Yesterday I started following the instructions to prep my body for surgery. The first step was the no more hair removal step... That was simple! This morning I had to shower and change my bed.. But the real chore started tonight! Guy's give you a body scrub and detailed instructions on how to use it. I would say it was easy but that would be a lie! First hurdle teenage daughter had to help! Second standing in the shower with no water for 3 minutes twice! And third the general stinging of the gunk... I have to do it ...
Politicians often talk about "governing for the whole of the country". This is seen to be the desirable outcome of the democratic process: a system that, as some American guy put it, creates "government of the people, by the people, for the people". The most successful politicians in modern-day politics are those who convince voters, in large [...]
Mon 13th
23:23
Nick Clegg's BBC1 interview - Evan Davis disappoints with constant references to Clegg's multi-natio...
I'm normally a big fan of the BBC's Evan Davis. He knows how to make people squirm and we knew that he would do a thorough job on Nick Clegg tonight. And he did. All the difficult questions were in there, on tuition fees. that broken promises broadcast, was the coalition worth it when we've lost so much support. In fact, the tone was set right from the word go with "How does it feel to have gone from hero to zero?" which Nick took with his customary good grace. No complaints about those tough policy questions. There was something ...
[IMG: ronniecarroll] The news came through earlier this evening that Ronnie Carroll had died. He was a former British Eurovision contestant, but of most current interest was that he was a candidate in the General Election, standing as an independent in Hampstead and Kilburn as 'The Eurovisionary Carroll'. This sparked a sudden flurry of interest on Twitter as I, and several others, delved into our knowledge of election law and assumed this meant that the election in Hampstead and Kilburn would be postponed. The death of a candidate has caused this at the last two elections (South Staffordshire in 2005 ...
Mon 13th
22:12
Election will go ahead in Hampstead and Kilburn despite death of former Eurovision entrant
From BBC News: Ronnie Carroll, a former UK Eurovision contestant who was due to stand in the 2015 general election, has died at the age of 80. Born in Belfast in 1934, his biggest hit was Roses are Red. He represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 and 1963 with Ring-A-Ding Girl and Say Wonderful Things, finishing fourth both times.All of which would be of interest only to collectors of musical trivia were it not for one fact. Ronnie Carroll had just got himself nominated as an independent candidate for the general election in the Hampstead and ...
"People thought I was dead, but I wasn't. I was just directing the A-Team." That was how David Hemmings described his career in the 1980s in an interview he gave a couple of years before he died. But at the start of the 1970s Hemmings promised to be an interesting director of British films. His second film The 14 used to be Youtube and is now available on DVD. It starred Jack Wild and (at the very start) June Brown. But his first, Running Scared, seems to have all but disappeared. Hemmings' Guardian obituary described it as "an ambitious, if ...
The third Liberal Democrat election broadcast was shown this evening. It continues the theme in the last one, showing a woman, Helen, driving around at night listening to the radio as she makes up her mind how to vote. Unusually, most of the callers to the radio show highlight the achievements of the Lib Dems on pensions, the NHS, protecting the schools budget, fantastic, trustworthy Liberal Democrat MPs who care about their communities, cuts in income tax. Then it continues the theme of Lib Dems protecting against Labour recklessness & Conservative heartlessness. Will Helen turn right, left, or go straight ...
From the Telegraph: A disgraced chess Grandmaster faces a 15-year ban from the game after being caught pretending to be desperate for the loo so he could use a mobile phone to cheat. Georgian champion Gaioz Nigalidze was expelled from the Dubai Open on Saturday after his opponent Tigran Petrosian, became suspicious about the amount of times he nipped to the lavatory. A complaint followed and Nigalidze was challenged. Tournament organisers then found Nigalidze had stored a mobile phone in a cubicle, behind the pan and covered in toilet paper. The device was found to be logged into Nigalidze's social ...
Mon 13th
20:25
#GE2015: Your Questions Answered #1: Where's the Best Place to Find Out About Policies?
This is the first in a series of posts attempting to answer questions and comments put to me by family and friends around the General Election. I'm a member of the Liberal Democrats, so obviously I have some political bias. But one of my main principles is a commitment to democracy and the idea that [...]
Natalie Bennett speaking to the Green Party spring conference, 6 March: "Your vote can change the face of Britain. It can end the failed austerity experiment, end the spiteful blaming of the poor, the sick, the vulnerable for the mistakes of the wealthy."Natalie Bennett interviewed by East London Lines, 20 March: British citizens live as though not only one planet is expendable to them, but three. That is the verdict of Green Party leader Natalie Bennett....These two quotations neatly display the contradiction that has lain at the heart of Green Party thinking ever since it decided to play down environmental ...
This could be the biggest thing since the fighting cats of Loughborough, Lord Bonkers writes: "It's got a good beat to it. I vote it a 'Hit'."
The election campaign has started and leaflets are being delivered, mostly by the post office. So if you get more than one leaflet from a party then the chances are that they have used their free delivery service and they have gone on to pay a lot of money to get their message over to you twice. There is another way that you can hear about the views of your candidates and that's at a hustings meeting. No individual party can organise this as all the others would refuse to attend. Often these meetings are organised by Churches Together and ...
Health and Education The question, of course, is whether the sums add up, for financing additional NHS spending from a Mansion tax and a tobacco levy. 38 Degrees frequently send me emails asking me to take part in a campaign against 'privatisation' of the NHS. I never respond, because although I believe that health services [...]
This must be the funniest video of the campaign trail so far. Watch at 0.25 seconds and you could be forgiven for thinking that the Russian mafia are 'protecting' Cameron.
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats:
[IMG: Lib Dem volunteers take a break from phoning to watch the election debate on TV] Team 2015 is the National Volunteer Phone Canvassing operation from Liberal Democrats, supporting efforts of the local campaigns in target seats, and – as trailed in Liberal Democrat Newswire #57 – has just opened a new volunteer HQ in the heart of the City. It's right near Bank tube station – 6 Frederick's Place, London, EC2R 8AB - and is open 6 days a week, from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 10pm. New volunteers are always welcome to drop in and help out. If ...
Mon 13th
17:48
Labour – Looks like they will train crash the economy again if they get back in the driving se...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above. The big problem with Labour's manifesto launch is that it reminds me of New Labour's days under Blair and Brown – spending up but how's it going to be paid for with all the guarantees of no tax rises? If people like Rachel Reeves and Harriet Harman are to be listened to could it be on the backs of the poor via huge welfare cuts? Both seem to me to be advocating bigger welfare cuts than the Tories have made so far. And what about the NHS? Labour have ...
One of the fairest ways to reduce the welfare budget must surely be to require employers to pay the Living Wage. Today's Independent carries a shocking story on the low wages offered to the employees of the big UK supermarkets. Citizens UK, the charity behind the Living Wage Foundation, claims that supermarket employees' wages alone are subsidized by some £11 Billion of 'in work' benefits. That equates to the lion's share of the £12 billion in welfare savings being sought by the Tories and almost triple the £3 billion proposed by the Liberal Democrats. Whilst I'm not suggesting that the ...
Today, I'm starting with an appeal. Many of you who read this blog are Lib Dems, and so I'm hoping that some of you are part of, or know someone who's involved in, the party's social media campaign team because I'd like to get a message to them. To the person or people who were responsible for this, I'd like to say stop. Please, in the name of all that's good and holy, stop. It's not cool, it's not clever and most importantly of all, it's just not funny. Talking of things that aren't cool, clever or funny, what's Michael ...
[IMG: hustings] I've now had four hustings and wherever I go, we get the same questions – nitty gritty details about spending and taxes, TTIP, deficit, debt etc. the usual stuff. Now these are the questions that politicians WANT to be asked. Very much up their street! The kind of things they've been preparing for. It is sad that the run up to election is dominated by questions like these. It plays straight into politicians' hands. The public can do better by asking questions about values which are lesser likely to change as easily as policy. Take politicians out of ...
Floella Benjamin The worst moment I've had ahead of giving a speech was when I realised I'd be speaking on a panel immediately after Lib Dem peer (and favourite on the 2015 adoption meeting circuit) Floella Benjamin. Not exactly an easy act to follow unless you wish to appear boring, dull and insipid in the afterglow of her brilliance. Luckily for me, her talk was so beautifully idiosyncratic and different that my following effort was obviously nothing comparable to hers in any way save that we both spoke in English (except when she didn't). On Twitter she is just as ...
First sentence: Britain only succeeds when working people succeed. Well, we already know history isn't Ed's strongpoint. Nineteenth century frame-work weavers come to mind. But this is just to get us in the mood. It's the aspiration that matters. Next page: they are going to cut the deficit every year and get their budgets verified [...]
Mon 13th
14:02Opinion: Nick Clegg unapologetic about forming a coalition, but next time we may opt out
On a flying visit to Cheltenham last week, Nick Clegg gave an interview for the local paper, the Gloucestershire Echo. When asked about whether he is looking to form a new coalition he said: Not necessarily, not necessarily, I don't think the Liberal Democrats should be in government just for the sake of it but we should always, if we can, play a role in doing the right thing for the country and do it in line with our policies and values. When asked if he would prefer Miliband or Cameron, Nick Clegg relied: My preference is entirely irrelevant. It ...
Lib Dems Believe Wordle 25
Mon 13th
13:55
'One Hundred Days for Early Action'. Why evidence-based policy is a 'Yes, but...' way forward
[IMG: early action] Alongside folk like Polly Toynbee, Gus O'Donnell and Richard Layard, I have a chapter in One Hundred Days for Early Action: Time for Government to put prevention first, published this weekend by the Early Action Task Force. Here's how the blurb trails it: As the UK faces a situation of escalating need and diminishing resource, with public expenditure cuts forecast into at least the next four years, this collection of essays by expert commentators develops practical recommendations which a newly-elected Government could adopt in their first 100 days in office to put an early action approach at ...
Millicent Garrett Fawcett Graphic from Mark Pack's Quotes About Liberalism
I am a Liberal, because Liberalism seems to mean faith in the people, and confidence that they will manage their own affairs far better than those affairs are likely to be managed for them by others. Every case of injustice is a double curse, harming those it is supposed to favour, as much as those to whom it is obviously oppressive; and Liberalism is in the main the force in the political world which cuts at the root of injustice; not so much by tinkering and patching up particular instances of wrong, but by giving people the power to protect ...
The political anoraks who read this blog will know what an election freepost is. For the real people who aren't avid politicos, it is the leaflet from a candidate that the Royal Mail delivers to each voter in the constituency during the general election campaign. Mine was printed and put into storage last week so that it could be delivered to Royal Mail today. Frank Hindle's leaflet for
[IMG: David Cameron: I'll cut my taxes but not yours] Conservatives in dispute with themselves over the lack of a successful positive message in their general election campaign? Conservatives getting flack over their promises on NHS funding? Hello again, 2010. Not sure the wisest choice of campaign repeats by the Conservatives there.
In government the Conservatives repeatedly argued for raising rail fares by well above inflation. Liberal Democrats had to fight to keep rises to a minimum.It is astonishing that the Conservatives now claim they would freeze rail fares. [IMG: key_trains_(1).jpg] They have shown no willingness to do so in the last five years and it is difficult to see why anyone should now believe they would do so.Liberal Democrats in government have fought to keep rises lower than demands made by the Conservatives.
[IMG: electionleaflet] Electionleaflets.org is one of those simple, focused websites that provides a service that no-one else has thought of. Anyone can upload photos of election leaflets that they have come across, and you can then search them by constituency or by party. That's it. Like Lib Dem Voice, the site is run by volunteers, so we have to thank them for the time they put into analysing and annotating the leaflets. The project is a brainchild of Unlock Democracy. They have a target of gathering 10,000 leaflets between 1st January this year and polling day. The national media use ...
Thanks to UKIP there has been a lot of discussion in Britain over the past year about a possible Brexit from the European Union. But there has been little realistic scenario-building about what would happen if the UK did leave (presumably after an IN/OUT referendum in which a majority vote OUT). However, the Italian film [...]
Mon 13th
11:01
Extended to 24th April! New Membership Offer - Join and get a free Election Law Handbook
ALDC are currently running a great membership deal – join by April 24th and get a free copy of our Election Law Handbook (RRP £12), written by Dr Mark Pack. In addition to this, membership is currently half price for the first year for anyone who pays by direct debit (available yearly, quarterly or monthly)- [...]
Lieutenant W.G.C. Gladstone MP, of the Welsh Fusiliers Continuing the occasional series looking at the MPs who were killed fighting in World War I we come across one of the most famous surnames in British politics. The last of four generations of Gladstone's to serve in the Houses of Commons the most famous of which being his Grandfather the four time Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. William Glynne Charles Gladstone was the fourth and last generation of the Gladstones to sit in the House of Commons. He was born in July 1885 into a political dynasty at the time his ...
To help make your campaigning as easy as possible, we've gathered together some of the essential campaign tools, paperwork and information that you'll need as the campaign goes on. Do let us know if there is anything else that you need and we will add it in. Campaign template artwork ALDC has commissioned templates for [...]
You may remember how a couple of weeks ago I told you the story of Sajid and his sad addiction to knee-jerking. Well, I've found out some more about this story, and it's not pretty. One of the precursors to knee-jerking is often a substance that addicts know as 'research'. However, it's important to stress that this 'research' often bears little resemblance to what you or I might term as research. It's often of poor quality, comes from unknown sources and has often been cut with self-selecting samples and unweighted data. We're all aware that even the highest quality research ...
I listened in to a Lib Dem activists' campaign update last week. This was a conference call giving news on what's going on with our election efforts. Afterwards, I had to breathe into a brown paper bag for several minutes to reduce my respiration rate, such was the excitement generated by the call. An interesting point was made about photo opportunities. The campaign team are adamant about one thing: Nick Clegg will not be photographed being given royal tours of factories, talking to rather stiff and obsequious employees. David Cameron has been specialising in such photo opps recently (see example ...
Notice from the county council Hertfordshire County Council has given the green light for plans to extend and refurbish a primary school in St Albans. Garden Fields JMI School will expand from two forms of entry to three forms of entry. Permission was granted by the council's development control committee to build three new classrooms, [...]
the dog is by far the most disturbing one (tags: ) NHA co-leader standing against Cameron prevented from challenging PM over NHS at hustings (tags: ) The real choice before the voters in may: decent music, or decent Bond films? I should say I don't necessarily agree with the categorisations in this blog post, but I did think it was very funny (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
... what happened when the candidates for Thornbury and Yate went head-to-head for the first time? At the start of the General Election campaign the five candidates for this constituency took part in their first 'hustings' meeting. Young people attending sixth forms across Yate and Chipping Sodbury, and voting for the first time at this General Election, organised a meeting at Yate International Academy, attended by over 100 sixth formers. What was THEIR verdict on all the candidates for this seat after quizzing them? Before the hustings, in a secret ballot the Tories were neck and neck with Steve Webb, ...
The quality of social care is often an issue that gets in the headlines. The LGA has just launched a guide to help councillors with questions to ask regarding their authority's track record on recruiting and retraining social workers. A link can be found here. Questions that opposition groups in particular may find helpful to [...]
It is now four days since an incredibly bored Daily Telegraph correspondent on the Lib Dem battlebus tweeted in desperation that the bus had just run over a pigeon. It was a dull day on the election front - it usually is (did you understand a word of Ed Balls' interview on the Today programme this morning?) - and the political media fell about laughing, presumably because they believe the Lib Dems are doomed and that this was some kind of omen. I was even commissioned to write about it for the Guardian. You can see what I came up ...
Mon 13th
09:23
Despite all of the rhetoric, it looks likely the Lib Dems will be kingmaker once again - thanks to F...
There was a very good Peter Kellner article in the Sunday Times yesterday entitled, "The new forecast takes account of Labour's parlous prospects in Scotland - and the Tory failure to make progress in the rest of Britain". Despite the Lib Dems not featuring in the title however, they loomed over the whole piece like a shadow. For if Peter's prediction came true, the Lib Dems would, like in 2010, be in a position to ultimately decide who is and who isn't prime minister. As Peter himself says: "On this projection, it is unclear who would be Prime Minister when ...
The Liberal Democrats 2015 general election manifesto will be launched this Wednesday, April 15th from 10am until 1pm at "A Venue in Zone 2, London". This announcement got me googling "A Venue in Zone 2" to find the address of the venue, only to belatedly realise that they mean " A venue in Zone 2, London". Current members of the party are invited to come along to the event, and there is a form to register for it here. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice ...
[IMG: Crossens Station March 1912 - Southport Preston Line] Click on the photo to enlarge it. On the former West Lancashire Railway line from Southport to Preston and 3rd rail electrified too. Crossens is on the northern side of Southport. A line like this would never have been shut these days; shame it did not survive the Beeching era. The alternative route for Southport – Preston trains would be/still could be via Burscough but this would need the the Burscough North Curve to be reinstated. Quite doable and the Ormskirk Preston and Southport Travellers Assn (OPSTA) is campaigning for that ...
On behalf of residents, I recently raised the deteriorating condition of Hillside Terrace's roadway with the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and asked if there could be some immediate patching of the worst-conditioned parts but also if the council could consider full resurfacing of the roadway this financial year. I am pleased to say I have had the following positive response from the Roads Maintenance Partnership : "This street is classified as having a maintenance hierarchy 4b carriageway which means it receives a formal safety inspection every 32 weeks, it was inspected in mid January and no actionable potholes were ...
Ahead of the launch of the full Liberal Democrat general election manifesto later this week, the party has published the detailed costings behind it – showing how the party will find the money to provide the NHS with the funding it needs, along with closing the deficit in a fair way. In addition to extra funds for the NHS, the costing document also sets out the areas of public spending the party wants to see ring-fenced in the post-election spending review: "education spending from 2-19, science spending and our commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on international aid". The balance ...
Another couple of examples of the excellent work done by the Maghull in Bloom volunteers. First a the boundary sign for the Town, on its border with Melling, next to the M58 Motorway at Leatherbarrows Lane/Poverty Lane:- [IMG: Maghull in Bloom's work r] And a spring flowering planter in Maghull Square:- [IMG: Maghull in Bloom] Where would Maghull be without these dedicated volunteers.
Unfortunately, the likes of UKIP's Nathan Gill walk amongst us. More disturbingly, so do a goodly number of people who would vote for his party. Mr. Gill today took to the BBC Wales airwaves to claim that climate change was not affected by humanity and that it was just a ploy to tax people more. Apparently, it is "ridiculous" to suggest that man (sic) can change the climate. The overwhelming majority of the scientific community disagree with you, Mr. Gill. No doubt you still think the Earth is flat and that it the Sun orbits it. UKIP - yet again ...
