... appeared first on The Rambles of Neil Monnery.
My two dogs have very different reactions to the hairbrush. Roxy HATES it. She has quite long, extremely fine hair that is prone to tangles. Roxy has to be held by one person to be brushed by another. She knows as soon as her collar is taken off it's either brush or bath and she hates them both. Spike, on the other hand is very fond of grooming. He has also got very fine hair, but it's extremely short and never tangles. Spike LOVES being brushed. For him it's like being stroked by a thousand tiny hands. He can't understand ...
Last week I sent an email to my list of contacts across the constituency outlining my vision for Hastings (and St Leonards) over the next five years. Quite rightly and properly, it was not long before I received an email back from a disgruntled Ryer saying how interesting all this was, but had Rye been [...]
And then there's Devon, Bedfordshire, North Lincolnshire, East Sussex, Leicestershire, Herefordshire, Hampshire and Cumbria.
Mark Pack has the story – see link above Labour must think that by sounding 'Tory' over benefits and welfare that it will bring them votes but to me some of their utterances are getting to the point where even Tories must wince at their remarks.
Harriet Harman asked if Labour should be tougher than Tories on benefits: "I'm happy to go along with that" #BritainDecides — Mark Pack (@markpack) April 9, 2015 All of which, far from being off message, is in line with Labour's regular rhetoric: [IMG: Rachel Reeves on benefits] [IMG: Labour promise more welfare cuts]
* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary published in print or online.
Among the candidates that electors in Welwyn Hatfield will be able to choose from on 7 May are Michael Green and Grant Shapps. What's that? Has the chairman of Conservative Party's notoriously fissile personality finally split down the middle? No, but the Welwyn Hatfield Times reports: The mystery candidate, who goes by the business pen name used by the Conservative candidate, registered to vote shortly before today's 4pm deadline. It follows a campaign by Westminster news site Political Scrapbook. Backers say the candidate is a recognisable figure who has changed his name by deed poll. Editor Laurence Durnan, who is ...
[IMG: colchesternominated] The Colchester nomination list was published about a minute after I published that last post, and it confirmed that there'd be six candidates (austerity bites with a 33% cut in the number of candidates), but also something else I've mentioned before. In 2010, there were nine candidates for the constituency. Five of them haven't returned for another go this time, but four of them have, which means we'll have the same Liberal Democrat (Bob Russell), Conservative (Will Quince), Labour (Jordan Newell) and UKIP (John Pitts) candidates we had in 2010. (Bob Russell has added a 'Sir' since then, ...
Thu 9th
17:45
Lib Dem MEP supports Fairtrade group in campaign to help sugar farmers after EU rule change
As Co-Ordinator of Lib Dem Fairtrade Future (LDFF) I'm proud to announce that we've launched a new campaign, Help Sugar Farmers, in support of a major effort from the Fairtrade Foundation (the governing body of Fairtrade in the UK) to get a fair deal for sugar farmers in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries following a European Union rule-change which-unless mitigation is provided-will likely lead to around 200,000 people being pushed into poverty. I'm a proud pro-European but we have to be up-front when the EU makes decisions which adversely affect people both within the EU and-as in this case-beyond. As ...
[IMG: Lynne Featherstone] Most Liberal Democrats will be out campaigning in the early evening, but be aware that there are two very interesting things happening on radio and televisions. Typically they are both happening at roughly the same time, but that's not so much of a problem in these days of modern technology. First of all, on LBC, there's a Women Leaders' Debate. Our representative is Lynne Featherstone and she's up against Conservative Nicky Morgan, UKIP's Diane James and Harriet Harman for Labour. It all kicks off at 7pm and you can watch here then or later. Then at 7:30 ...
This was the scene in Loughborough this morning just before the prime minister's motorcade swept around the corner. I am reminded of the words of Deng Xiaoping: "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice... but put your money on the grey job if things turn nasty."
The important thing to remember here is that there are still four weeks until election day. As I'm writing this, nominations are still open and agents are making their last minute dashes to the council office to get their final nomination forms in, and there's probably someone, somewhere in the country who decided last night that 'hey, why don't I stand for Parliament?' who's spent today getting their form filled in and found £500 to pay their deposit. Just as a comparison, at this point in the 2010 election, Parliament was just being dissolved and the election campaign was really ...
Went to see it this afternoon. This review is by a new guest author Patrick Murray Set at the end of the Japanese period of isolation Puccini's Madama Butterfly is a tragic tale, based on a true story, of an innocent young Geisha, Butterfly, who renounces her culture, religion and family to marry an American [...]
Many parents are concerned about how easy it is for children to access Lib Dem bar charts online. pic.twitter.com/Gpgf3j2xFW — Cambridge Caption (@CamCaption) April 4, 2015
Creating a Winning Here environment The media are going to try and write off our chances on May 7th. Voters need to believe we can win to vote for us – it's a lesson that has been learnt over many years. We need to create a micro-climate where voters will see us as contenders. A [...]
I have spent much of the campaign so far wondering when issues of foreign policy would be discussed. This open question soon morphed into a desperate cry for someone, anyone to talk about what goes on beyond the shores of these islands and what Britain can or should do about those events. The 7-way debate that we were graced with by ITV proved to be as devoid of these questions as the rest of the campaign, for even when issues such as immigration floated in, they were stripped of an international context. So it was that I had essentially resigned ...
Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat candidate Mike Crockart, elected as MP in 2010, has been quick to emphasise that he is standing again for Parliament after a letter sent round by his SNP opponent Michelle Thompson, who was once his boss at finance firm Standard Life, referred to him as the "retiring MP." She says she didn't mean to imply that he wasn't standing. The Evening News has the story: But Mr Crockart - who worked under Ms Thomson at Standard Life around 15 years ago - said he would fight for re-election on May 7 and blasted the document as ...
Headline – Today Cameron slagged of Miliband and Miliband had a pop at Cameron Headline – Cameron has eaten my hamster says Miliband tearfully. Headline – Miliband 'borrowed' my bike and has not returned it says angry Cameron. Headline – I am the victim of a smear campaign says Miliband as Labour in turn calls the Tories everything fit to burn. Don't you think we have heard enough of this child-like cat calling from supposedly senior politicians? Don't you think we would much prefer the media not to repeat this drivel?
[IMG: Jonathan Brown] On Tuesday 7th April Planet Syria organised a global day of solidarity with Syrians campaigning against dictatorship and extremism. A coalition of Syrian civil and human rights activists including the famous White Helmets asked for people to remember Syria and send a message showing that they care. Over the last 4 years an amazing country I used to call home has been reduced to rubble and an amazing people ripped apart in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in a generation. Syrians are calling for 2 steps to reverse the ever-worsening conflict: the implementation of a No ...
With 4 weeks to go you need to: Recruit known Lib Dems to postal votes – the deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 21st April – use Connect to target the "hottest" prospects. Use target mail and to talk to all postal voters and peak your literature. Canvass postal voters as a priority group – use [...]
Liberal Democrats are fielding a third more candidates in this year's local election than last year and they have attributed it to a surge in people joining the Party in the last 12 months. They believe that locally more and ... Continue reading →
Thu 9th
13:55Donate to Lib Dems today to be in with a chance of the funniest dinner you will ever have
The Obama campaign pioneered the online micro-fundraising that we see so much of today. Remember getting all those email inviting you to donate $3 to have a chance of dinner with Obama. The Liberal Democrats have today taken another leaf out of their book, offering dinner with comedy legend John Cleese if you donate any amount of money to the party before April 17th. From Python to Fawlty Towers to hilarious films like Clockwise and A Fish Called Wanda (which was on the other night), he has been making us laugh for decades. These things don't really date, either. All ...
Welcome to the second in my series praising some of the unsung heroes of the 2015 general election. This time, it's off to Oxford. [IMG: Stephanie Ouzman] Hello and thank you to Stephanie Ouzman, the Election HQ and Clerical Manager for Layla Moran's Oxford West & Abingdon (OxWAb) campaign. As the campaign's Neil Fawcett says, Stephanie has worked her socks off to get the Election HQ in Abingdon up and running, everything from sorting out the utilities to setting up the rota and, possibly the most important job of all, sourcing plenty of cake! Stephanie is known for her reliability ...
Lib Dems Believe Wordle 21
Oliver Cromwell, speaking on the eve of battle to his russet-coated captains, said: "Know what ye fight for - love what ye know." Today I'm going to spell out just what it is that we fight for, what unites us as a party, and what we believe. Others, on both Left and Right, may have cast off their anchors of belief, to drift on the tides of opinion, scavenging for bright ideas. But I'm going to remind you why we continue to hold to the beliefs we have always held... Why a changing world has given them new importance... And ...
People in the City and in the London property market are queueing up to tell us what a disaster the abolition of the non-domiciled tax status would be. As Charles Dickens showed when writing of Coketown in the first chapter of Hard Times back in 1854, this is nonsense: The wonder was, it was there at all. It had been ruined so often, that it was amazing how it had borne so many shocks. Surely there never was such fragile china-ware as that of which the millers of Coketown were made. Handle them never so lightly, and they fell to ...
[IMG: RAF lightning II aircraft photo by defence images] For all its crudeness, the barrel bomb has to be one of the most brutally effective weapons around. An old oil drum, filled with that now all too familiar combination of explosives and steel detritus, dropped onto its fuse-laden nose from a helicopter, it seems, kills and maims in just the right proportions to terrorise those left behind. It is little wonder, then, that the barrel bomb is Bashar al-Assad's weapon of choice in his effort to wear down those parts of Syria with the impudence to have thought they could ...
Many many moons ago I had a blog that a few people would read. It was very similar to this blog actually (although this is read by thousands of people a week and is far less personal). One day one of my frequent readers told me that some of my blogs were boring and that no-one cared about my fantasy baseball team. She said from that moment on she didn't want to speak to me ever again. From that day I vowed to write about my fantasy baseball team once a year in homage to her. So Louise Fletcher of ...
It is an exciting time for politics in the United Kingdom, however disenchanted the population may be with the state of affairs at Westminster. In under a month comes an election which is due to be closer than any in living memory, with more participants able to shift the balance of power than ever before in Britain's democratic history. With a coalition now splitting rapidly along ideological lines, an opposition only just finding its feet behind a newly emboldened leader, a local party sweeping the polls north of the border and radical left and right wing parties stealing the limelight ...
Last week the Kent Police & Crime Commissioner for Kent published the updated Police & Crime Plan for 2013-2017. The updated Plan is available at http://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/home.php?entry_id=1427791823 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
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Teads (previously Ebuzzing / Wikio). Last month I wrote, "Most unusually, no-one joins, no-one leaves. Doubt that will happen again anytime soon." So what happened this month? A gentle deflation amongst most Lib Dem standings but the same again. Silly me. 1 (4) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (7) Mark Pack No change 3 (26) Stephen Tall Down 3 4 (31) Nick Tyrone Down 1 5 (37) Alex Marsh Down 6 6 (38) Caron Lindsay (Caron's Musings) No change 7 (46) Zoe O'Connell (Complicity) ...
Sussex Police has produced a campaign poster encouraging women to stick together on a night out to reduce their chances of sexual assault. There are so many ways this poster is stupid: it perpetuates the myth of stranger rape as the only "real rape" (an idea which helps acquaintance rapists get away with it over and over again), it ignores male victims of rape, and it suggests women should fear sexual assault more than they value their sexual liberty. But there's only one issue I want to address now. On Monday, Caron Lindsay called the poster "victim-blaming": she was right, ...
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez went to Hornsey and Wood Green yesterday to campaign with Lynne Featherstone. Here they are putting up the 500th stake board. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez joins @lfeatherstone putting up her 500th stakeboard pic.twitter.com/EwpRWUlSVa — Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) April 8, 2015 It's great to see two women who have done so much to help women and girls in this country and across the world together. If you have been impressed with her work over the past five years, you might want to donate to Lynne's campaign. Miriam said of Lynne: Lynne is a truly progressive voice in ...
The Green Party is a bit of a conundrum. Go to their events and you find a strange division between the articulate, highly effective handful of activists who make things happen and the rest - who tend to be mildly misanthropic, angry types. Perhaps a bit like me. I have no difficulties at all with their basic premise. It is the overlay of mushy do-gooding kind of unthinking positioning on the left that I find infuriating. It shows little or no thought about the real changes that a greener society would require, especially a society no longer in thrall to ...
A student tells it like it is on tuition fees - that's one of my @Calderdale_LD s that is! *so proud of @GuitaringLancey right now* <3 (tags: ) BBC News has quizzes for each local constituency - I got 57% on mine. (tags: ) Labour let non doms off £2bn in tax (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The quality of debate in Britain's General Election campaign is predictably awful. Arguments are reduced to simple sound bites. And parties try to muddy the waters on their opponents' key issues rather than engage with them properly. Many issues are hardly discussed at all. In a doubtless futile mission to raise the level of debate I will look at a number of issues from rather more objective perspective, and handle the arguments on an altogether deeper level. I am not, of course, an objective observer: I will generally make the case for voting for the Liberal Democrats. Let's start with ...
Thu 9th
09:17
Labour and the tip toe to Number 10: Ed's team should probably just shut up about virtually everythi...
Yesterday came Labour's announcement about their plan to get rid of non-dom status in Great Britain. Hundreds of years of tax exile, brought to a shuddering halt by Prime Minister Miliband. Well, not really. This was a typical Labour announcement, on par with the tuition fees tinker and the zero hours fudge. If you look into the detail of what they are actually proposing, they basically want to adjust some of the details around non-dom status and how it would work. A very tiny bit. Then came the cherry on top from a Tory perspective: Ed Balls said in January ...
Last night, I had the pleasure of chairing a well-attended meeting of residents in the Logie Estate that took place at the Lime Street Sheltered Lounge. I am most grateful to the Housing Strategy Manager from the Housing Department of the City Council who took part and we updated residents about the issue of improving the railings across Logie (and there's now a way forward to get them painted, where required) and the lock-ups in Glenagnes Street following the recent council decision about these and other council-owned lock-ups across the city. We had a good discussion about a number of ...
Thu 9th
08:25
It's not the impact of TV debates but the absence of press conferences we should worry about
Weekly TV leaders' debates in the 2010 general election prompted complaints from some quarters about how they sucked the life out of the rest of the election campaign. It became all about the run up to the next debate, the debate itself and then the post-mortem, after which point it was then time to do the run up to the next one. Was political campaigns being dominated by politicians communicating directly to voters really such a problem? It's almost as if some people's judge of what counts as a good campaign is how much power rests with newspapers with their ...
It is quite clear that some members of the third estate struggle with the concept of a hung Parliament. Like many others they like certainty and for things to be clear cut. Coalition government has not suited them at all. That is apparent from this article in today's Independent, in which they take a look at the things that the vast majority of the public can agree on. Note this does not involve majority government in any form whatsoever, at least not yet. They say that 72% of the British public support introducing plain, standardised packaging for tobacco products, 61% ...
Our crazy electoral system and the need for it to be changed to one that produces results proportional to the votes actually cast was probably the most significant national issue that brought me into Liberal politics in the first place back in 1980. Our rubbish electoral system usually produces governments that have only gained minority electoral support but are then given a Parliamentary majority. Not only that but it also gives us 'safe seats' where the election campaign usually ignores the voters in those constituencies altogether. Any serious look at this ridiculous way of running a supposed democracy and ...
Passenger numbers at other UK airports are taking off while Cardiff Airport, despite the massive investment from the Welsh Labour Government, is falling behind. This may only be a slight fall, but any fall at all compared to the success of England's regional airports is incredibly worrying. Wales is losing out to businesses in England who can easily access growing well connected airports and Welsh residents looking for cheap holidays are choosing Bristol over Cardiff due to better flight options. Since 2012 when the Welsh Labour Government bought the airport, there has only been an increase of 400 flights per ...
I am reliably informed that the Greens in Gateshead are rather hopeful about their prospects in Saltwell ward in the local elections on 7th May. This is a strongly Labour area and a first glance would suggest the Greens have no chance of winning. Then consider the changing demographics and a suggestion that they could pick up some of the growing student vote there and the prospects change, though
Liberal Democrats are fielding a record number of women in winnable seats and in seats which we held in the last parliament. Liberal Democrat Women are emphasising the party's key achievements and policies which are female-friendly: 1. Our commitment to ending the gender pay gap.2. Shared parental leave, so mothers and fathers can work out what's best for their child.3. Significantly improving mental health, with supports which mirrors that received for physical health.4. Raising the tax allowance to £10,600. Which has meant a tax cut of £825 for 27 million working people and taken over 3 million out of paying ...
